AC Blowing Warm Air

Tiny
GENXERATION
  • MEMBER
  • 2000 JEEP CHEROKEE
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 89,000 MILES
My AC will only blow warm air (temperature from outside). I have no cold air at all. The compressor is short cycling as if the refrigerant is low but but the R134a pressure is 40 psi on the low side. I have two connections going from the ac compressor through the firewall. One is almost freezing and the other is very warm to the touch. I have checked the fuses and relay for the clutch. I have also check the blender door and motor and found no problems. Any ideas?
Tuesday, June 15th, 2010 AT 10:49 PM

8 Replies

Tiny
RASMATAZ
  • MECHANIC
  • 75,992 POSTS
Sound like it's freezing up,due to air and moisture forming into ice blocking of the orifice tube. or you have a bad expansion block. What is the High side reading?

Heres a guide that will help you figure out whats wrong

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-air-conditioner-not-working-or-is-weak
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Friday, June 18th, 2010 AT 6:22 AM
Tiny
RSHEVLINJR
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  • 2 POSTS
  • 2001 JEEP CHEROKEE
Model:Jeep
Year:2001
Mileage:89,000
Engine Size: In Line 6

Hello,
For about 2 years I've had a A/C problem. I have been told it is in need of a evaporator but rather than going and getting one I want to make sure this is the problem.

Here is what is happening. The compressor kicks on and off like it should but the air that comes out isn't nice a cold it cool but not cold. The car almost seems to get cooler when I am driving over 30 it doesn't make sence.
Please help me out and feel free to ask me anything as I really want to get this fixed.
Thank you
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Monday, May 20th, 2019 AT 1:30 PM (Merged)
Tiny
RSHEVLINJR
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Monday, May 20th, 2019 AT 1:30 PM (Merged)
Tiny
IMPALA94
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  • 4 POSTS
I am not expert by any means, but the last time I saw that happen, all that was wrong was the system was low on freon. It is causing the head pressure in the system to get to high and it kicks off to prevent damage to the compressor. You might just try, if it is the new style refrigerant, to go buy one of the recharge kits and put some freon in it and see if that helps. It will tell you one thing, if there is any holes in the system as well, cause it will stop making cold air as the new refrigerant leaks off. Not the most ozone friendly option either if there is a leak.

The other thing you could do is take it to at least 2 other mechanics and see if you get the same response. I have found that auto mechanics love AC because most people dont wanna live without so they will pay for almost anything they are told to get it to work.
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Monday, May 20th, 2019 AT 1:30 PM (Merged)
Tiny
JEEPSTER01
  • MEMBER
  • 12 POSTS
I had the same problem and it was because it was low so I just topped it off and it's fine now.
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Monday, May 20th, 2019 AT 1:30 PM (Merged)
Tiny
MERLIN2021
  • MECHANIC
  • 17,250 POSTS
A 2001 should not have leaks, but if you have a manifold gauge ste hook it up. Readings should be
65Degrees=25-35 psi low side 135-155 psi high side.
If your compressor stays running, clutch engaged, the freon charge is OK if not and it cycles frequently, it's low. If the charge is good a reason for poor performance until 30 mph is the condenser is clogged. The condenser is in front of your radiator and dissipates heat from the A/C system!
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Monday, May 20th, 2019 AT 1:30 PM (Merged)
Tiny
BIGBUCKBASS
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 2001 JEEP CHEROKEE
  • 6 CYL
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 90,000 MILES
A/C runs for about 20-30 mins. Then feels like just the fan takes over. Has new high pressure switch, coolant checks fine, new belt, new heater core, radiator has been flushed, cooling fan working fine. Checked all fuses and sensors. What's next?Compresser?Clutch?The clutch runs for that first 20-30 minutes then stops running. But is something telling it to stop?I stumped.
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Monday, May 20th, 2019 AT 1:30 PM (Merged)
Tiny
RASMATAZ
  • MECHANIC
  • 75,992 POSTS
AIR CONDITIONER PROBLEM: INTERMITTENT COOLING

An A/C system that blows cold air for awhile then warm air is probably freezing up. This can be caused by air and moisture in the system that allows ice to form and block the orifice tube.

Evacuating the system with a vacuum pump will purge it of unwanted air and moisture. Evacuation should be done with a vacuum pump that is capable of achieving and holding a high vacuum (29 inches) for at least 30 to 45 minutes.

For best performance, an A/C system should contain less than 2% air by weight. For every 1% increase in the amount of air that displaces refrigerant in the system, there will be a corresponding drop of about one degree in cooling performance. More than 6% air can cause a very noticeable drop in cooling performance, and possibly cause evaporator freeze-up.

Air can get inside a system through leaks, by not evacuating the system prior to recharging it, and/or by recharging the system with refrigerant that is contaminated with air. Recovery equipment can suck air into the recycling tank if an A/C system contains air or if the system has a leak. For this reason, the refrigerant recovery tank on recycling equipment must be checked and purged daily. On some equipment, this is done automatically. But on equipment that lacks an automatic purge cycle, tank pressure and temperature has to be measured and compared to a static pressure reference chart.

Some refrigerant identifier equipment can detect air in the system as well as other contaminants. An identifier should be used to check the refrigerant before the system is serviced to prevent cross-contamination of recovery and recycling equipment.

Possible causes of intermittent cooling in a manual A/C system that might be caused by an electrical problem include:

Faulty low pressure cutout switch. This switch prevents the compressor from running if the refrigerant level is low. If the cutout switch is not reading correctly, it can prevent the compressor from coming on.

Faulty compressor clutch. The magnetic clutch on the compressor requires full battery voltage to engage. If the voltage to the clutch is low, or the clutch coils have too much resistance, or the air gap in the clutch is too great, the clutch may not engage to drive the compressor.

Faulty compressor clutch relay. Check to see if the relay is receiving voltage when the A/C is turned on. Also check the relay wiring and ground connections. If bypassing the relay with a jumper wire or routing battery voltage directly to the compressor clutch makes the A/C work, the relay is probably bad.

Faulty A/C control switch. The switch may be worn and not making good contact when it is turned on.

Some possible causes of intermittent cooling (or no cooling) on automatic A/C systems include all of the above, plus:

A problem in the control module or control head (this usually requires using a dealer scan tool to read fault codes and perform self-diagnostics).

A bad temperature sensor (an ambient air temperature sensor, interior air temperature sensor, evaporator temperature sensor, or sunload sensor). Again, a factory scan tool is usually required to perform diagnostics on the system.
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Monday, May 20th, 2019 AT 1:30 PM (Merged)

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