Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting A/C clutch activating too soon

I have a 1998 SVT totally stock with an unusual air conditioning problem. I noticed about a month ago the check engine light came on and stayed on. This was after I had the battery out of the car for about a day. At about the same time I also noticed the a/c was not putting out cold air. I had a mechanic check out the A/C and he stated the system was fine and had a full change, but the compressor clutch was activating whenever the throttle was a little above idle. I confirmed this getting plenty of cold air when the car stays at idle and that the a/c clutch activates when I move the throttle to about a 1/4 position. I am not able to get a computer diagnosis at this time.

The engine is running fine, smooth at all speeds, no power loss and no noticeable drop in mpg.

A friend has the opinion the throttle position sensor is bad, based on the check engine light and the way it a/c is acting. I checked the archives and did not find anything similiar.

Anyone have ideas or agree/disagree with my friend?

Sounds consistent with a bad TPS, but get your CEL scanned to see what the code is for sure.

FYI, the A/C system has a WOT cutoff, so if your TPS is indicating WOT, then naturally your A/C clutch would disengage.