AutoCool in Smyrna?

[DL4567]

Has anyone taken their D to this place?

http://autocool.biz/

page dedicated to classics: http://autocool.biz/other-repairs/classic-cars/

The local F-Chat guys were talking about it and apparently get good service there on their old exotics. After doing some research, they get good reviews and seem to be the top(?) automotive AC specialty shop in the Atlanta area. But of course I'm **extremely** cautious about taking my D anywhere for work, so thought I'd run it by you guys here.

I've replaced my whole system within the last 8 years except the condenser and short hose up front. And it STILL leaks. If a component needs to be replaced, I'd much rather do the work myself, but it seems like it'd be harmless to let them look at it and do some diagnostics.

[Dangermouse]

Looks interesting. I'd let them look at it, but I would be inclined to provide the parts so you know what you are getting, unless they can recommend a suitable alternative.

[Bitsyncmaster]

My short hose was the one that was leaking when I converted to R134a. I replaced the long hoses first and it still leaked about a can in 3 or 4 months. Then John at Special T came out with short hose with the hub that has the high pressure switch, blow off and a sight glass. The sight glass has no value with an orifice system however.

[DL4567]

Thanks for the replies. I think my main attraction with that shop is they would probably be good at determining exactly where a leak is. Until now it's just been guesswork, but it could likely be in the remaining condenser or short hose. I'd just hate to replace the condenser if that's not even the problem. What's weird is that from 2010 to 2014, the leak was fairly slow, and then in summer 2014 it became very fast. Or it may be the "new" compressor. (see pics) If the compressor is leaking, that shop might be able to fix it, rather than me buying yet another $250 compressor after just 7 years.


For what it's worth, I pulled this from my spreadsheet that I keep about stuff done to the car:

Aug 2008 Installed new AC evaporator core, accumulator, orifice tube
Oct 2008 Installed new AC compressor, charged system with Freeze-12

(guessing it wasn't working so well anymore by spring 2010)

June 2010 Replaced 2 long AC hoses with split ones from John Hervey
June 2010 Had AC system evacuated and recharged (3 cans Freeze-12)

(seems to have lasted "decently" for 3-ish years)

April 2014 Had 1 can of R-12 added to top off system.

(just barely lasted the summer. Completely leaked out by Fall 2014)




This oil was showing up after just 3-4 years after installation. Brand new compressor from DMCH in 2008.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/z8uuWJjoezhsa9rMKhdZzNSC7FKFp0HpdoTwbYg1i4w=w900-h506-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gRf08bJdFVFynZuQHv0iSlIjuN0WQiTzeDCAwjyfbKE=w900-h506-no

[Bitsyncmaster]

The UV dye works pretty good. Almost to good if you use the UV light in a dark garage. Not sure if it would show up a hose leaking all the way along the hose.

[Ron]

If you are certain that is refrigerant oil in the pics, you need a compressor -- The front seal is probably leaking both oil and refrigerant.
Most common cause of early failure is lack of use (it's oiled while enguaged).
In any case, the oil will ruin the clutch surfaces....

[DL4567]

If you are certain that is refrigerant oil in the pics, you need a compressor -- The front seal is probably leaking both oil and refrigerant.
Most common cause of early failure is lack of use (it's oiled while enguaged).
In any case, the oil will ruin the clutch surfaces....

I'm not certain it's refrigerant oil.... is there another kind inside the compressor pulleys?

Lack of use is definitely an issue -- I've put about 3,000 miles on the car over the last 5 years. That said, I do try to run the AC for a few minutes during each drive over the winter, just to circulate the oils and such. Seemed to keep any leak(s) at bay from 2010 to 2014.

I *could* just replace the compressor again, and have the system filled locally, but my guy in Suwanee isn't really an AC specialist and can't detect leaks. I feel like it would just be a waste of freon to do so.

[Soundkillr]

I have replaced EVERY part on the a/c system except the small hose. Im sure thats where my leak is. I go through a can a year. Want to order two small hoses and we can replace them at the same time?

