hello hope somebody can help me? wife comes home says ac not working. i take alook , compresser not running. check fuses, find 30 amp fuse for cooling fan#2 blown. check fan won't turn by hand. replace fan with a new fan, replace blown fuse, check other fuses all good. still compresser won't run ckeck low side pressure about 125 lbs. any ideas what to check next? thanks for any help....steve

 

low side pressure 125? YIKES that is high. Sounds like either the system is overcharged or there is something else going on that is causing the low side static pressure buildup.

I BELIEVE the hi pressure cutoff switch is located in the low pressure line to protect the system from trying to operate under excessive pressure that would damage the compressor. This switch has likely been triggered and will inhibit the compressor clutch from engaging.

If the system was working one day and not the next, I'd be inclined to think there is trouble brewing somewhere else in the system---just a SWAG

I also think the fan seizing up was unrelated --- **** happens.

 

I thought if compresser not running low side and high side pressure would be about the same? I don't have power to the condenser fan, i think that is part of the problem. i'm going to back probe the fan plug with 12 volts tonite after work to see what happens. thanks for your input. btw the system has never been charged in the 4 years we've owned it. the ac worked flawless before this. thanks for your help......steve

 

agreed without compressor running they'd be about the same - I'm just thinking the static pressure should be a bit lower. BTW I don't know the pressure at which the hi pressure switch would trigger.

 

Steve stop in the new member area and introduce yourself then open the USER CP to add your first name, location, and car to your "signature".

 

Just a thought, but if your cooling fan/condenser fan wasn't working then the discharge pressure would continue to climb until the hi pressure cut out switch was triggered. You might be seeing the hi static pressure due to the compressor shutting off during this event.


I agree with you. If the a/c worked fine and then came in not working, and you found that the cooling fan was bad, I would assume the cooling fan caused the issue. Reset the hi pressure cut out and then see if the a/c compressor comes on.

 

thanks for your reply rob. where can i find this high presure cutout switch and how is it reset? thanks for any help, wife is on my back!!!!...steve

 

Ok, first off, I am not familliar with the saturn L cars at all. That being said, I am an a/c technician in the Air Force and I have been doing that for the last 15 years. Now, I don't know for certain if your car even has a high pressure cut out switch, I just suggested that because you said the condenser fan wasn't working, and the a/c quit at the same time.

All that said, if there is a high pressure switch, it will be between the compressor and the condenser on the high pressure side. The switches I have seen have a little button on the top that you manually depress to reset them. Another way to diagnose switches is to jump them by unplugging them and using a paper clip or a small wire.

Good luck

 

hey guys, did more checking, found the compresser clutch windings open. ordered a new clutch from rock auto. thanks for your help....steve