A/C not blowing cold

A/C was definitely working fine on Sunday. Monday was brutally hot. Got off work and my AC was blowing hot air. Now I notice it is pretty much just blowing whatever temperature the air is outside.

Yesterday I noticed a very loud kind of honking sound every once in a while when the AC is on. Sounds like a belt thing and doing some research I am going to guess it it the compressor clutch.

The AC light does not come on as in some of the other AC problem threads I have read. I do not smell any burning rubber.

I am going to take the belt off today and look at it. I have 85000 miles and it hasn’t been replaced yet. Then I am going to take a look at the AC pulley.

I guess what I am asking is if anyone thinks I am right and if I have caught it early enough or if I need to take it in. I am confident I can change out the clutch after watching some videos, but if I have to cleanse the whole AC system I am just going to take it in. The dealer says they can’t see me till next Friday! I want AC now.

 

I can also see some oily residue right here some people are talking about. Am I just leaking freon?

 

When my A/C needed to be charged for the first time (truck was just over 7 years old and had 75K miles), it was blowing ice cold out of the two left vents, cool out of the center right vent, and hot and humid out of the far right vent...

Over a year and two recharges later, the problem was diagnosed as a leaky evaporator core; My truck’s A/C never ceased to function entirely, and I made it through a brutally hot weekend at the Carlisle Truck Nationals with it only blowing cold on one side...

My guess would be that you’ve got a significant freon leak somewhere for it quit working so quickly; As for the A/C light coming on, that sounds more electrical...

My employer has a 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan in its fleet; The thing has almost 120K miles, has already had the transmission replaced, and is in general a total shitbox, but the A/C works great. There is an electrical problem with the HVAC controls that causes the A/C button to almost never light up, but the way you tell if the A/C works is the oldest way in the book; If the air coming out of the vents is cold then the A/C on! I have a feeling that if you recharged the system, the A/C would work fine without the light coming on...

 

Oil=leak. I would guess that its oil from the system. Need to find the leak, fix it, pull a vacuum and charge with correct weight.

Get a set of gauges to rent from autozone or the likes, check the pressure. But first. Is the clutch engages?

 

Pretty sure if your AC light doesn't come on then your compressor isn't engaging at all. If that's the case, it wouldn't matter if the system was full of freon or not; you won't be getting cold because the compressor isn't turning.

I'd recommend turning on the truck and having a friend sit in the driver's seat. Look at the end of the AC compressor and stare at the pulley. Have your friend turn on the AC (blower on the MAX AC setting). You should visually see the AC compressor engage and you'll likely hear it happen too. If not, that's your problem. If you DO see the compressor engage, then you're leaking freon and need to fix and charge the system.

 

Your compressor is about to seize up. That honking sound you hear is the clutch engaging, but the compressor is saying no, so the belt is spinning on a seized pulley. Good luck! I just spent $2k to repair my AC

 

I think this has got to be it. Which is what I already assumed. I took the belt off and played with it today. Hopefully I can just put a new clutch in and it will be ok.

did you try any repairs beforehand or did it just blow up one day? Yesterday was the first time I heard the noise so hopefully I can just not use the AC until I put in the new part and it will be ok.

 

the clutch is engaging. It makes a bad sound sometimes. I noticed the sound yesterday and traced it to when the clutch engages today.

I took off the belt and played with the compressor pulley and clutch by hand. The pulley turns, the clutch seems loose and maybe like there is rubber in there that is falling apart.

 

Hold on a sec....when the clutch engages, does it spin the compressor? Remember, the outside pulley will ALWAYS spin since that belt runs a ton of other stuff on the truck. The question is whether the clutch engaging actually spins the compressor. If it does spin normally, you are out of freon like I stated above. If the compressor does NOT spin, then it's locked up and you're going to need a compressor and clutch (since the clutch will probably burn up).

 

it is spinning but the clutch or compressor pulley is making a bad noise every once in a while

 

OP, I’ll get straight to the point.
Going off the picture you posted, you’re going to need to do advanced AC work.
Unless you are proficient in AC work, TAKE IT TO A PRO.

DIY and Backyard Techs can cost 2x the amount a professional.
Been there, done that, seen it happen, and still watch it happen to this day.

I’m honestly trying to help you here.
I’m not trying insult your mechanical abilities, just trying to save you a lot of work, time, and money.

 

As a HVAC/Chiller Technician I can agree with this. But car AC isn't hard. Worse you will do is slug the compressor and it lockup/grenade itself.

 

I removed the relay and fuse so the clutch and compressor won’t try to spin anymore. I talked to some shops. I can’t get in anywhere for a week.

I already have an appointment at the dealer, but they won’t listen to any of the research I did and refuse to give me any kind of quote beyond removing and replacing the coolant. I know something is going to need to happen with that clutch and compressor.

Another shop I went and talked to quoted me under $800 to replace the whole compressor and clean the system. I am seeing so many people on here talking about like $2000 bills. Do I need to go to the dealer?

Im going to do my best to sit on my hands but I hate paying these astronomical bills

 

If it's under warranty, yes. Dealership. I have changed many car compressors and I don't work at a dealership. Just choose a shop with a good reputation

 

No more warranty. I’ll see what the dealer says they can do for me.

 

I think the dealer charges something like $50 to diagnose? Worst case, go there and get them to diagnose. If you don't like their price for the fix then you have the option of taking it elsewhere and getting prices from them.