I apologize in advance for this potentially long post.

Last week my A/C clutch was rattling on & off. Looks loose & got the occasional bearing grind (death growl) noise. Sprayed lube, but didn't do much. Shop said whole compressor needs to be changed for 7- $800.

Saw on the forum others have had luck replacing just the clutch or bearing etc. I always use the a/c so I figure I'd order a new compressor from ebay ($120 + $30 for dryer & oil) and get someone to throw it in for me because it gets used all the time. That was Thursday.

Friday night, returning home from Fenway Park, the enging started skipping/bucking like when a COP goes bad. (the a/c guy said the worst case senario was the bearing fails, clutch locks-up & the belt snaps etc. then I need to be towed)

I happened to look @ the tach & it pegged all the way, every light on the instrument panel lit up, speedometer read zero ( I was going about 60) and a major loss of power and eventually the thing died. BTW, all guages were either pegged or reading zero.

Pulled over to check the belt, figured it gone. Nope - still intact. Waited about 5 minutes, tried to start it up - OK - & made it home.

Now there was a service engine light on ( 1st time since it has been running rough) Had the code pulled. P1299 with the following definition: Cylinder head over temp protection active. The ECM detected an over heat condition & activated Fail Safe Cooling strategy. Poss causes . . . 1) Low coolant (nope) 2) Drive belt off (thought so too, but nope) & 3) Failed cylinder head temp sensor ?? Maybe?? Temperature guage was normal before the event & after.

Did the A/C Compressor clutch partially or momentarily lock-up & the engine thinks the belt snapped & went into the Fail -Safe Cooling mode? Do I have another problem besides the a/c clutch, or should I wait for the compressor to come in the mail & see if the other stuff stops?

Thanks in advance & for reading this long post.

 

wow thats wickid weiad. go soxs!!

 

wow thats wickid weiad. go soxs!!

 

how much is the sensor?

 

*** Follow-Up ***

Ended up taking truck to the dealer. Told him I replaced the plugs, boots & springs and still misses badly. Guages doing some crazy things, etc. but not getting any check engine lights or anything.

Ended up being the number 1 and number 4 coil (going bad, but not a complete failure, yet) and . . they said I needed a computer re-flash.

What's a reflash? Is it like reloading the software? Did it loose its memory or something?

$500 dollars later, it's running great again. Also, a month or so I had the tranny (actually every fluid in the truck) fluid replaced, and didn't really notice a big difference. Now, after the reflash, It shifts smoother than my wife's new Pathfinder.

Question. If I bought one of those programmers, like a superchip type of thing, could I have used that to re-flash the computer?? I'm not sure how thay work , but I thought someone said you buy it, plug it in and it "removes" the vehicle's original program and then you install the towing or performance program etc. If I had say, the towing prog. in there, and it started running rough, could I have removed the towing program & re-installed the original??

Would that have been the same thing as re-flashing??

Thanks,

Billy D

 

[/QUOTE] If I bought one of those programmers, like a superchip type of thing, could I have used that to re-flash the computer?? I'm not sure how thay work , but I thought someone said you buy it, plug it in and it "removes" the vehicle's original program and then you install the towing or performance program etc. If I had say, the towing prog. in there, and it started running rough, could I have removed the towing program & re-installed the original??
Would that have been the same thing as re-flashing??
Thanks,
Billy D[/QUOTE]
A programmer will allow you to change engine timing, tranny shift points, firm tranny shifts up, etc. The programmer doesnt really "remove" the original program, i think it just removes it and stores it in the programmer while you are using the other programs. You can go back to original programs anytime you want.
A programmer would be better for many reasons than a reflash. A programmer will allow you adjust the setting according to what you want, a reflash is basically just a better factory program than the orginal.
Alot of people use a Diablo Predator or a SCT tuner, they allow for the most adjustability and are set-up specifically for your vehicle.