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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Maintenance and Repair / July 2007A/C clutch frozen..what causes this? how much to repair?
I have a 2000 Mazda Protege and apparently the A/C clutch is frozen. This happened less than a week after a radiator flush at Jiffy Lube and I'm wondering if they did anything that could have caused this. >From what I've been reading this is going to cost at least $1000. Does this seem right? I might have to live without A/C if this is the case. Any info is greatly appreciated. Jen Bennett >I have a 2000 Mazda Protege and apparently the A/C clutch is frozen. > This happened less than a week after a radiator flush at Jiffy Lube > and I'm wondering if they did anything that could have caused this. >>From what I've been reading this is going to cost at least $1000. Does > this seem right? I might have to live without A/C if this is the > case. Any info is greatly appreciated. By "clutch is frozen" do you mean the pulley on the compressor doesn't spin and the belt just slips over it even when the A/C is off? The pulley rides on a ball bearing when the compressor clutch is not engaged and the if the bearing is seized it will act as described above. If this is the case, only the outer clutch needs to be replaced and $1K is way too much. If, however, the compressor is seized and only slips the belt when the A/C is activated, the cost could approach $1K. > By "clutch is frozen" do you mean the pulley on the compressor doesn't spin > and the belt just slips over it even when the A/C is off? [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > If, however, the compressor is seized and only slips the belt when the A/C > is activated, the cost could approach $1K. Thanks John. Unfortunately, I'm a car-idiot. I can tell you that the belt associated with the power steering and the A/C (for reasons I truly don't understand) will break if I turn the A/C on because something on the A/C stops spinning, which I was told was a "clutch". With the A/C off, it works fine. Sorry I can't describe it better. >> By "clutch is frozen" do you mean the pulley on the compressor doesn't >> spin [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > something on the A/C stops spinning, which I was told was a "clutch". > With the A/C off, it works fine. Sorry I can't describe it better. If I understand what you are saying, you have described it pretty well. With the AC off, the clutch is not engaged and there is no load on the system. When you turn it on, the clutch engages but cannot turn the compressor. Sounds like the compressor has seized. You need a professional. You will probably have to replace the compressor. > <jen...@unm.edu> wrote in message > [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > > You need a professional. You will probably have to replace the compressor. Thanks. I'm quite clear that I need a professional. I guess my questions are 1) how/why does this happen? Could it have been from the service at Jiffy Lube? 2) can I actually afford to get this fixed or will I have to live in Albuquerque NM without AC in my car? (A very depressing thought indeed.) >Thanks. I'm quite clear that I need a professional. I guess my >questions are 1) how/why does this happen? Could be running with too low a refrigerant charge, but more likely it was just a cheap compressor and it wore out. >Could it have been from the >service at Jiffy Lube? No. 2) can I actually afford to get this fixed or >will I have to live in Albuquerque NM without AC in my car? (A very >depressing thought indeed.) Ask around, you might be able to get a junkyard compressor. But a lot of the cost of doing the service is labour and refrigerant, so you won't save much (and you might wind up losing a lot in the long run if it fails) going that route. --scott  Signature"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." > Thanks. I'm quite clear that I need a professional. I guess my > questions are 1) how/why does this happen? Could it have been from the > service at Jiffy Lube? 2) can I actually afford to get this fixed or > will I have to live in Albuquerque NM without AC in my car? (A very > depressing thought indeed.) There are a lot of reasons why it can happen. First off, how many miles are on the car, and what is the history of the AC system? Has it ever needed to be recharged with refrigerant? If so, then there is likely a slow leak somewhere which allows both the refrigerant and the compressor's oil to slowly escape. Topping off the refrigerant charge will restore good cooling, but the oil available for the compressor will be depleted further and further until the compressor seizes up from lack of lubrication. Another risk with recharging is overcharging the system, which can result in liquid refrigerant getting drawn into the compressor. Since liquid won't compress, the compressor may break a part (piston, swash plate, and/or valve) when it tries to compress the incompressible. Also, compressors are mechanical systems and sometimes things just *break* due to normal wear and tear, poor manufacturing tolerances, etc. Unless the morons at Jiffy Lube "serviced" the AC, (another issue altogether- NEVER take your car to a quick-lube place if you value it much) then the radiator flush wouldn't have had anything to do with it. Of course given the general level of (in)competence at quick lube stops, you might soon be experiencing radiator problems too :-/ >Thanks John. Unfortunately, I'm a car-idiot. I can tell you that the >belt associated with the power steering and the A/C (for reasons I >truly don't understand) will break if I turn the A/C on because >something on the A/C stops spinning, which I was told was a "clutch". >With the A/C off, it works fine. Sorry I can't describe it better. Your compressor is seized up, so that whenever you turn the air conditioning on, the clutch that connects the compressor to the pulley closes, and the belt is suddenly connected to a stationary pulley that is not moving. $1k to replace the compressor and recharge the system is probably not all that out of line, especially if you have older refrigerant. The other solution is to just take the air conditioning fuse out, so nobody can accidentally turn the AC on, and just drive with the windows open. --scott Signature"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." >>By "clutch is frozen" do you mean the pulley on the compressor doesn't spin >>and the belt just slips over it even when the A/C is off? [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > something on the A/C stops spinning, which I was told was a "clutch". > With the A/C off, it works fine. Sorry I can't describe it better. Ah. In that case I'd say the clutch is working fine. It breaks the belt becuase the compressor itself is locked up, and when the clutch engages the belt can't take the abuse of trying to turn a locked compressor :-( The compressor has apparently disintegrated inside. It is more than simply replacing the compressor as pieces from the compressor have probably been flushed through the system. All this needs to be cleaned out or other components replaced. Take it to a professional AC shop (NOT an auto service shop ) and have them check it out and give you an estimate. >>>By "clutch is frozen" do you mean the pulley on the compressor doesn't >>>spin [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > becuase the compressor itself is locked up, and when the clutch engages > the belt can't take the abuse of trying to turn a locked compressor :-( > The compressor has apparently disintegrated inside. It is more than simply > replacing the compressor as pieces from the compressor have probably been > flushed through the system. All this needs to be cleaned out or other > components replaced. Take it to a professional AC shop (NOT an auto > service shop ) and have them check it out and give you an estimate. Well said, Woody. Some shops take really bad shortcuts to get the car cooling and out of the shop. If he wants to fix this, it needs to be fixed correctly, and that entails more than just bolting on another compressor, pulling a vacuum, and recharging. Call around to your local A/C shops...somebody will offer a checkout & diagnosis for a fixed price, say $25 or so. Maybe take it to 2 shops if you don't like the first answer... Sound like your clutch is OK, it's the compressor that seized. Typically you replace both if the compressor is bad. You won't know if it's $1000 til you have it checked out. --Don Don Byrer KJ5KB Radar Tech & Smilin' Commercial Pilot Guy Glider & CFI wannabe kj5kb-at-hotmail.com "I have slipped the surly bonds of earth; now if I can just land without bending the gear..." "Watch out for those doves...<smack-smack-smack-smack...>" |
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