A/C .. and Engine cooling fan mystery

[delbassman]

IÂ’ll try to make this as short as possible Â… but something is up with my Â’03 Turbo that doesnÂ’t make sense. My A/C stopped working today, so I open the hood to check the fuses and relay and they work fine. (I used the brake light relay). What I noticed though, is that there is NO high speed or low speed engine cooling fan relays in the fuse box! The 40 amp fuse is also missing!

Last Oct Â… thanks to help/info from this forum, I thought I had an Auto-stick tranny problem that ended up being motor mounts. I had them repaired at a local lube and tune. It is the first time I ever left the car at a shop and not stayed and watched the work being done. (I met the owner through a friend). I cannot think of any place else that has been under the hood (without me present).

Since I found these missing relays and fuse, I’ve read the owners manual “fuse box” and engine cooling sections … looked at the A/C and engine cooling fan sections of the 2003 PT Cruiser Service Manual Disc I bought online … and read through all of this forum’s A/C posts and I’m still lost. [:I]

My questions are Â… the weather has recently been pretty hot here, (80+ degrees), but I have used the A/C (which has worked), since the repair Â… could the missing relays and fuse cause the problem? AND Â… does anyone know of an honest A/C, (and/or repair shop for future reference), in the South Bay of Southern California? I live in Redondo Beach.

[quicksilverdon]

I'm not sure how to read what you've said - A/C just stopped working, and last you left car alone was October.
Have you used A/C since October? If you have, then your theory is wrong (about relay & fuse being taken).

When you turn on the A/C, the engine fan is supposed to come on - I don't know if it checks that the fan actually comes on.

Obviously, your first step should be to replace what's missing and see what heppens.

[MX-5]

The cooling fan is a variable speed fan, controlled entirely by the PCM. The high & low speed relays have been elliminated.

[delbassman]

Thanks for the info ... the owner's manual looks like that there should be low and high speed relays and a 14A fuse. I did notice that when I pulled the tail light relay (to insert in the A/C relay to see if the A/C relay was bad), the input contacts for the high and low speed relays were not shiny like the tail light contacts. I'll take it to an A/C shop. Anyone know of a good one in the Los Angeles area?

[purple04]

The A/C on my 04 stopped working, so I went to the dealer. Turned out it blew a hose. They did it under warranty, no problems. You may not have that option. Turn on the A/C and see if the clutch operates. If it doesn't, the PCM is seeing something that says don't, or the PCM can't turn it on due to the clutch circuit. Any competent A/C shop should be able to handle it.

[Mo_Posse]

I've got an '02 non-turbo, and the A/C just stopped a few weeks ago. How do you know if the clutch is working or not to test?

Thanks.

[CREWZIN]

quote:Originally posted by Mo_Posse

I've got an '02 non-turbo, and the A/C just stopped a few weeks ago. How do you know if the clutch is working or not to test?

Thanks.

Turn the engine on and you should here the compressor clutch engage when you set the air-conditioning switch to on. If the car is cold, the fan should come on when the air-conditioning comes on no matter what the temperature is. As Purple04 and QSD said, other problems might be in play like being low on R132 gas. If that's the case, the high pressure switch won't let the air-conditioning system work. Most shops will test everything for free.

[Mo_Posse]

quote:Originally posted by CREWZIN

Turn the engine on and you should here the compressor clutch engage when you set the air-conditioning switch to on. If the car is cold, the fan should come on when the air-conditioning comes on no matter what the temperature is. As Purple04 and QSD said, other problems might be in play like being low on R132 gas. If that's the case, the high pressure switch won't let the air-conditioning system work. Most shops will test everything for free.

I checked all fuses and they are okay, I swithched out the relay's and the A/C still does not work. I cannot hear any clutch kick in when I turn the A/C on. Would the next logical step be to just take it in and have a shop test everything?

[CREWZIN]

Yes. Could be as simple as being low on R-132. Either way, they should test it for free.

[bobs turbo pt]

like crewzin said it may just be low on freon let us know what you find good luck