[Ron]

I'm not certain it's refrigerant oil.... is there another kind inside the compressor pulleys?
No. Sorry for the confusion...I was thinking you need to make sure it wasn't engine oil slung, spilled, etc.
Small leaks at that o-ring are among the hardest to hard to detect...you have to have the engine running and it engaged to get the pressure up...air blowing everywhere :-(

======

Do I hear a mountain road run/social/tech meet in the making?

[Ron]

This looks interesting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIeqahYPrCQ
~$36.00 + S&H for their tool and seal.

[DL4567]

I have replaced EVERY part on the a/c system except the small hose. Im sure thats where my leak is. I go through a can a year. Want to order two small hoses and we can replace them at the same time?

Sure, that sounds like a plan! Although there seem to be a bunch of options on that.... do you just get the single hose itself from houston?

http://store.delorean.com/p-7719-hose-cndsr-evap.aspx

Their page states you should also get the condenser adapter and hi-pressure wiring harness. Are they really necessary?

http://store.delorean.com/p-7725-adapter-condenser.aspx
http://store.delorean.com/p-7726-harness-wiring-hi-press-sw.aspx


No. Sorry for the confusion...I was thinking you need to make sure it wasn't engine oil slung, spilled, etc.
Small leaks at that o-ring are among the hardest to hard to detect...you have to have the engine running and it engaged to get the pressure up...air blowing everywhere :-(

Do I hear a mountain road run/social/tech meet in the making?

Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure it's not engine oil. It's very evenly distributed all around the compressor pulley, which doesn't run most of the time.


This looks interesting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIeqahYPrCQ
~$36.00 + S&H for their tool and seal.

Yeah, that does look interesting! Much better than a new $250 compressor if it's not needed. So the "SANDEN 7-5 SERIES Tool - Part SPSDN", and the "SANDEN 7H/709 5H/508 ONE PIECE SEAL KIT- Part MT2187" are the right ones to get? If I'm not mistaken, the DeLorean one is the Sanden SD-510.

EDIT: on another page of their site, they list "Part SK-717NS - SANDEN 507-508-510 SHAFT SEAL KIT." I guess the kit above should work then, if the 507, 508, and 510 are fairly interchangeable with the shaft seal.

(It's about halfway down)
http://centuryautoair.com/mcart/index.cgi?code=3&page=2&cat=14

[Soundkillr]

Yes, it looks to me like you will need all 3. The original had the switch welded in, this one it screws on and has an adapter for the harness


Sure, that sounds like a plan! Although there seem to be a bunch of options on that.... do you just get the single hose itself from houston?

http://store.delorean.com/p-7719-hose-cndsr-evap.aspx

Their page states you should also get the condenser adapter and hi-pressure wiring harness. Are they really necessary?

http://store.delorean.com/p-7725-adapter-condenser.aspx
http://store.delorean.com/p-7726-harness-wiring-hi-press-sw.aspx



Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure it's not engine oil. It's very evenly distributed all around the compressor pulley, which doesn't run most of the time.



Yeah, that does look interesting! Much better than a new $250 compressor if it's not needed. So the "SANDEN 7-5 SERIES Tool - Part SPSDN", and the "SANDEN 7H/709 5H/508 ONE PIECE SEAL KIT- Part MT2187" are the right ones to get? If I'm not mistaken, the DeLorean one is the Sanden SD-510.

EDIT: on another page of their site, they list "Part SK-717NS - SANDEN 507-508-510 SHAFT SEAL KIT." I guess the kit above should work then, if the 507, 508, and 510 are fairly interchangeable with the shaft seal.

(It's about halfway down)
http://centuryautoair.com/mcart/index.cgi?code=3&page=2&cat=14

[Ron]

So the "SANDEN 7-5 SERIES Tool - Part SPSDN", and the "SANDEN 7H/709 5H/508 ONE PIECE SEAL KIT- Part MT2187" are the right ones to get? If I'm not mistaken, the DeLorean one is the Sanden SD-510.

EDIT: on another page of their site, they list "Part SK-717NS - SANDEN 507-508-510 SHAFT SEAL KIT." I guess the kit above should work then, if the 507, 508, and 510 are fairly interchangeable with the shaft seal.

