AC Problem, Clutch randomly turning off?

So I have been having AC problems for a few years. It would be cold and then will randomly go warm/ambient outside air (even a little warmer them outside air temp). I would put the climate controls to regular vent for 10 - 15 min and then switch back to AC and it will be the way AC should be, cool.
I never had the time nor was it not working when I was in a position to lift the hood and inspect the AC unit until today.

The Jeep was running a little warmer than normal (hot day today) but still below normal. Oil was at 225*f, Transmission at 150-165*f and water temp around 185-200*f. So the motor was running still on the cool side for the 4.0L and the transmission was a little warm (running an external cooler in front of Mech. fan).

The AC clutch just turned off even with the AC on. I checked the low pressure level last summer when having this problem and its fine (with in specs). Do I have a bad clutch system or is there a faulty temp sender somewhere in the AC system that goes bad?

I had it in my drive way at idle and put a water hose to the front grill to cool off the radiator's a little quicker and the AC unit still did not turn on until running regular vents for about 5 min and then switching to AC.

It does not matter if it’s on MAX AC or regular AC. Has anyone else had this problem? Is this a common problem? What should I start looking at to fix this so I have AC during these Hot Utah summers?

-Well the a/c system should cycle 2 to 3 times a minute between 68-90 degrees f, and stay engaged at temps above 90 degrees F.

-the PCM controls the clutch relay and will not energize the clutch if the evaporator temp is to low or if the refrgerant pressure is to low,
the PCM monitors the evaporator temp from a thermistor inside the evaporator housing.

-It sounds like the a/c starts to work fine but then the temp gets to low at the evaporator and shuts off the compressor, then you switch off and the evaporator warms up and works again, this could be possibley caused by a clogged orfice valve causing to low of a pressure drop among other things,

- its hard to say where to check but you really need high side and low side pressure readings (along with what ambiant temp is)

Without pressure and temp readings it will be difficult to troubleshoot the system.

What year? I don't think any have evap temp sensors. You could have evap freeze up. To minimize this, run AC with windows closed, fan on fairy high, and use max AC, which recirculates air within the cab. This uses air that has already been dehumidified so less moisture has to be removed by the evap. Running fan on low with windows partly open (smokers habit) makes freeze up more likely.

Rereading problem though, if clutch is really turning off, this is not evap freeze up. Is the clutch really clicking off, or does it just stop spinning? That is clutch gap adjustment.

I have a 95.

I have the EXACT same issue, I was also getting a nice squeeling noise from belt when I first turned A/C for about 10-30 seconds which would then not return until I turned Jeep off for a while. This has pretty much gone away however.
If I drive for more than 20 mins with the A/C on it stops blowing cold and the fan seems to lose about 70 percent of its power. If I switch to regular air things seem to "thaw" out so to speak and after a couple mins I can switch back to A/C and everything works normal again for a little while. When it works A/C is ice cold.

If the evaporator is icing up due to a clogged condensate drain it might shut off the compressor to allow the evaporator to thaw out. I'd check that.

i had the same problem with mine. it worked then cut out. i was watching it closly and seen the clutch was slipping then let go. so i took the clutch off cleaned off the rust removed one of the shims behind the clutch and works great now. you can try that its free:looney:

jeeperjohn said:

If the evaporator is icing up due to a clogged condensate drain it might shut off the compressor to allow the evaporator to thaw out. I'd check that.

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I don't think late models cherokee's have the drain but thanks for the help.

I am thinking it might be the clutch, do you need a puller to get the pulley off?

jonzer12 said:

I don't think late models cherokee's have the drain but thanks for the help.

I am thinking it might be the clutch, do you need a puller to get the pulley off?

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I believe you do need a clutch removal tool to replace the clutch. A steering wheel puller might work but I don't know. I been lucky enough that I haven't needed to remove my clutch.

bryceyoda said:

i had the same problem with mine. it worked then cut out. i was watching it closly and seen the clutch was slipping then let go. so i took the clutch off cleaned off the rust removed one of the shims behind the clutch and works great now. you can try that its free:looney:

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Did basically the same thing. Found in research there is a shim on the outer part of the clutch and with 90,000 miles, there was enough wear that the tolerance ended up being too much. Removed the shim and A/C has been working fine for the last 10,000 miles. Actually it's the coldest of all 4 of our vehicles.

To get to this shim, you don't need to remove the whole clutch, just the end part (closest to the radiator). I was able to pull the nut off and with a couple thin blade screw drivers, work it off. Saw the shim, removed it (and taped it to the inside of my FSM, JIC) and put it back together. Working great.

nope no puller needed i just cleaned up the surfaces with some sand paper and removed one of the shims and put it back together it was really easy like 20 mins work and no specail tool required.

bryceyoda said:

i had the same problem with mine. it worked then cut out. i was watching it closly and seen the clutch was slipping then let go. so i took the clutch off cleaned off the rust removed one of the shims behind the clutch and works great now. you can try that its free:looney:

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Same here - Remove one washer. Take you 15 mins to do and it will work.