Lost our A/C in our o4 explorer. It seemed to work all winter but now-- . Sent it to a fix-it shop but no luck. They can't seem to find it. Charge is OK. Computer (##$$%^ them), says the computer isn't telling the compressor to turn on.

Now what? Sounds like a wire somewhere. Any thoughts?

Wayne

 

Take it to a shop that knows what they are doing.

There are only a few things involved. Firstly the system has a hush side and low side pressure switch that makes so the system stays within the allowable limits. Too little pressure and it cuts off, too much and it cuts off. Next, you are probably gonna have a relay that engages the AC clutch. I can't say for 100% on a 2004, some vehicles have a variable clutch, so the relay may not have a simple relay, and those setups might be a little more complex, but I don't think a 2004 is that complicated. Somewhere there will be a fuse that will protect the system. Its really not that complicated, and any competent mechanic should be able to diagnose it, so the fact that they can't tell you anything useful means, don't ever take any more work to the shop, or at the very least, I would be hesitant to.

A good technician would test to see if the system will run by jumping the compressor, forcing it on. If it runs, then the issue is either the above mentioned relay, or one of the pressure switches. He can jumper each pressure switch to see if the AC comes to life. If it does, then either the pressures are out of limit, or the switch is bad. If the switches and relay are fine, then either the climate control module (if you have climate control) is having and issue, or if you have manual AC, the switch on the dash may be bad.

 

Along the lines of what KhanTyranitar said, I've "fixed" the air conditioning on two different Fords by disconnecting and re-connecting electrical connectors on one of the pressure switches in the system. I would have disconnected and re-connected every electrical connector in the system, but the pressure switch connector fixed the problem. Corrosion builds up on connectors over time and relative motion helps clean some of that off. Also, when experiencing electrical issues (especially anything that involves microprocessor control), I clean related grounds. Wiring/connectors/grounds are frequently overlooked and problems with them can be hard to find.

 

It does have climate control. The ambient temp has been funky for a year or more but everything else seemed to work okay until now. You are probably right about taking it elsewhere. These guys seem to be at the end of their rope and say they need to call in a tech???. I'm going to bring it home and say a few words over it and look around. Thanks for the info.

 

Well ---- went back to fix-it shop to get that thing out of there. They said they had to check with a tech (Ford?) to see if it is the module or a wire. Ahhhh ??? 2 days and they don't know yet?? Anyway we drove it home and the a/c seems to come on now, although it doesn't seem to be as cold as it should be at full blast. The compressor wasn't kicking on at all before but now it does --- so far. There is a light that comes on to indicate a/c when you set it to automatic which comes on now and wouldn't before. Also the ambient temp indicator seems to work now. Not sure what they did but so far there is no charge for their work.

I wonder if all it needs is to be re-charged but can't imagine they didn't do that.

Any thoughts?

 

If they recharged the A/C system, there would have been a bill for you. I can't imagine they'd do that for no fee.

-Rod

 

Yeah, me too. They said they would call next week and tell us if we need a new module or it is just a wire ??. I don't know what they did but it seems to work pretty good for now. No bill yet. From what I could tell from the paperwork which was left on the front seat (I think by mistake) they were working with Ford on this one. They did something that seems to help for now but I don't think even they know this. Weird. --- No bill yet and we have the vehicle.

It seems like the A/C isn't putting out the cold like we think it should but the temps are in the 90's her right now. Once it cooled off a little it was keeping up just fine.

I wonder if they just checked the level and it showed ok but a little more would ice it up a bit more.

 

they probably pulled a few wires off and pushed them back on.. one had corrosion and is now making contact... you cant "check the level" .... you need to connect a pressure gauge and see what the output is when running. if the pressure is a little low or clutch cuts in and out too often, you add a little gas. Sounds like your close right now.

 

Yup. Looks that way. All good for now. Thanks all of you. Good info.