Ac has always worked fine but I've done maintenance over the winter so I'm wondering if maybe I'd unplugged something by accident but here all that's I've checked.
the fuses are all fine , I hooked up a gauge to the low pressure side and it still had what I think is full pressure , I can't get an accurate reading because the condenser won't turn on.
also when I turn my ac on it also does t turn on the high fan setting BUT i dont know if that related or not but my fans and opperating Temps are just fine.
is there a groundwgroundwire off the condenser I should look for? I only see one thin wire I belive comes from the magnet/clutch and I was looking at replacements encase that's what's wrong and I see the replacements have 2x wires. 1x goes into the plug for power and the other has a loop for a ground. On my stock compressor I only see one wire into that power wire plug , am I missing something or is this how stock is ?
with that 1x wire that i see going into my compressor, is THAT the wire i can run directly to battery to see it it will power on ? If not how do I jump it to test if it's a bad clutch/magnet or if it's a bad low side sensor ???
any tips and help would be appreciated , summers here and i wanna enjoy my car finally and I don't like driving others around with no ac. Plus I don't mind having it when stuck in traffic either....

 

The Gen 1 AC compressor used a chassis ground to complete the circuit for the clutch activation. Gen 2 Coopers use a much better 2 wire system for turning on the clutch.

Assuming you have enough Freon, you might need to remove the clutch and clean the rust between the clutch and compressor chassis.

How do you know you have enough Freon? It’s measured by weight. Pressure reading can often be a false indicator.

 

By condenser, I assume you mean compressor, right? In most cases it's the clutch coil assembly that's bad if your pressure reading is correct. Coils are a cheap fix.

 

So is the clutch moving in/out?
If no, is the coil getting voltage to engage?
I've had the coil die (i.e. clutch didn't move) and I've had the rubber that ties the clutch to the shaft go bad.
Both are easy and cheap.
Also make sure your high speed fan turns on when the A/C does engage as this also frequently fails. The sequence is A/C on, coil engages clutch, once pressure sensor is good the fan turns on; total of 5-10 sec. Without the fan you will cook the compressor.

 

My compressor doesn't turn on no matter what I try to do..also when my ac is turned on the high-speed fan doesn't kick on either BUT I think it might only come on when the compressor turns on.. is the fan sapose to cone on when I turn my ac on even if the compressor is bad ??? I need some help on how to diagnose this.. I'm not going to just tear it apart n hope it's what's wrong to find out I had a bad low pressure switch only...unfortunately I don't have the luxury of being able to use a belt tool on my car and getting on and off my belt either wrecks a belt or tensioner 100% of the time it's taken off and put back on so I'm going to avoid exploratory fixs...
how do I jump power to the compressor? Yes mine is a 1x wire setup as I have a preface lift 04...

 

1. Does the clutch face move in and out manually?
2. Does the clutch face turn the compressor?
3. Are you see power to the coil when requested? (Multimeter from coil connection wire to ground)
4. At your own risk, jumper out the system pressure sensor. You can also see if this sensor is high/low.
5. You can run 12v to the coil wire to see if it cycles in and out, you will see the gap close between the clutch face and the pulley. Engine doesn’t need to be running for this test.

FYI the high speed fan doesn’t turn on until after the compressor.

 

Jumping in here with same issue, same car.
Can you access the underside of the compressor by taking off the skid plate or must I pull the wheel liner?

 

You can see the compressor from the top with a flashlight and check clutch engagement

You can reach it from the bottom by removing the plastic cover (3 x m10 + 2 x 1/4 turn) to access the wire & further look it over.

To replace the clutch or coil you free up the front half of the wheel liner, very simple.

Sorry I don’t remember where the pressure sensor is….

 

That helps a ton Kgardnez thanks. Either the plastic clip failed and the wire fell off or the clutch went bad. I just needed the quickest way to get to the wire for testing so I can order parts...or not. Thanks again.

 

ModMINI posted a great and easy video tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1A41iHzBiE- if it comes down to having to replace a failed AC clutch coil.
Had to replace mine 5yrs ago.

 

FYI you have to pull the fender liner to test it. Kaitlin and I just finished doing just that. (its toast) The clutch wire comes across at about 1:00 when facing the pulley end so removing the skid plate buys no valuable access. Pretty simple with a test light or power probe.

 

pressure sensor is under the intake box in the low pressure line and no you can't access the condenser with the bottom plate off , I tried ! The cooling fans and stuff is packed too tight in and you'll need to atleast take off the bumper , crash bar and pry back the core support..
but your rite. You can view if the clutch is spinning or not from up top.. you maaaaaaay be able to see a few things better taking off the bottom skidplate but it really doesn't give much more access or view of anything really...

 

thx , ille check it out !

 

When you get to the connector on the compressor you should ohm from the compressor side of the connector (disconnected) to ground on the compressor or chassis ground.

connector to ground should be less than 10 ohms ideally. It can be a little more, but if it’s open or way high either the clutch coil is fused or there is corrosion behind the clutch assy. Ohming to the clutch metal will tell you if it’s the clutch coil or corrosion.

to remove the clutch will take removing the compressor plate and then the snap ring holding on the clutch. Might have to pry off the clutch if there is a lot of corrosion.

 

My compressor wire broke at the point it goes into the compressor - there is a plastic shield. I managed to pop that off, and save it with a crimp - yes, the supercharger and alternator were off - it is tight. It is now attached carefully -

 

Monday laugh. So I'm trying to swap the clutch and the darn bearing pulley is stuck on the nose cone. Wont come off. I see another, smaller C clip and think maybe the whole assembly comes off so I remove it. (dumb) 5 minutes later I hear a loud pop and woosh and see all my freon and oil blowing out the center of the clutch. You see, some genius removed the flipping seal retainer clip instead of the bearing clip and it launched the seal across the garage.
After placing a new compressor in my WMW shopping cart I started looking around, found the seal, cleaned it up, put it back in and assembled the car. no leaks so far.
Pro tip: Dont remove the small ring inside the nose cone.
Pro tip 2: a clutch comes with shims and the clearances on line are bit obtuse. you will be lead to believe it .025" when in reality that's the max side of the range. .012" to .025" I found .0125 to be really good with no drag and good hook up. il check it again hot.