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Intermittent Ac


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Here's one. The AC is operating intermittently in my 2000 S. I noticed it the other day when I hit the AC button by accident and nothing happened. No AC letters on the display, no clunk sound as the clutch engaged, nothing. Engaging the Auto function didn't start it up either.

 

At first I thought maybe a fuse, but yesterday it worked fine again. The only difference between the two days was outside temperature. The day it didn't work was colder, but not extreme cold (about -6 deg C). Yesterday was -2 and it worked.

 

Now today it doesn't work again and it's about -4.

 

I think I would have noticed the past two winters if the AC didn't work in the cold, but who knows. Ideas? The intermittent stuff is the biggest bitch to diagnose...

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I have a 2000 as well, not an S, and the same thing happened. It worked one day and not the other. I don't remember the temps of the days, but it works fine now and it is definitely colder than when it originally happened. Hope that helps?

 

Well, it's always nice to know you're not alone.

 

So it resolved itself? How long was it behaving like this?

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Maybe it has to do with temperature and coolant pressure (r134 coolant, not engine). I know for a fact that there is a sensor that prevents the a/c clutch from engagine if the coolant level is low. And I imagine the sensor works on pressure, so when it's colder, there's lower pressure, causing the clutch not to engage. As temps rise, so does the pressure and hence the a/c starts to work.

 

Not sure, just a theory.

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Maybe it has to do with temperature and coolant pressure (r134 coolant, not engine). I know for a fact that there is a sensor that prevents the a/c clutch from engagine if the coolant level is low. And I imagine the sensor works on pressure, so when it's colder, there's lower pressure, causing the clutch not to engage. As temps rise, so does the pressure and hence the a/c starts to work.

 

Not sure, just a theory.

 

Hey Ren -- good to hear from you again. Thanks for that info. I'd imagine a 7 year-old ac system is due for a recharge. Not that I really care too much in the winter for cooling. Being able to dry out a foggy windshield is always nice, however...

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Hey Ren -- good to hear from you again. Thanks for that info. I'd imagine a 7 year-old ac system is due for a recharge. Not that I really care too much in the winter for cooling. Being able to dry out a foggy windshield is always nice, however...

 

all mine needed was a heater core and well...tensioner :P

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Nice work Ren... maybe Miller and I should have a spirited drive up to Guelph for a Milly AC refill... :shifty:

Any time, I'm pretty flexible. The place that does it sells the recharge can for ~$20, and an attachment for ~$5. You only need the attachment if you originally had r12 coolant in there, if you have r134 to begin with then you don't need it. They then use the can you bought to recharge the system (for free).

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Nice work Ren... maybe Miller and I should have a spirited drive up to Guelph for a Milly AC refill... :shifty:

:lol:

 

Any time, I'm pretty flexible. The place that does it sells the recharge can for ~$20, and an attachment for ~$5. You only need the attachment if you originally had r12 coolant in there, if you have r134 to begin with then you don't need it. They then use the can you bought to recharge the system (for free).

 

How can you tell which refrigerant you've got?

 

i wish i was in canada.

 

You'd probably change your mind come tax time. "Crushing" comes to mind with respect to the tax burden up here. No matter that our government is running a ten billion dollar surplus at the moment and we're awash in oil resources...

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BTW, since I livew in the smae climate as Miller.. (left him voice mail too) when I got in my Milly at -8 the other day the AC would not come on. At -19 today would not come on. There is obviously a safety switch that prevents the compressor from coming on at lower temperatures. Likely because freon needs to be warm (relative) to flash off into a gas, and if you start it extreme cold (relative) maybe it will not flash off and we all KNOW that you cannot compress a liquid, and this would blow the compressor.

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