Rep Power: 0

Hi all,

I have a 03 Ex sedan and recently I had my timing belt, water pump, drive belts etc. changed from a reputed import specialist mechanic in town.

I never tried using the A/C after the repairs but 2 days back I turned it on while driving at max power and it started cooling for about 5 mins. Then all I got was hot air from the vents. Also the blower alone when in use was making a loud droning noise.

Today the A/C refused to work. The fans are running but I can't hear the compressor kicking in and no cooling. I opened the blower fan below the glove box and removed the junk from there, the blower alone noise has decreased but it is still there. I could not figure out which one is the compressor fuse in the fuse box (the manual doesn't mention anything) but by looking at all the other fuses in there they looked fine to me.

Any suggestions would be of great help since after reading various threads about A/C on this forum I feel I should not just dump in 134a without looking at other causes. I also got the pressure in the system checked by a local A/C repair guy and he said the pressure in the system is fine.

Is it possible the mechanic screwed something in the compressor while changing the A/C belt (although he said it should not be due to that)

 
Rep Power: 202

I would say the most likely is that he unhooked the compressor clutch wire. Open the hood and take a looksee. Probably something simple. Being a mechanic, I hate that shadetrees have given us good guys a bad name. Most of us really are honest hard working guys, we aren't out to put it in anyone! Take it to the guy and get a look at, tell him not to fix it if its gonna cost anything. Don't insinuate that he screwed it up, that pisses me off, bet it would him too. Just nicely ask him to see if he may have left something unhooked or something routine, it doesn't mean he is a bad guy.

 
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@ Johndeerebones - On the contrary I trust him a lot since he is the best guy in town for imports, so he would be the last person I would doubt. I will take the car to him and and get his opinion, I will not **** him off for sure . It is highly unlikely that he left something unplugged since the A/C was working for 5 mins just two days back.

 
Rep Power: 202

Didn't read that it did work, sorry. Let us know what he finds...

 
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Is the compressor clutch spinning?

 
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Update: Problem fixed finally

So after changing the thermal protector sensor nothing happened. I took a volt meter and checked all the electrical troubleshooting for the A/C circuit and everything was fine (compressor coil resistance which I thought of as the culprit also seemed fine). So I had to agree that it was the compressor. Got a used compressor and my mechanic took the A/C clutch out of it and put it on my old compressor, same thing happened. No cooling after 5 mins.

Then he saw that the clutch was not being pulled tightly when system built up pressure. He re-shimmed the clutch (took out one shim I guess) and since then it has been working fine.

If had had tested the clearance of the clutch with a feeler gauge when hot before I took it to him, I might have saved some money in not having to buy the other used compressor.

But in any case he got the problem fixed at least for this summer, so kudos to him and it didn't cost me a fortune.