lexlyf

As anyone experienced problems with their a/c compressor? I've probably been using my a/c more in the past 6 months then I have over the whole time I've owned the car & I think my compressor is seizing up.

If I have the a/c turned on, when I accelerate from a dead stop, I get the most annoying noise from the engine bay & then it goes away after 5 seconds. When I come to a complete stop & start again, the same noise prevails.

Could the a/c unit be on its way out? It's almost as if the the compressor pulley is NOT turning & when I accelerate, the belt is just slipping over the compressor pulley (Hence the noise). Then after a couple seconds the pulley is freed up & the noise stops.

Any advice?

Marken aka "Lexlyf"

blowntire

Hopefully, you just need to replace the serpentine belt.

Is the belt taut and fully nested in all the pulleys? Are there signs of excessive wear or cracking? Does the belt "wobble" with the engine running?

Check the belt tensioner, too. It has marks on it to indicate when the belt has stretched to the point of needing replacement. Or the tensioner itself may be bad.

If none of this helps, then have the compressor checked out. You might just need to have the system evacuated and recharged with fresh oil/refrigerant.

Good luck

FastSC300

My compressor also seized up early this summer, mainly from having low refrigerant in it and not using it over the winter at all. Mine also made some noise when I would first turn it on, I was told (from technician) that it's making noise because the refrigerant is so low, the car is equiped with a device that will not engage the system when the coolant is at certain low level, which is what happened to mine. Ignoring the problem only made the compressor lock up for good. I was told that some lock up the pulley also and you could throw a belt, but I have not had this problem, my pulley spins freeley all the time. What may be happening is that when you turn on the system, it is locking up the pulley a bit. Which is probably the noise you are hearing. IF I were you I would get it checked out soon, because you just may need to recharged the system(maybe), if you wait, you will be replacing the compressor, which is $800-900, not to mention the rest of the system as well.
However, I just sweat it out in my LEX, hehe

Scot Hail

lexlyf

Thanks guys, I plan on the replacing the belt this afternoon. Mo tells me that we didn't replace the belt, as I had previously thought. Hopefully a changed belt will solve the noise problem.

I'll keep you posted.

On another note....someone from this SC forum asked about the corner lamp diagram that I have which shows the correct wiring scheme for converting the corner lamps to be on constantly with the park lamps. Who was that? 'Cause I will give the diagram to Mo to scan this evening.

Marken aka Lexlyf
CMO, Swift Racing Technologies
www.swiftracing.com

The Ikon

I thought you forgot about The Ikon....

Here's my address... The_Ikon1911@yahoo.com

I hope you get that A/C problem cured it is hot now... Good Luck...

TIA,

Thomas

lexlyf

Ikon, I have the skematic & walking out the door now to go to SRT so Mo can scan. SHould hit your e-mail later tonight!

Marken, aka "Lexlyf"
CMo, Swift Racing Technologies
www.swiftracing.com
"You have every right in the world to be afraid!!!" :eek:

whitediamond

The AC compressor does go out but not often. What is common on these cars however is the harmonic balancer separating. The inner part is rotating against the outer part thus the noise. The sound is exactly like that of a AC Clutch and only comes on when the AC is on because of the load. Do this to make sure. Have somone rev the motor with the AC on. Look at the crankshaft and check to see of the crack pulley moves in/out a little when the motor is reved. The balancer cost me $250.00 and about 6 hours labor. In fact I even replaced the clutch on mine because of this noise and when it did not cure it, that is when I noticed the problem. If you do need a AC clutch in xlnt cond. let me know. I will sell it really cheap.

lexlyf

OK, Mo & I took a closer look & thought the belt was the cause of the noise. We replaced the belt & i didn't experience the noise during my morning drive.

When I drove the car in the afternoon, I heard the return of the squeeking noise. I again inspection the engine pulleys & noticed that the belt tension pulley is off a bit.

What I mean by this is that the way in which the actual belt sits on the tension pulley...looks as if half of the belt is sitting on the tension pulley & half of it is sitting off of the pulley close to the actual motor. Mo tells me that the tension pulley is probably bad.

Earlier today the noise got worse. Instead of happening after accerleration from a dead start (see initial post), the VERY LOUD squeek happens ALL THE TIME & it gets louder as I accelerate. I was able to get the car home & I inspected the engine bay while the motor was running & I could actual see the belt sliding back & forth on the tension pulley. :eek: As I revved the motor from under the hood, I could see that as the belt got closer to the engine bay, the noise occured & when it slid away from the engine, completely back on the pulley, the noise dissapeared.

Although I have never heard of a defective tension pulley, it safe to say that this is the reason for the noise. Does anyone have access to a used tension pulley for the 92 SC300 ?

I guess while its being replaced, Mo suggested to change the timing belt & radiator hoses (The bottom hose has a pin hole) since all that stuff has to come off.

Going fast is fun and all...but it irritates me to pieces when you can't even get your car to run the basics. Should I still replace the A/C compressor too?

Marken, aka Lexlyf

CmputerWiz

Can you shoot me a copy of that schematic? If you do, I'll post it on my website, and send a link so everyone can download it without someone having to e-mail it out everytime.

SR

whitediamond

If your belt is going in and out I would check the crank pulley as described above. The tensioner does not guide the belt, just tensions it. While the belt is going OUT look at the bottom crank pulley to see if it does the same.

Carboxy

Hi,
I have a 93 SC400. How do I know I need to replace the refrigerant? It's gets very cold in my car, but once it seem kinda ambient and that happend only once. Is there a way to check the refigerant level?
R