(It's about halfway down)
http://centuryautoair.com/mcart/index.cgi?code=3&page=2&cat=14I'd call them to make sure since it says, "...kit for most...510 compressors". ...and mentions a newer style.

[DL4567]

Took the car for a drive last night. It was a great evening for non-working AC! :) Anyway, I drove the whole time with just the windows rolled down, but before turning the car off at home, I flipped on the AC just to see what would happen, and it was something I didn't expect.

The compressor came on (unlike when it's low on freon), BUT, it stayed on continuously and never cycled. I let it run for 2-3 minutes and finally shut the car off. So that's weird. I'm guessing that's an indicator of something else wrong in the system? Maybe a pressure switch gone bad or there's a blockage somewhere (like the orifice tube)?

I swear.... the AC is the *bane* of this car. Nothing else has frustrated me even 10% as much since owning it.

[Ron]

It could do that with the charge AND ambient temp low...I wouldn't worry about that right now.

[DL4567]

So I sucked it up and got up at 6am on a Saturday and went to this place yesterday. Arrived at 7:30 to be first in line, which was a good thing because they get pretty busy by 9, and it isn't even that hot yet. It was damn far for me to go, and I hate 285 with a passion (officially the deadliest highway in the U.S. now, based on fatalities per mile), but the actual AutoCool place was a good experience.

They said they get about 1 DeLorean per year, so were decently familiar with the specifics of its AC system, and spent about 2 hours working on my car. They evacuated it, retrofitted R-134 fittings, and charged it with R-134, then leak tested for a while as best they could without having it on a lift or spending overnight on it. At the end, they told me they couldn't find any real leaks, the oil on the compressor didn't seem to be a problem, and that it should do ok for the foreseeable future. I sure hope they're right!! It blows cold as it ever did, and I was chilly on the way home, but admittedly it was only about 78 outside.

He also told me I should start the car once a week even if I don't drive it, and run the AC for a few minutes, and that should keep it from leaking for as long as possible. Easier said than done, but I will sure try.

They also said one of my radiator fans isn't coming on. Which is NOT normal, right?? The driver's side fan works, but not the passenger. It's not supposed to come on in stages as the engine gets hotter or anything, right? My temp needle has always been in the normal range, and the fan(s) have always kept it between the quarter and middle lines, and I don't have any sort of aftermarket fan-controller that I'm aware of. So that's weird.

And finally, since no one responded to my original question in this thread about taking their car there, someone is in BIG TROUBLE!!! Not only did they say they get 1 DeLo per year, but this photo was on their wall of interesting customers:

http://i.imgur.com/a8jBilf.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/AlMuCZX.jpg

[Bitsyncmaster]

I have seen a few owners that never knew they were running only one fan.

Do you have the original fan fail unit (the blue relay)? If so, it needs to be replaced and is probably the fault of only one fan running.

[Dangermouse]

So I sucked it up and got up at 6am on a Saturday and went to this place yesterday. Arrived at 7:30 to be first in line, which was a good thing because they get pretty busy by 9, and it isn't even that hot yet. It was damn far for me to go, and I hate 285 with a passion (officially the deadliest highway in the U.S. now, based on fatalities per mile), but the actual AutoCool place was a good experience.

They said they get about 1 DeLorean per year, so were decently familiar with the specifics of its AC system, and spent about 2 hours working on my car. They evacuated it, retrofitted R-134 fittings, and charged it with R-134, then leak tested for a while as best they could without having it on a lift or spending overnight on it. At the end, they told me they couldn't find any real leaks, the oil on the compressor didn't seem to be a problem, and that it should do ok for the foreseeable future. I sure hope they're right!! It blows cold as it ever did, and I was chilly on the way home, but admittedly it was only about 78 outside.

He also told me I should start the car once a week even if I don't drive it, and run the AC for a few minutes, and that should keep it from leaking for as long as possible. Easier said than done, but I will sure try.

