Hi everyone,
I just purchased a 97 xj6 and the ac doesn't blow cold. I tried to recharge the low side but it was already charged. I evacuated the 134 and recharged. I hear the idle change when I turn on the ac switch, but I'm not sure if the ac clutch engages. I checked all fuses and they're all good. There is supposed to be an inline fuse close to the compressor for this mdel, but I don't see one. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks in advnce!

 

If you can observe the compressor driver pulley whilst the engine is running, have a friend in the driver seat, and ask him (or her) to turn on/off the air con, whilst observing the pulley wheel. The centre should stop when the air con is off, and start to rotate when air con is turned back on. You normally also hear a distinct 'click' as the relay kicks in to power-up the electric clutch on the pulley. If the pulley centre remains stationary, it means one of two things: -

1. The pulley clutch has failed
2. No electric supply to the pulley. This can be deliberate, (system is protecting the compressor, or thinks no cooling is needed), or failure of the relay and other parts which triggers the supply to the compressor.

You could always take it to an auto air con specialist

 

I think you may be on to something. I found that the ac clutch fuse was blown and I replaced it, but that didn't fix the problem. I will have to look at other things. The center of the compressor pulley does not turn with the ac switch on, but the idle changes? I'm reluctant to take it to a ac specialist because they usually try to rip you off. any suggestions?

 

a/c pressure switch perhaps, I find that roasted on a lot of fords & such

 

The idel changes because the ECU has been told by the AIr Con control it has just switched the compressor on. Idle should then adjust back to the setting when ECU detects revs are too high, (i.e no load from the non-working compressor)

 

Thanks for the info on why the idle changes. The idle does go back down after it changes. I have checked all relays and swapped a few of the same relays to determine if one is bad and the compressor still did not start. Now I have a check engine light on. The light cale in after checking all of the relays. Will this reset itself in time? Thanks.

 

Your relay swapping likely caused the CEL, they may look the same but where they the same number on the relay body ? Is everything back to where it should be now ? CEL will probably stay on until the stored fault is cleared down, but others more knowledgeable than me probably can tell you for sure, as I am not too much up to speed on car electronics.

The compressor fuse gone indicates there is a problem in the compressor clutch that caused the fuse to blow. Otherwise why would it blow ? Now you have replaced the fuse the clutch coil could be open circuit, but one can only tell using the usual AVO meters. You could try testing for continuity where the clutch lead enters the compressor, and earth.

By the way I am sure not all air con specialists are rip off merchants, but clearly they are in business to make a living like us all.

 

I will drive the car today to see if the check engine light resets itself. If not, I will switch the relays back. The relays that I initially switched were the same types, but one may have been bad. The next step is to check all relays with a mulitmeter. Panchostatus- the ac pressure switch is on my list of things to troubleshoot (Thank You).

 

I have driven the car about 300miles and started it about 6 times since the light came on. The car runs fine. I wonder what the light is on for?

 

First off, if the AC compressor isn't turning on and the car's charged, you have one of a few possible issues here.

1) Bad Pressure switch

2) Bad compressor or clutch

3) BIG Blockage in the system, but if that was the case I doubt you'd have been able to properly charge the thing.

If the fuse was blown, and the compressor isn't turning on, I'll bet that the clutch is shot. If that's the case, I would suggest that you're probably going to need a compressor and a drier. In my experience replacing just the clutch isn't much cheaper than doing the whole job, and it IS at least a 13 year old compressor on there...

 

rld14,
I will check the pressure switch and if that is ok, I'll then have to find a new compressor and drier. Like you said, It's 13 years old. I hope it doesn't get too expensive. Any other ideas are welcome. Thanks for the assistance.