JK yeti

Ok so my AC no longer blows cold or even cool air. I did notice that I don't hear the usual clunk of the compressor or condenser when I turn the switch on, so I'm thinking that's a problem. And there is also a squeal/squeak when I'm in park and I turn the AC on. Any suggestions?
What should I check?

JeepaRoo

sounds like either the compressor clutch has gone bad.. or the compressor itself has locked up..

WITH THE JEEP ENGINE STOPPED AND KEY OFF!!, reach into the engine compartment and see if you can turn the CENTER portion of the compressor by hand..

there is the Outer pulley which turns by the belt.. when you turn on the A/C, the Center portion is magentically engaged to the outer pulley and spins too..

the Outer ring can never be turned by hand as it is connected with the belt.., the Center can be turned by hand when disengaged.. if you cant turn it then the compressor is shot.. as that is the compressor shaft.. it will be somewhat stiff to turn and thats Ok.

you can also WATCH that when you turn on the A/C and see if it engages and spins..
if it squeals loud and doesnt turn by itself when engaged but does turn by hand the compressor clutch could be bad.
if nothing happens at all when you engage the A/C button. (all quiet), you may have lost all your refrigerant or blew a fuse..

-Christopher

JK yeti

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Wow thanks! So I did the test and the clutch(middle portion) is engaging only when I have it on snowflake which I assume is normal.
I can also turn it VERY easily when engine is off.
So what's next? Should I try one of those recharge kits?

JeepaRoo

do any of the A/C pipes get cold when you engage it?
yes it should only engage when snowflake is on or one of the 'defrost' positions on the dial.

if it was cold one day then all the sudden stopped cooling the leak is likely bigger than a recharge kit with stop-leak can seal up.

if over a couple year period of time it slowly got less and less cold you MAY be able to recharge it and have it work for awhile.

bottom line is that ANY A/C that loses it charge, has a leak.. think of it like brake fluid.. the only time you add it is if you spring a leak...

-Christopher

Mountain Man Tim

also with recharge kits you have to be carefull, as you can put too much in and burn out your compressor that way, i didnt learn this the hard way but enough people have that i found out from them!

captainstabbin

I had the same issue and my condenser had a hole in it from a block of ice. Have that checked before you spend any money on a recharge kit. If the condenser is damaged, the Freon will be wasted.

JeepaRoo

over-charging any a/c is more common than most people think.. and it affects the cooling capabilities aLOT..

just like an engine an A/C compressor can be "hydro-locked".. only with refrigerant instead of water..

Over-charging a modern car is easy to do as there is VERY LITTLE tolerance of under vs over charging..

if you Over-charge the system, refrigerant can turn to Liquid BEFORE it reaches the condenser core, which can break the valveplates, hydro-lock the compressor and grenade it or lock it up...

the PROPER way of a recharge is to suck all the existing refrigerant into a tank, fix the leak, and Vacuum all of the air out of the system, then charge in the proper amount of refrigerant by weight...

the older cars were a it more forgiving as they had an 'accumulator'. on ford and GM this was a huge silver canister under the hood that got cold.. if you overcharged the A/C, the excess liquid refrigerant got collected in the accumulator instead of getting sucked into the compressor..

Chrysler uses expansion valves along with compressor cycling in our jeeps to not require the accumulator.. (lowers overall amount of refrigerant required and less parts under the hood.. lower cost)..

you can get 'Decent' A/C by do it yourself stuff.. but having worked on everything from cars to window shakers to inverter compressors all the way up to 400 ton Commercial HVAC systems, I can safely say that all of the "seemingly senseless" procedures are in fact there for a purpose..

just remember regardless.. when working with A/C put your gloves and safety glasses on... always... ive known of more than one person getting serious cold-burns, one lost an eye.. from a bursting hose, a failing valve, a grenading compressor...

-Christopher

JK yeti

Does anything look wrong here? It looks torn up on the edges..

crzyamerican

I'm no A/C Mechanic by any means but to me it looks like maybe your clutch is torn up. It definitely doesn't look right.

JK yeti

Yeah that's what it looks like.. Haha
Can someone take a picture if there's so I can compare. Having trouble finding images on google.
Thanks for the help so far guys!