They also said one of my radiator fans isn't coming on. Which is NOT normal, right?? The driver's side fan works, but not the passenger. It's not supposed to come on in stages as the engine gets hotter or anything, right? My temp needle has always been in the normal range, and the fan(s) have always kept it between the quarter and middle lines, and I don't have any sort of aftermarket fan-controller that I'm aware of. So that's weird.

And finally, since no one responded to my original question in this thread about taking their car there, someone is in BIG TROUBLE!!! Not only did they say they get 1 DeLo per year, but this photo was on their wall of interesting customers:

What they didn't tell you is that it is the same Delorean they see every year :)

I had a fan seize solid on my DD a few years ago. I never noticed until the second one failed also and it started overheating in traffic, though it was fine one th interstate.

[DMCVegas]

What they didn't tell you is that it is the same Delorean they see every year :)

http://i.imgur.com/NFBRRiI.gif

[DMCMW Dave]

You can get away with one fan to cool the car most of the time, but the A/C really needs them both to work well.

BTW if you run the A/C with both fans not working, in addition to overheating the car you will overpressure the system and if you are lucky, vent the Freon to air, if you are unlucky you'll pop a hose or worse.

[DL4567]

I thought I had a photo handy of my relay compartment for these needs of easy reference, but can't find it now (of course). But I'm 99.9% certain I don't have original relays of any kind, like the (notorious) blue one.

Well, this sounds like a problem that certainly needs to be addressed. The guy at the AC shop also said he was concerned about high pressure in the system sending me on my way with only one fan.

So, what are the steps to troubleshoot? Can I swap the cooling fan relay out with another to confirm or rule that out? What's next after that? Check if the connector at the fan is getting voltage with a multimeter?

[Bitsyncmaster]

I thought I had a photo handy of my relay compartment for these needs of easy reference, but can't find it now (of course). But I'm 99.9% certain I don't have original relays of any kind, like the (notorious) blue one.

Well, this sounds like a problem that certainly needs to be addressed. The guy at the AC shop also said he was concerned about high pressure in the system sending me on my way with only one fan.

So, what are the steps to troubleshoot? Can I swap the cooling fan relay out with another to confirm or rule that out? What's next after that? Check if the connector at the fan is getting voltage with a multimeter?

You probably have fused jumpers in the blue relay socket. Just use a multimeter to verify you have voltage on all three terminals. If so, get under the car and meter the connector for the fan relay not working.

Your AC guy is correct, AC high side pressure will run higher with only one fan working.

[DL4567]

I haven't had a chance to do any electrical testing yet, but I found the photo I took of my relay compartment. Looks like the fan-fail socket is no longer there, but the fan relay is one of the Bosch silver ones (the one in the bottom-left corner of the photo, correct?). Whether the cause of my one fan running is the relay or not, Dave M, I'd like to replace it with one of your fan relays. I saw in the other thread recently where you mentioned it keeps the fans running for AC cycles less than 20 seconds -- that sounds great. I hate the fans turning on and off so often, combined with the clicking like a bunch of people. I'm guessing since the fan-fail socket isn't even there, there's no point in getting one of your fan-fail relays as well?

Oh, also, isn't this when my fan-fail light should be on? I know the bulb works -- it's an LED. It really bugs me how long only one fan has been running. It could be years!! Wonder if the increased pressure has anything to do with my AC struggling to hold freon the last few years.




http://i.imgur.com/2EL180P.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/Dr4LgP5.jpg

[Bitsyncmaster]

Your fan fail socket has been removed and the fused jumpers have been hard wired in it's place. Without a working fan fail unit your fan fail light will not indicate when you have a fan failure.

It is normal that the relay beside that missing fan fail socket is the fan relay. You could pull it and test your fan does not turn on. But you need to find the cause of only one fan running first. It could be just a bad fan motor or could be a bad connection. Those two fuses on the jumpers are for the cooling fans.

If you lift up that front relay bank, take a photo of the wires going into the relay sockets and I can verify if my fan relay will work. The fan relay needs to be wired like stock wiring.

I see one of your relays (one headlight relay) has been replaced.

