AC Clutch Don't Engage With 12V Jumped To Pigtail

[Ron]

That's the oil pressure sensor.

Anyway, if you attach the connector to +12VDC and then probe the wire with a tester connected to ground further down the line near the clutch, that will tell you if you're even getting power in the wire. If you do see power, then you know you have an issue inside. If you just try to apply 12V to the wire down the line, you still can't confirm that the wire is actually getting power or your're piercing the insulation unless you hook the test probe to the connector at the end and see it light up when you apply power down the wire.

I don't know...Seems there is little difference in the reliability of piercing with a t-pin v/s a probe tip. And if he did see power, it would only confirm that the amount required to light a bulb can get from the connector to the wire...not enough.
Anyway, it sounds like he got power as close to the coil as possible w/o removing it to me??
I don't see him missing as many times as he has tried it, so I'm betting the coil or its connection to the pigtail is bad (at least ;-).

[DaraSue]

Thanks, everybody. I found some Chinese writing on the compressor wire so maybe it really was just a cheap one that coincidentally had the coil go bad. (Josh @ DPI verified that it wasn't one of his.) Not sure how confident I feel in my ability to get the clutch & pulley off without making an even bigger mess of it but I guess if it already doesn't work, it's worth a shot. Before I do anything I can't undo, a couple of questions -

1. I wouldn't have to empty the refrigerant out if I just took the clutch/pulley/coil out, right?

2. If I get them off and can't get them back on, it won't cause any problems to drive without the belt & pulley for as long as it takes to get to the shop, will it? Or longer than that?

Ideally I'd like to get it working before our club road trip to Bryce Canyon next month. I'd probably survive but IDK if I'll end up with a passenger...

[dn010]

Thanks, everybody. I found some Chinese writing on the compressor wire so maybe it really was just a cheap one that coincidentally had the coil go bad. (Josh @ DPI verified that it wasn't one of his.) Not sure how confident I feel in my ability to get the clutch & pulley off without making an even bigger mess of it but I guess if it already doesn't work, it's worth a shot. Before I do anything I can't undo, a couple of questions -

1. I wouldn't have to empty the refrigerant out if I just took the clutch/pulley/coil out, right?

2. If I get them off and can't get them back on, it won't cause any problems to drive without the belt & pulley for as long as it takes to get to the shop, will it? Or longer than that?

Ideally I'd like to get it working before our club road trip to Bryce Canyon next month. I'd probably survive but IDK if I'll end up with a passenger...

No, pulling the pulley off will not require emptying the system. You can drive without the AC belt for as long as it takes.

I don't know...Seems there is little difference in the reliability of piercing with a t-pin v/s a probe tip. And if he did see power, it would only confirm that the amount required to light a bulb can get from the connector to the wire...not enough.
Anyway, it sounds like he got power as close to the coil as possible w/o removing it to me??
I don't see him missing as many times as he has tried it, so I'm betting the coil or its connection to the pigtail is bad (at least ;-).

Don't you mean she?

The only reason I suggest connecting the +12V to the connector and then probing the wire lower is so you know that you've actually pierced through the insulation and have a connection. It doesn't really matter how you do it as long as you can confirm power is getting to the wire, that's all.

[Ron]

Don't you mean she?

One can never know these days, but yeah.

[Too many AC threads going...SORRY DaraSue!]

The only reason I suggest connecting the +12V to the connector and then probing the wire lower is so you...

I guess you meant she as well....

Seriously- I agree that it doesn't really matter how you do it as long as you can confirm power is getting to the wire. But it has to be "good" power -- Although a test light can confirm voltage is present, it can't confirm that the amount of amperage required by the coil is able to get through. So, if a connection between the connector and the wire existed, but it was too poor, the test would lead her to believe the connection (power) is OK when it actually can't handle the load required by the coil. A test light can only confirm there is no power, but then the next step would be to jump 12V straight to the wire anyway...which she did -- I'd say pull that puppy!

I guess it's beside the point here, but an Ohm meter would have been the way to go in the first place, of course...

======

DaraSue,
If you've decided to pull the coil but are uncomfortable with the piercing and all, you might try this first:
Turn the key to off.
Turn the widest gap in the clutch plate up to 12 o'clock.
Cut the wire behind the connector and strip it back enough to get a good connection for the jumper wire.
Connect the jumper wire to the jump post.
Make sure the jumper wire has a good 12V+ on the other end...
Connect it to the stripped wire.
Tap the plate toward the compressor at the wide gap with a tool handle or such to see if the plate snaps and stays closed.
If it does, you would need to see if there is 2 to 5 Ohms from ground to the stripped wire.
If there is, straighten and adjust the gap then try 12V to the stripped wire again...

[Bitsyncmaster]

It looks like the AC compressor hoses are not stock so if the owner decides to get a new compressor make sure you get one to match what you have for hose connections.

[DaraSue]

Well, I have no idea how or why, but it magically started working today. It occurred to me that I might have heard it click into place last time I tried turning the switches on with the key on but the engine off, so I started it up, and it was blowing ice cold (or as close to it as R134 gets).

The only thing I did since the last time we talked was turn it around so the gap was on the top, and push on the clutch plate a little. Either that did something or I actually had pulled the coil end of the wire out when I accidentally yanked the connector apart last Nov. and poking and prodding it with the tester pushed it back into place. Weather permitting I'll drive it to work tomorrow and see what happens.

(No offense taken at being misgendered. This place is kind of a sausagefest so there was about a 90% chance... )

[Ron]

Cool!
Now try to get the plate gap even. (See N:10:09, Step 7) It doesn't say to, but try to close the wide side first...

[Ratrace427]

Cool!
Now try to get the plate gap even. (See N:10:09, Step 7) It doesn't say to, but try to close the wide side first...

that's awesome! nothing better than when it fixes itself, but bad coils like to do that. If it stops working again that re-confirms the coil. I had one work one day and then stop the next. that same coil would work till it cycled then wouldn't come back. electronics and heat don't play well with each other.

you said you gave it a test power and ground source and it didn't work. either you made a simple mistake while doing this process or the clutch coil isn't happy.

let's hope you made a mistake =P

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[Ron]

+1!

Since it showed continuity to the pigtail wire (post 8), I wouldn't be surprised if the coil was getting power during the jumper tests but the uneven-wide gap prevented the plate from being pulled up and any obscure spark went unnoticed.
(Sometimes a good whack in the right place works wonders...;-)

Time will tell...

[DaraSue]

Well, so much for its miraculous recovery. On the way to work it blew cold for the first few miles, then crapped out. When I got there I tried tapping on it but nothing happened. Probably a flaky coil?