. . . .....AC Clutch Relay

[~ Timbrwolf]

.....air conditioning does not work in my 97 Blazer...when I turn it on it blows hot air....other day I was watching Tv and they were doing a segment on dishonest car repair places..(they really have such places ? ..   )...anyway...they had a certified mechanic replace the "AC Clutch Relay" with a defective one... which caused it to blow hot air..... the woman then took her Chevy 4x4 around to different places to see what they would say...worst case was a female service manager at a Dealer who told her that her compressor had "blown up"...and it would cost 2,000 dollars to fix....best case was when she took it to a Pep Boys...service manager there told her that she had a bad A/C Clutch Relay and it would be around 90 bucks to replace including labor...but then he went on to tell her that she should...do it herself....it wasnt that hard...and would only cost about 25 bucks...and he told her...just go to an auto parts store and ask for a...A/C Clutch Relay.....so Im wondering if this might be my problem and if I might actually...get off cheep...to fix my A/C .....


...any of you had a problem like this with your vehicle and replaced  this relay ? ..  ???

[Michvalk]

I think you could get an auto parts place to run the codes on your computer and see if something shows up. If you are fairly certain the air conditioner has a proper charge, then, the next logical choice would be the relay. I'm not a tech or anything, but I have always had old cars and have had to deal with crap breaking. Have you ever had the air serviced? Maybe just need a charge up on the freon. If the freon charge gets low the air compressor will not run either. Could check for the compressor running by starting the truck, turn on the air to it's coldest setting, and looking to see if the pump is running. If it is, then the charge is low. If it isn't, could be the relay. Not a learned opinion, just from experience. fwiw

[PAVALKER]

Have you tried to recharge it??  Go to WalMart and get a 20 dollar Recharge can/hose and read the directions on how to recharge.   I usually have to charge mine once a year early in the Spring or it blows hot.  I know I have a leak in the compressor (seen it), and used the freon with sealants to help slow it down.  If I can get away with a can (or even two) a year... that's what I will do.  I have a 2000 S10 ZR2.    If after you recharge it and it still doesn't work....  then check into that relay.

[Mr.BubblesVRCCDS0008]

On your dryer is a small plug, only two wires it is the low suction pressure switch. You can unplug the plug and jump the two wires together with a short wire. If the compressor start to work your just low on charge.

[the inspector]

Timber....1st) you have to verify you still have freeon in the system, a set of A/C gauges will tell you that. 2nd.) if you do have freeon in the system you need enough to close the pressure switch, you could jump it and see if the compressor runs. 3rd.) yes you need to see if the compressor runs. If it does when you jump it and the output air is not cold, then you have a leak and you don't have any freeon in the system. If you have the gauges you can read the pressures. All in all if you get the compressor to run and the air is warm, forget the relay. If you jump the low pressure switch and it's a little cool just add some freeon and it should come on by itself and be cold. You can overfill the system and it won't work for crap (too much freeon is not good) Most leaking A/C systems are related to the condenser in front of the radiator, they take a beating from road debris and spring a leak, only way to fix it is to replace it. So what I'm saying is jump the low pressure switch at the receiver/drier (two wire) close the switch that will send power to the compressor, if it runs and is cold (electrical failure) if it runs warm (leak and no freeon in sys.)
Let me know what happends.

"the inspector"

[~ Timbrwolf]

....Thanks for the feedback everyone. ....I,ll figure it out eventually.. 

[sandy]

Bubbles is right. Here's the home test. Turn key on (engine off). Turn AC on. If you hear a big click, then AC is charged and has a working relay and clutch. My guess is you won't hear the click and you're probably low on refrigerant. In that state, the low pressure switch is holding the clutch out of service to save the compressor from overheating. Compressors rely on cold return gas to cool it.