Yabo

Okay, so i soldered on my new ac switch (praying it works).
The light comes on in the button wheni push it. and the cooling fans in front of the engine go on, (i hear the click of the cooling fan relay).. but the clutch of the compressor doesnt appear to engage (by looking at the ac compressor). Does the engine need to be run any amount of time before the clutch will engage? i had my dad feel the relay for the ac compressor as i hit the button.. and it didn't feel like it was doing antyhing. should i feel soemthing? anyone have any info on how to jump the relay? opened up the relay and nothing looked odd. i'm a bit confused and probably am just going to bring it to a specialist if i cant figure it out soon.


and a quick side question. i got some prestone antifreeze at walmart, that says is safe for aluminum blocks, and says protects aluminum blocks on the bottom. is this safe to use? can't find anything about phosphate or antyhing on the bottles. anyone know?

thanks for the help

Chris_924s

The clutch (AC) should engage right after you hit the switch- The volts should drop.

Antifreeze is a totally different angle- look up the archives. Dont't trust the "safe for aluminum engines" bs.

Yabo

so you think its the relay then? anyone have a good way to jump the relay? or where to test voltages to see if maybe my switch isn't working right? if its activating the cooling fans, i must've done something right?

seb928s

Prestone is what I use it's orange in color and doesn't have phosphate it says what it contains in it and it's not there. I have been running that stuff for 2 years now and it doesn't look like anything wrong with it. Also talked to some shops and they say it's good stuff and will not harm the engine. As for as the AC clutch it will not engage if the level of R12 is low to look at the little watch glass.

Zero10

I use this Prestone Long Life antifreeze. It says right on the front, in big letters, PHOSPHATE AND SILICATE FREE.
It's cool because it's orange =)
It smells like strong rum too, strange.

The ac clutch should come on immediately. I would offer to take some voltmeter readings for you, but I am fairly certain that my a/c button does not work.

josephsc

Have you "jump-started" the A/C compressor to make sure that the clutch engages? You can run a jump-start wire from the positive terminal on the battery to a wire coming out from the A/C compressor. The A/C clutch should engage even if you're low on refrigerant. Check the past post for "exciter wire" and I think there's a picture of it somewhere. If the clutch engage, check the A/C refrigerant pressure (the compressor will refuse to engage if the refrigerant is low -- it prevents you from running the compressor without lubrication).

Mike1982

So when you know that your clutch is GONE, can I replace mine? The shop told me that is what it was. Do I have to recharge or what??.. Where to get one?