I am having trouble with my Air conditioning system in my car. Every time I turn on my A/C the car begins to shake and struggle to maintain on. In some cases it will even shut off as soon as I turn on the A/C.
I replaced my battery and alternator but problem persists.
I need advice on what could be causing this. PLease Help.
By the way this is on a 1990 240sx with a KA24e.
thanks for anyhelp.
Summer suxs with no AC!!!!!
Well sounds to me like the compressor is either locked up completly or is about to lock up. My '87 Maxima had the same issue, the previous owner had switched the system from R-12 to R-134 but unfortunatly they didn't get it profesionally flushed before they added the '134, and the oil in R-12 and R-134 do not mix so after time they break each other down and lock up the compressor. Mine got so bad that it would actualy kill the engine if I turned it on with the car idling
First issue is with legality. Legally you need to recover the freon. I think legally shops have to recover freon for free on request, but I'm not certain about that. Aside from legal stuff, the job's not too hard. About as hard as replacing the alternator, maybe a bit easier. You'll want to replace the drier too so your new compressor has a shot at a long life. And get a factory reman...forget the cheap pro-start stuff. Freon is about $2.50/oz from most shops, plus they'll charge you labor for the recharge. I can recharge it for $60 total if you want. I have all the equipment, including a refrigerant identifier that guarantees the purity of both my freon and yours. I'm EPA-certified to do the work. Call around to the local shops and get some quotes. If my offer's reasonable, shoot me an email and we'll set something up on a weekend or something. I'm near LAX.
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ricebike
- Posts: 3381
- Joined: Sat Feb 15, 2003 7:03 pm
- Car: 1989 240sx se 5spd (donated to my brother in law)
2002 Quest
2005 Altima - Location: CNJ
from autozone.com online manual... some other member has it on his website for d/l to your pc...
"Idle-Up Solenoid Valve
See Figure 14
An idle-up solenoid valve is attached to the intake collector to stabilize idle speed when the engine load is heavy because of electrical load, power steering load, etc. An air regulator provides an air bypass when the engine is cold in order to increase idle speed during warm-up (fast idle). A bi-metal, heater and rotary shutter are built into the air regulator. When bi-metal temperature is low, the air bypass port is open. As the engine starts and electric current flows through a heater, the bi-metal begins to rotate the shutter to close off the air bypass port. The air passage remains closed until the engine is stopped and the bi-metal temperature drops. "
...OK... that pic #14 is not exactly rite 4 the 240 SOHC engine... it's attached @ the back of that ECCS intake collector... if someone else has the FSM scanned, you're looking for the FICD (fast idle control device) to test/clean carbon off it...
& maybe it's your compressor clutch ready to seize up d/t oil leaking out... is there a way to check w/out hooking up expensive tools to see how much oil is left in my system? I see a bit of oil on the AC comp. on my car as well, but still blowing nice & cold on my original R12:ylsuper
"Idle-Up Solenoid Valve
See Figure 14
An idle-up solenoid valve is attached to the intake collector to stabilize idle speed when the engine load is heavy because of electrical load, power steering load, etc. An air regulator provides an air bypass when the engine is cold in order to increase idle speed during warm-up (fast idle). A bi-metal, heater and rotary shutter are built into the air regulator. When bi-metal temperature is low, the air bypass port is open. As the engine starts and electric current flows through a heater, the bi-metal begins to rotate the shutter to close off the air bypass port. The air passage remains closed until the engine is stopped and the bi-metal temperature drops. "
...OK... that pic #14 is not exactly rite 4 the 240 SOHC engine... it's attached @ the back of that ECCS intake collector... if someone else has the FSM scanned, you're looking for the FICD (fast idle control device) to test/clean carbon off it...
& maybe it's your compressor clutch ready to seize up d/t oil leaking out... is there a way to check w/out hooking up expensive tools to see how much oil is left in my system? I see a bit of oil on the AC comp. on my car as well, but still blowing nice & cold on my original R12:ylsuper
I had the exact problem in my Explorer. It was the compressor. The truck just felt like it was going to die unless I gave her gas to keep her running.
I'm not sure on 240s, but there should be a power connector on the compressor, try unplugging that so the compressor pulley will spin freely. If your car runs fine after then you know for certain its the compressor
EDIT: I seen above about a person saying to crank up the idle, before i knew what the problem was I cracked up the idle on my suv, kept my foot on the gas a bit to keep her running and i soon realised that your belt can melt pretty quickly by doing this. I stopped because I smelt the burning rubber But this is only if your compressor is shot and you have it still plugged in.
I'm not sure on 240s, but there should be a power connector on the compressor, try unplugging that so the compressor pulley will spin freely. If your car runs fine after then you know for certain its the compressor
EDIT: I seen above about a person saying to crank up the idle, before i knew what the problem was I cracked up the idle on my suv, kept my foot on the gas a bit to keep her running and i soon realised that your belt can melt pretty quickly by doing this. I stopped because I smelt the burning rubber
But this is only if your compressor is shot and you have it still plugged in.