A/C Question

[deknight]

Well I have another "Is this normal" type question. It seems when it rains, it pours. I started using my a/c today and I noticed from the sounds under the hood, that it seemed to kick on then off then on then off about every 10 seconds. Meanwhile it continued to blow cold air with no problem. When I got home, I looked under the hood and I noticed that everytime I manually reved the engine I noticed that the a/c clutch wheel (or whatever the inner wheel that spins on the compresser is called...) would stop spinning and appear to lock up! It will start spinning again if i continue to rev the engine but never in the same intervals, sometimes 5 seconds later, sometimes 3 etc. If I imediately let off the throttle and rev it again it starts to spin again. Is my compressor going bad now also? Or is this normal? Oh yeah the car will also shake a little when the compressor starts back up again. I really notice it when I am at a stop light and the thing is just idling. I never noticed this before. Thanks!

 

[kjpilot]

Completely normal. If it ever stops doing those things, then it's broke.

 

[smitty1938]

It's a Jeep thing. Mine does it also.

 

[the_titan]

Nothing wrong with that. If you had the engine at idle, it was blowing hot air, and the compressor was going on and off after 1-2 second intervals, that would be an issue. Most systems, if not all, have a shutoff built in when your R-134a pressure is low and you will get that. Just add more coolant and it should alleviate the problem.

 

[tjkj2002]

Normal operation(as long as cold air is blowing out),when operating the compressor clutch will cycle on/off to prevent the evaperator from freezing up.At WOT it unlocks the clutch for passing power.

 

[Prospect62]

And what does one do when the compressor does NOT kick on at all? I already tried adding R-134a, pressure was good. Is there a fuse or relay for this thing or are they known for just going bad?