Intermittently my A/C will stop cooling. Today it did it in the driveway. I popped the hood to find the clutch not turning. Got my test light and found power was present on the lighter colored wire (couldn't tell the color)at the two wire harness on the compressor. Is it the clutch?

 

I would start w/ checking the gap on the clutch.

Here is a pretty good write on doing it.



Can you engage the clutch (key "on" a/c "on", engine off) by tapping the clutch towards the compressor?

 

Not sure, I'll check it out though. I need my A/C to WORK! I'm in SC and the heat and humidity is a killer right now! Thanks for posting the link!

David

 

check the plug on the passenger side, has a grey top to it. Mine gets loose over time and if i wiggle it the clutch will engage. i have to bend the prongs so it makes a tight connection, seen this on several trucks. check the simple stuff first.

 

Thanks N20, I'll start there.

David

 

Checked the wire harness, all was ok there. Following the instructions in the link that 12ozd posted and found the air gap was more than 2-1/2 times what it should be. Pulled the clutch and found one spacer. Filed it down to the thickness needed and reinstalled. Air gap was now in tolerance. Engages every time now. As far as I now, problem solved!

Thanks for the help and thanks for the link 12ozd!

David

 

I believe we'll be seeing a lot of this kind of thing this summer. The rigs are just about coming to the right age for it to happen.

Pop

 

Thanks Pop, I appreciate the article and the help. It was well written and easy to follow. Thanks, David

 

Glad I could be of help, Dave.

One of these days I'm going to get around to adding a section on replacing the entire clutch with a new one. It requires unplugging the coil connector, and removing a snap ring.

All-in-all, pretty simple stuff, but it can be intimidating if you haven't "been there before".

Glad you got-'er-done, and all's well again.

Pop

 

No problem, glad that got you back on track, reps to Pop for the info...I'm just the mailman..