[DL4567]

I got under the car today and checked the wiring at the fans. The source wires on the driver's side shows 11.3 volts, and passenger side (the one not working) was 10.1 volts. Then I tested the fans -- I used a battery charger for a quick power source, and jumper-wired both fans at the 12v and 6v settings. Both worked perfectly, with 12v and even at 6v (more on that below).

I figured it was just dirty connectors, so I cleaned them as best as I could with sandpaper, and plugged them back in. Flipped the switch, and..... NOTHING!!!! Now neither fan came on. I wiggled the connectors and the driver's side worked again, but no amount of wiggling could make the passenger side come on.

Unplugged it again, tested the passenger fan with the battery charger (still works). Tested the source wire again, it fluctuated around 6-7 volts. I know from testing the fan with a 6v source that it is enough power to make the fan come on, so I'm still stumped why the car wiring doesn't make it come on. Even when unplugging the driver's side, the passenger one still won't come on.

I realize the car wiring is a bit more complex than just power to both fans yes/no, so what's going on? If there's something wrong with the relay, could that affect just one fan? Wouldn't both fans not work if the relay was defective? BTW, I checked all the fuses, they they all looked ok.

Thanks for the help guys, it is much appreciated.


Answers to other questions:
Not sure how to lift the relay bank for a photo of the underside? It seems pretty firmly in place. Also, yep, my low beam headlight relay is a local auto store replacement, as the Bosch one suddenly quit working one night a couple years ago.

[Bitsyncmaster]

Stock wiring uses one fan relay to power both fans. In stock form, the output power of the fan relay drives the circuit breaker then the other side of the breaker powers the fan fail socket pin. From that fan fail input power pin you should have two jumpers, each jumper drives one fan.

You lift the relay bank by removing a screw on two of the relay sockets. Then the row of socket should just lift up.

[DL4567]

Thanks for the quick replies Dave! I'll get that photo of under the relays for you.

This is what's frustrating me.... This doesn't make any sense! Can someone tell me why when there's voltage at the source connector, the fan doesn't come on when you plug it in??!?!?!?!?!!

There's nothing wrong with the fan -- Again, when I just barely touch 2 wires from a battery charger putting out 6.75v to the (white) fan connector pins, it comes right on. 9.06 v coming from the source wires, I cleaned all the connectors as best I could, and still nothing.

What am I missing here?!?!!?


http://i.imgur.com/hGaeDsG.jpg



http://i.imgur.com/pcEzFRc.jpg

[Bitsyncmaster]

You can't trouble shoot voltage drops unless the load (the fan) is still connected. My be is when the fan is connected you will get zero volts. You may be able to stick your probes into the mated connector but if not, I use a very fine wire or a pin to puncture the insulation on the wire.

[DL4567]

OK, I'll try checking it when connected somehow.

Here are 2 photos (flash/no flash) of the underside of the fan relay sockets. The far left black socket is the normal "fan relay."

The 3rd and 4th photos (no relation to the issue at hand) are a mystery relay socket tucked away at the back of the relay compartment. Any idea what it used to be?

http://i.imgur.com/yklqBgb.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/hSeBzmV.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/B3Q6X3s.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/PREAyws.jpg

[Bitsyncmaster]

Your Fan relay socket looks good. The center pin ground wire has been cut off but that ground is not required (It grounds the fans when turned off).

That white floating relay socket at the back of the relay compartment is the HOT START relay socket. In stock form, it is not used. I sell a "hot start" relay which I use to eliminate the thermal time switch. It also can help if you have hot start issues.

[DL4567]

If the one fan runs with the fan relay that's in there, does that mean the relay definitely is not the problem? Since the fan-fail relay has been replaced by fused jumpers, and the fuses are fine, what other parts of the equation are culprits to cause one fan not to run?

[DL4567]

I really hate the 30 minute time limit on edits.

Was going to add:


I've been studying the wiring diagram of the "Cooling Fan Circuit" here: http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?40-All-Wiring-Schematics

....and it kind of confirms my thoughts. Looks like there's not much to go wrong after the power leaves the fan relay, and then leaves the circuit breaker. From there it just splits off to each fan. Yesterday I also unscrewed the ground wire from the frame right next to the fan connector, and sanded the contact washer. Didn't make any difference either. Fan still didn't come on.

