The A/C was non-functional when I bought my 96 months ago, but the recent heat led me to pick up a recharge kit (refrigerant w/ oil) at Walmart. The dealership assured me that's all the car needed being that it sat for a few years on the previous owner's property. 103 degrees and no A/C is hell when you have to peel yourself off your fine leather seats.

Before starting, I pressed the low pressure valve with a screwdriver. There was a slight hiss but the system seemed pretty much empty. A friend claiming he'd done this before prompted me to unplug the low pressure cutoff switch and start the car. We started the car and the compressor's pulley turned freely with control off, but halfway through the recharge with control on MAX I realized the belt was slipping and the pulley glowed red under the front plate while smoke started to appear. No cold air came out of the vents in the car. We plugged the sensor back in and the clutch continued to engage and smoke with no cold air, a new problem. I'm guessing because we've partially filled the system with refrigerant the sensor is engaging the clutch but the compressor isn't allowing it to spin as freely. Is my compressor bad? Seems to be pretty similar to this: AC Compressor Smoke? - CamaroZ28.Com Message Board

H valve? I have no idea...

 

i dont know if we have any refrigeration guys on here. i would take mine to a shop that has a good rep for a/c work. dont like playin with that stuff.

 

I don't know, but I will tell you this: Get it fixed ASAP. When I had my 3.4L, I ran it with the A/C compressor all jacked up. It locked up on me. I was lucky that I had stopped to get something checked at the dealership. It locked up so completely that I had to bypass the compressor by using a smaller belt.

Get that checked out ASAP.


x01660

 

It doesn't affect the way the car drives at all and spins freely when the control is set to off. Now that I've partially filled it with refrigerant the low pressure sensor is allowing the compressor to engage but that's what causes the smoke and red glow. I think it'll be fine if I just keep everything off and unplug the A/C relay for now.

 

Your compressor is locked up. With the clutch engaged, it's trying to turn the compressor over, but the clutch is slipping because the compressor won't budge. That's why your pulley is turning red, and it might be burning your belt up by now as well. A locked up compressor doesn't mean you have a bad clutch. But if the clutch ever goes out and locks up, you'll have the same problem you have now, except you won't be able to switch it off.

 

What would be the cheapest way to go about replacing the compressor and getting the system up and running? To the junkyard?!

 

The problem with that is the fact that when compressors sit without coolant, they get compromised. Moisture can get in there and ruin it. So even though it may run, its only a matter of time before it takes a dump on you. Your best bet is to buy a new one. You can pick up a brand new one from Rock Auto for about $180

RockAuto Parts Catalog

That is gonna be your best bet so you don't have a catastrophic failure.

Good luck and kill Rustanks!!


x01660

 

i 2nd ^

 

I will do this next pay cycle. I guess I'll suffer from heat-stroke until then.

 

best thing is get a new compressor, but also running it half charge will also cause damage. pag oil bonds to freon so its like running your car on low oil.