after accelerating onto the freeway yesterday, the A/C started to blow hot(it was 113F yesterday), then i noticed an electrical burning smell.. turned the A/C off right away, pulled off the freeway into a parking lot, opened the hood and could smell the electrical burning smell real bad, but i didn't see any smoke or anything burned up.., turned the A/C back on, and first looked at the compressor, the belt pulley was turning fine, but the compressor itself was barely turning..turned off the car, got underneath and turned the compressor by hand, felt normal..i did notice there was oil all over the compressor like the valve cover has been leaking a bit.. it was also all over the compressor pulley, and all over everything around the pulley, like it's been dribbling on the pulley, and the pulling has been throwing it everywhere.. my question is, would the oil on the A/C compressor clutch cause it to fail and burn up? or did the A/C get over pressured, and the compressor locked up?

Edit: forgot to mention, that the oil everywhere is engine oil, not oil from the A/C system.

 

I'd say you nailed it in the title. The engine oil is likely the culprit causing the clutch to slip. I would try some brake clean to remove the oil and clean up the clutch. I would also at least tighten the bolts on the leaking valve cover gasket, or repair it. The 'electrical' smell may just have been the belt slipping and / or the clutch slipping.
tom

 

thanks for the reply, and sorry for the delay(work)..
i got a chance to look at the escape today, the a/c clutch is fried.. the burning smell was the little rubber insulators on the front part of the A/C clutch..they were cooked..and the oil is coming from the power steering pump.. it's been leaking fluid onto the a/c compressor underneath it..looks like the fluid got into the clutch and caused it to slip and get super hot..just as i thought..

i unbolted the compressor, to get a look at the P/S pump, and i can't see where it is leaking from.. it doesn't leave any drops on the ground, so it must leak a very small amount of fluid while the engine is running, or while turning the wheels..when i get the time, i'm going to clean everything with some brake cleaner, pull the p/s pump, replace it, along with the A/C clutch/coil and belt..my only concern is, does the A/C system have to be dis-charged to replace the clutch? or am i looking at an A/C re-do?

 

I repaired and maintained a bunch of machines with electric clutches/brakes. They ran with dirt, grease and oil on them. The armature(plate) would have 1/8" deep wear grooves and run like a naked ape!

The wires inside the coil are filled with tar-like material, if they get hot enough to melt this substance, it'll come out where the wires connect. I've never seen one get that hot from friction, only from electrical issues or changes in resistance causing it to draw too much current.

The clutch is a seperate unit and can be changed without removing the compressor.