So if I confirm there's a voltage drop when checking the wire while connected to the fan, what's the next thing to check?

Thanks for your continued help!

[Bitsyncmaster]

Your correct assuming your rewired fan fail is wired stock less the fan fail socket. So it could be the wiring that was installed has a bad connection. It could also be one of the fuse holders has a bad connection.

What you should do is use your meter to check for voltage on each side of each fuse in that fan fail wiring. There is also a connector for the fan wires in the "washer bottle" location which is the last thing you want to check.

[DL4567]

I finally made some time to do a bit of further investigating. Looks like the fuse holder that powers the driver's side fan shows 11.XX volts, while the other one that powers the passenger side shows only around 4 volts. The connections look clean, the fuse holders are pretty solidly wired underneath with shrink tubing and everything -- overall a very neat job. Also, no amount of wiggling those wires or the brown ones on the fan circuit breaker had any effect on making the 4.x volts fluctuate. I even tried a different relay in the fan socket -- no effect or difference on the voltage.

This probably isn't related, but thought I'd mention it.... there is also this thing on my gas tank from before I owned the car. I'm guessing it's a TANK Zilla, even though it just says "zilla" on it and nothing else. It's plugged in-line to the fuel level indicator. I only bring it up because it looks to also be plugged in to the wiring above the front frame extension, which looks like the same wiring that also powers the fans (it's hard to see in there really well). (?)

Not sure what to do or check next....

Thanks Dave!


http://i.imgur.com/ZtuM1V7.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/YI0SIv6.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/9jNDmVx.jpg

[Bitsyncmaster]

With the load removed (your fuse removed) you can not get good voltage drop readings. I would bet if the fuse was installed, you would get zero volts on that fuse socket (put the meter black lead on a common ground and the red lead on the metal on top of the fuse).

That does look like you have the tank Zilla. It looks like someone installed a small purple wire going to the fuel pump. May just be the photo make it look like a small gauge wire. But also looks like a cut wire wire on that fuel pump two pin connector.

[DL4567]

So I got the fan working! :)

After more experimentation on Saturday, I determined the problem is definitely somewhere along the factory black and green wire going from the fuse jumper to the fan. I disconnected the fuse, and ran a long jumper wire from the source side of the fuse holder straight to the fan, and it worked. I then did the opposite, testing the factory ground by replacing it with a jumper wire. Every iteration worked except when supplying power through the factory black and green wire. So I bit the bullet, cut off the factory wire by the fuse jumper and ran a new wire all the way from the relay compartment to the fan, and a new ground wire too while I was at it (front frame to the fan). Both fans work now as they should, with the driver's side still using the factory wiring.

Couple questions though... why are there 4 wires going into the factory harness that plugs into the fan? There's the green/black power source, the black ground, a yellow(?) and another one. What do they all do?

Also, after finishing all of the above, when driving to the gas station the gas gauge worked fine at 1/4 tank, but after filling up it now points straight up. I wanna say it's done that before with a full tank and fixed itself as it goes down a little, but could it possibly be related to the fan wiring since it's in the same area? All that is on a separate circuit, right? Is that a coincidence? (I left the factory fan ground connected to the frame)

[Bitsyncmaster]

There is a capacitor wired into each fan to reduce electrical noise heard on an AM radio. That would be the yellow wire and the additional black wire.

See if your gas gauge is working after you use some gas in the tank. It may be your sender has an open when the tank is full.

[DL4567]

I was debating on whether or not to start a new thread to possibly get more exposure to this question, but I'll try this thread first since it has my recent AC history.

The car still blows cold since AutoCool retrofitted it with 134a in April (hooray!!), but lately I've noticed the compressor does not cycle. At the end of a drive I've parked in the garage at home twice now, left it running, and stood there and watched the compressor for several minutes, and it runs continuously. After a couple minutes, the main cooling fans do turn off, and then back on a minute later or so, but the compressor keeps turning while they do that. Ambient temp is about 80-85 degrees.

