Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting AC compressor not engaging

It looks my AC just went out. The compressor clutch does not engage or even click when running either the AC or the defrost. I tried swapping the relay indicated in the owners manual, but didn't see a fuse listed. Can anyone share any experiences with similar problems with their AC? I charged the system about 2 weeks ago and it was working fine until this happened. TIA

When I had mine fixed not long ago it was the field for the compressor clutch that went bad. Not cheap or easy to replace - had the Stealer do it.

Good luck,

Scott

check you charge again...if u had it done, then obviously it must have been leaking...make sure the caps are on the quick connects...those accually help hold in charge, and w/o them, they system can leak. Hope this helps,

-Tim

when the freon leaks out the cycling switch received either a low or no pressure so it cuts off the power to the compressor so the compressor will not run and then burn out with no oil in it, as most of the time when you blow the freon, some of the oil goes with it.... you can look infront of the battery (between the battery and the front of the car) and look down and you will see the clutch cycling switch.. you pull the metal clip 0ut of the center of the switch and then pull the harness off.. take a piece of wire and make contacts with the two wires on the harness and this will act like the swith,, with the switch shorted out then the comprssor should start to turn.... this will let you know if you have a charge of freon or it the switch is mess up... if you get nothing then it might be something else like the connection off the compressor or the clutch stuck( sometimes a hammer hitting the front of the clutch will get it to move if its stuck and hold for a while....

Thanks for all the input! I believe my fans are not turning on either so I may have a pressure problem. I'll have to do some troubleshooting tonight....

I posted about this subject a month ago with some very helpful pics.

Look for a thread begun on 4/14 titled "A/C not working"

Steve

Ah yes... great info Thanks for all the help! I'll report back as soon as I have some time to get a meter on it. My garage door spring just shattered, so I have yet another home repair project to take care of.

I'm having the same problem is this very common on contour's?? I've only had my car for a year and never had problems with it, until now it's at the shop as I'm typing this, I had to by a new compressor (used but original and very good) it was having a really bothering sound and the fan dosen't work as it should, I changed the coolant sensor thinking that could be it but it seems it didn't fix the whole problem.. any ideas???

This is the first AC problem my 95 tour has had outside of a coolant recharge last month. Which fans are you having touble with? There is a recall or TSB for the heater/blower switch which controls the fans in the cabin. The radiator fans also have a recall on them which adds a fuse to prevent them from burning up. You may be able to get a radiator fan problem checked out if you and get this recall done. The coolant sensor in the resevoir likes an extra 1/2" (past full) of anti-freeze to keep the coolant light out.

Ok everyone.........before you spend money buying Compressors and such...there are a few things you need to check.

First....the freon may be low. As stated, if it is low the Compressor will NOT turn on. If your A/C didn't feel as cold recently before it quit...this is the most likely culprit.

Second...the fans not working may be a sign of something else.....bad underhood wiring. If you have under 100,000 miles and have any visible signs of insulation cracking or exposed wire....Ford will replace this under recall 99M03.

If you have cracked wiring and insulation...diagnosing the problem will be nearly impossible as the problem will be short circuited wiring. I just replace the fourth and final wiring harness....the worst one...the main power harness. It supplies power to the entire vehicle. My A/C stopped working and I did everything to diagnose it myself.....only to find out that key wires going to the cooling fans were shorted out as were wires going to A/C sensors.

I hope for your sake that your car is under 100k. If not be prepared to spend around $700 for the harnesses and about 24 hours worth of work to replace all four harnesses under the hood.

Caution..if you find any cracked wiring....DO NOT mess with them. Leave them alone until you are having it fixed or have the new parts in hand and are ready to begin. If you touch the harnesses you will cause other shorts that will prevent your car from running. Trust me...I know from experience!!!!

Good Luck!