Aircon compressor device

jimmyw

Does anyone know what this is for on a Ford Visteon aircon compressor.Instead of the power going into the compressor clutch direct, its going through this.Can this item fail?

I initially thought I had no power going to the compressor, until I realized that I needed the engine on,aircon switch/fan on for the power to reach it.No power to the compressor with just the aircon switch on but not the engine on....:o.

I think the clutch is gone on the compressor:rolleyes:.

Sorry the pic is c**p, but access is difficult.Its got the two wires to it and its covered by a plate held in by one bolt.

jimmyw

here is a better pic of the said item, (albeit not actually mine) it is on the right hand side near the bottom (arrowed).

Bejubby

Does the aircon work?

jimmyw

No it doesn't work.There is power at the connector plug (only when the engine is running), but I am wondering if this device could be blocking the power from reaching the clutch?Some compressors don't have this device at all.

It looks like a pig to remove the clutch plate and pulley and electromagnet in situ as there does not look to be enough space between it and the body.I would prefer to not remove the entire compressor if I can avoid it.

ford jedi

before you start gettin too deeep,, is there any gas in it as the air con pump wont come on if its low in gas??

jimmyw

No there was gas in the system.Doesn't the low pressure switch not allow power into the clutch if there is not enough gas in the system? Anyway, it was found that the little device (still don't know what its for) I asked about in my OP was not actually allowing the power into the clutch, so it was bypassed temporary and then the clutch kicked in.

It then kicked in/out very often so thats not right.The entire system was evacuated and tried to be refilled but the comp does not appear to be drawing in any gas.So that points to a bad compressor?

jayok

Is this a pressure sensor? Used to detect locally if the pressure gets too high it will disengage the clutch? Not familiar with the Ford types but on the Honda ones there a sensor locally in-case too much pressure builds in the system. Once triggered it prevents the clutch from engaging and has to be replaced (the sensor)

<edit> this is in addition to the other pressure sensors, just in case a relay sticks elsewhere - you don't want a over pressurized A/C system.

jimmyw

Ok thanks, that sounds right because this sensor was bypassed and the clutch worked, but not right. It kicked in and out fairly rapidly. When it was tried to refill the system, the compressor would not draw in the gas, so it was assumed that the compressor was faulty. A different compressor is installed, and refilled and its working fine so far.


If you changed this switch alone, which does not look like that it could be,would it work as normal?

By the way, I have a spare Honda civic compressor and indeed it does have this switch aswell.

jayok

jimmyw wrote: »

If you changed this switch alone, which does not look like that it could be,would it work as normal?

By the way, I have a spare Honda civic compressor and indeed it does have this switch aswell.

If its the same as Honda, once this sensor trips, it means something serious has gone wrong, so normally the compressor is replaced (so the seals, etc are all new again). I'm sure it's the same with the Ford.