Check Engine Code 33

I have a 1996 XJ with about 82k miles. It's an automatic with air conditioning.

Last winter sometime my check engine light came on and it gave me code 33 (on-off-on-off-on), which is an open or shorted condition detected in the A/C clutch relay circuit.

I disconnected the battery and the light never came back on.

Fast forward to today, with wet wintery weather, my check engine light came on again. I pulled the code, and it gave me code 33, the same as before.

My heater/defroster works fine, I haven't tried the AC, but it probably works fine.

Any ideas on what I should look at first to fix this? Should I run with the heater/AC off until it's fixed?

90Pioneer said:

I haven't tried the AC, but it probably works fine.
Any ideas on what I should look at first to fix this? Should I run with the heater/AC off until it's fixed?

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Try the a/c.

lets go from there.

red91inWA said:

Try the a/c.

lets go from there.

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I just tried the AC, it blows cold and all settings work fine.

I have noticed lately, only on the first startup in the morning, a weird sound that sounds like it's coming around the belt area. Really hard to pin-point as it only lasts for 3 seconds, if that. It's not high pitched, more like a gurgling or a groaning.

Remember that on these things, when you defrost it engages the AC compressor, so I'm guessing that there is a fault in the compressor clutch, perhaps an intermittent one, that is setting off the code. A temporary solution might be to pull one of the leads on the safety switch on the receiver-dryer of the AC. This will be the equivalent of the system thinking refrigerant level is low, and it won't engage the compressor at all. You should then have hot defrost with no AC component, OK in winter, and you can use the heater all you want. Eventually, of course, if you like to use the AC you'll have to figure out what's wrong, but you could go this way indefinitely.

Check your electric cooling fan. I temporarily unplugged mine once while doing some other stuff and it gave me the same code. The fan comes on whenever the ac clutch engages. A fan that's going south can make a groaning noise when it's winding up to speed or winding down also. Mine does sometimes.

Kyung

Hmm interesting thought on the fan going south. I checked the fan clutch awhile ago and it seemed nice and tight.

Both fans work as normal, fan clutch engages with no problems or odd sounds, heater/defroster work, and the AC works.


While driving around tonight at work the check engine light went off. What do you guys make of this?

90Pioneer said:

Hmm interesting thought on the fan going south. I checked the fan clutch awhile ago and it seemed nice and tight. While driving around tonight at work the check engine light went off. What do you guys make of this?

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Not the mechanical fan. I'm talking about the electric cooling fan on the drivers side of the radiator. And the light could have gone out cause the problem is intermittent.

Kyung