Aircon compressor not engaging
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Joined: Nov 2003
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It is a V8...and of course, I know it is a 351...I fat fingered that one. I can't locate the location of a fuse for the air con clutch...the manual says that there is only one for the 4.2 and I looked, sure enough, there is no fuse there. The system was working fine a couple of weeks ago, it got cool and didn't need air con, now hot again...no clutch engaging. Sigh...I gues I will need to get it into a shop unless someone knows of a "hidden" fuse.
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Joined: Apr 2005
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They haven't made the 351 in a lotta years. You either have a 4.2, a 4.6, or a 5.4.
The usual cause of the clutch not engaging is low refrigerant. You can short the low pressure switch leads if you unplug it from the accumulator. If it engages, you either have a bad low pressure switch or low refrigerant.
The usual cause of the clutch not engaging is low refrigerant. You can short the low pressure switch leads if you unplug it from the accumulator. If it engages, you either have a bad low pressure switch or low refrigerant.
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Any progress? Interestingly, I had to fix my dad's old Crown Vic yesterday. It had the same problem you describe, no AC clutch engagement. I pulled the connector off the accumulator, shorted it, and the compressor came on. So after adding some refrigerant, it's working great. I really think you'll find that's what's wrong with your van.
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Haven't had much time to fool with it. It is my wife's van and now she tells me that the aircon has not been working as well as it normally has been...so I now suspect a shortage of freon. I just hope I don't have a leak...that will be expensive to fix. Freon I can add, leak I punt.
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If it's a 2003, it's R-134a. It's not expensive, they sell it over the counter, and you can put it in yourself. If it's a small leak, I'd keep topping it off every year rather than pay a lot of money to someone. If it's leaking the refrigrant off pretty quickly, then you need to get it fixed before it's empty and draws in contaminants and moisture.
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