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A/C stops blowing cold air

S

Slave2theXJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Montreal Quebec Canada
Hi,

I own a 2001 cherokee sport, the a/c stops blowing air from time to time, almost randomly, I thought it was only when it was super hot outside, but I rigged the aux fan to be on all the time while driving and it did not make a difference, the a/c still shut off.

The whole system was checked last year, pressure and leak tested. The truck sat at the bodyshop for 4 months getting all the rust fixed, only noticed the ac problem after picking up the truck.

Used the search, no luck. Checked online for similar problems, and solutions ranged from low pressure cyclic switch, to low pressure. But if my freon went low, wouldn't it not turn on at all?

Hope someone can help, it's getting hot here in montreal.
 
The first thing I would do is pull a shim out of the AC compressor clutch.

Take the fan shroud off the mechanical fan. It may be easier to remove the mechanical fan as well, just to have more room.

Remove the center bolt for the clutch and use two flat screwdrivers on each side to wiggle the clutch out.

The clutch sits on a splined shaft. Once you get it off, you'll find up to 3 thin washers that shim the clutch out. Remove one.

When reinstalling the clutch, note that the shaft has one spline that's larger than the others that need to be lined up correctly.
 
I had a bad low pressure switch, it was causing things to freeze and once it froze it would stop blowing cold air. I noticed a big puddle of water from the melting ice after running the A/C and then parking in my garage. I got a new switch from the dealer and it solved my problem. It took 2 seconds to swap out and was cheap from the dealer.
 
Kevin108 said:
The first thing I would do is pull a shim out of the AC compressor clutch.

Take the fan shroud off the mechanical fan. It may be easier to remove the mechanical fan as well, just to have more room.

Remove the center bolt for the clutch and use two flat screwdrivers on each side to wiggle the clutch out.

The clutch sits on a splined shaft. Once you get it off, you'll find up to 3 thin washers that shim the clutch out. Remove one.

When reinstalling the clutch, note that the shaft has one spline that's larger than the others that need to be lined up correctly.
Click to expand...

What does removing 1 shim achieve?
 
iwannadie said:
I had a bad low pressure switch, it was causing things to freeze and once it froze it would stop blowing cold air. I noticed a big puddle of water from the melting ice after running the A/C and then parking in my garage. I got a new switch from the dealer and it solved my problem. It took 2 seconds to swap out and was cheap from the dealer.
Click to expand...

After reading and re-reading the service manual, it does sound like the low pressure switch, except I don't get puddles in my passenger side floor like you would expect from a frozen evaporator. but I'll go to the stealership tomorrow and price a switch, can I get a jobber piece or should I stick to oem?
 
Had mine in the shop about 3 times last summer because it would randomly stop blowing cold after I ran it for a while. Each time that shop told me it was working fine and never cut out and each time it would die the day I picked it up. I could tell the compressor was disengaging and told the shop that but it didn't help.

Found the shim reference here, pulled one out (the only one that was in there) and the compressor hasn't cut out since....although it is starting to blow warm again.
 
I was blowing warm prior to my suction line breaking open and leaking crap everywhere. After this expensive fix of $ 774.00, which should have been way cheaper it works great. 52 degrees actually is temp test from vent, awesome. They changed the Dryer, Condenser and the obvious part, the suction line, and now it is great. That dryer goes for $ 24.00 or so online, and the suction line is at most $ 45.00. The Condenser runs around $ 185.00 for a good one. Going cheap on this kinda stuff will result in headaches surely. Out here in NYC, it's $ 169.00 to evacuate and recharge a system . So depending on where you are located, you're more then likely less then NYC pricing. $ 250.00 for parts, $ 591.00 labor for this job, seriously got reamed here. Buy online and take to a mechanic, I failed to do that this time, and screwed myself I guess ya could say, hope any of this jibberish helps out, have a great day.
 
Last edited:
91XJRubicXD said:
They did a really nice job on your rig, gratz
Click to expand...

Thanks 91XJRubicXD, I removed the clutch assembly yesterday and took out the one shim that was there, and also found out that the clutch assembly was half rusted. I cleaned up most of the rust without thinning out the clutch anymore than it already is, I tested the ac after and it seems to be working fine, cycling in and out, Woohoo!!!, but I am shopping for a replacement clutch assembly.


Thanks to all that pitched in their ideas, especially Kevin 108, good call !!! I hope this helps other xj owners out there:sunshine:
 
Last edited:
Glad it worked for you! I had to do this on mine when I first got it. Actually, I replaced some other stuff $$$ first before I removed the last shim for free. DOH!

And welcome to the frustrating and expensive though frequently rewarding world of XJ ownership.
 
Kevin108 said:
Glad it worked for you! I had to do this on mine when I first got it. Actually, I replaced some other stuff $$$ first before I removed the last shim for free. DOH!

And welcome to the frustrating and expensive though frequently rewarding world of XJ ownership.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I understand the frustrating part especially everytime my gauges suddenly die, even after I changed out the molex connector behind the cluster. lol but I love it, especially after a giant snowstorm up here in montreal.

I just saving up for a winch now and a roof rack, oh yeah and a lift kit, hahaha it never ends, ( I also own a vw rabbit that's been rebuilt modified etc from the ground up.
 
My gauges go out once ir twice a year as well. The second time I had to remove the dash, I took a Dremel and removed the collar that goes around the steering column and enlarged the hole for the headlight plunger. It's super easy now.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
 
My A/C seems to run longer when it's cooler outside and doesn't run as long as when it's hot outside. It usually runs for no more than 5-10 minuets and stops blowing cold air. I turn off the A/C for about 10 min and turn it back on and it blows cold air again. The A/C repeats this cycle over and over. Does my symptoms still sound like what you guys are talking about?
 
thebrick said:
So, when it is blowing warm air...does the AC clutch stop cycling...is it disengaged? If so, then maybe.
Click to expand...

I wasn't sure so I went outside and started the Jeep and ran it for 15 minutes. The A/C kept cooling, so I drove it. After 8-10 minutes of driving, the A/C finally started blowing vent-like air. I popped the hood and sure enough, the clutch had stopped cycling. I live at 7,000 feet and it was 69 degrees and cloudy while I was doing this. Like I said, it takes longer for the A/C to stop cycling on cooler days versus warm days. Any thoughts?
 
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