Some Googling led me to posts on car forums about 134a conversions making compressors not cycle, and this is "normal," but I wanted to ask you guys of course. I took a couple of pics where I see condensation, if that means anything at all, but I'm assuming that's probably totally normal and has always been there when the AC runs. Hopefully this whole thing is nothing to be concerned about. Anyone else have this experience with 134a? The AC works well, which is great, but before the last few months/year, it always cycled like normal. I just want to make sure nothing's going to explode, etc...

Please note, in one of my posts above from 7/13/15 (long before getting the AC worked on this spring), I noticed at that point that the compressor ran continuously, but at the time was not blowing cold whatsoever. So the cause may have nothing to do with the 134a.




http://i.imgur.com/KEkpOcy.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/KK9xsyl.jpg

[Bitsyncmaster]

First if your radiator fans turned off without the compressor shutting off you need to fix that problem. My guess is your fan circuit breaker tripped. Make sure you have the 40 amp breaker on the radiator fans.

You can make the AC cycle by turning the circulation fan down to low speed or off. That will make the low side of the AC pull down below the low side switch cutoff pressure. Note I have found one low side switch go bad and it would not cutoff the compressor.

[DL4567]

First if your radiator fans turned off without the compressor shutting off you need to fix that problem. My guess is your fan circuit breaker tripped. Make sure you have the 40 amp breaker on the radiator fans.

You can make the AC cycle by turning the circulation fan down to low speed or off. That will make the low side of the AC pull down below the low side switch cutoff pressure. Note I have found one low side switch go bad and it would not cutoff the compressor.

But the radiator fans turned back on within a minute of turning off. If the circuit breaker tripped, wouldn't that keep them off "permanently" until the breaker was reset/replaced?

For what it's worth, the interior fan speed was on level 2 during these observations.

[Ron]

Yeah, the condensation is OK.

The thermal trip will reset itself as soon as it cools off.

[DL4567]

Yeah, the condensation is OK.

The thermal trip will reset itself as soon as it cools off.

Thanks for chiming in Ron.

Ok, so you're saying that the radiator fans likely turned off from the breaker tripping as Dave mentioned, but then came back on when the breaker cooled?

So does this mean something IS wrong with my A/C (non)cycling then?

[Bitsyncmaster]

Thanks for chiming in Ron.

Ok, so you're saying that the radiator fans likely turned off from the breaker tripping as Dave mentioned, but then came back on when the breaker cooled?

So does this mean something IS wrong with my A/C (non)cycling then?

Yes the breakers reset them self. There was a recall that replaced the original 30 amp breaker with a 40 amp breaker. OEM fans draw more power as they age. I always recommend updating your cooling fans to one of the vendors low power fans.

[Ron]

Thanks for chiming in Ron.

Ok, so you're saying that the radiator fans likely turned off from the breaker tripping as Dave mentioned, but then came back on when the breaker cooled?

So does this mean something IS wrong with my A/C (non)cycling then?
Yes (check for 40A upgrade Dave mentions).

No...separate circuits. The AC/mode switch OR the Otterstat can send power to the fan relay to turn them on (through the breaker ). The AC/mode switch feeds the cycle switch separately. ie the breaker is not in the circuit.

Usually one will cycle some...but, if the ambient temp, pressures, etc are just right, it can be like watching for a pot of water to boil ;-) The evaporator may "freeze up" otherwise...
I agree with getting the fans to stay on while the AC is on

[DL4567]

Thanks for the quick replies guys, much appreciated! Hopefully nothing's wrong with the AC system itself, like a blockage, faulty pressure switch, etc. Everything was ok just this past April.

About the fans and the current.... it's funny, I have actually had a brand new set of Houston fans sitting on my workbench for the past couple of months. Been waiting for our stinking hot miserable summer to end so I could install them without dying of a heat stroke. Looks like the time may finally be upon us! I'll check out the breaker too, to see if it's the 40 amp one.

Now that you describe the ways the fans get power, yep, totally sounds familiar -- I remember studying the diagram when trying to figure out why my one cooling fan didn't work a few months ago. But if I don't repeatedly use the knowledge, it goes away these days. :frown: