A/c proplem
Thread Starter
JK Newbie
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
From: Panama city
A/c proplem
Hello guys I've been lurking for awhile and finally joined. So I have a huge issue that no one can figure out.... So far. Hopefully y'all can help.
so I have a 2008 unlimited 4 door. The a/c is fully charged with no leaks ( checked by two shops) after paying 65$ for checking each time. When using the a/c the orange light will come on indicating that the compressor is turning which in fact it is. Sometimes it will blow cold and sometimes it won't. This is sitting still or moving it doesn't make a difference. Sometimes the light will go off by itself and have to manually turn it on to get the compressor to kick on. The blower motor always stays running when clutch is engage or not. So my problem is both shops can't figure out what is cause this as sometimes it will work and sometimes it won't. Please help.
so I have a 2008 unlimited 4 door. The a/c is fully charged with no leaks ( checked by two shops) after paying 65$ for checking each time. When using the a/c the orange light will come on indicating that the compressor is turning which in fact it is. Sometimes it will blow cold and sometimes it won't. This is sitting still or moving it doesn't make a difference. Sometimes the light will go off by itself and have to manually turn it on to get the compressor to kick on. The blower motor always stays running when clutch is engage or not. So my problem is both shops can't figure out what is cause this as sometimes it will work and sometimes it won't. Please help.
JK Jedi
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 4,468
Likes: 221
From: SE Michigan
Here's a few things I could think of......
1. Clogged Cabin Air Filter, needs to be replaced. I believe Cabin Air filters weren't available until 2011 so since you have a 2008, I'm unsure if it has a Cabin Air filter or not. It's located behind the glove box.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I_ELvSjuaQ 2. Blend door gear stop is stripped/broken. This is a common problem, and it's a major pain to fix from what I've seen. It requires you to essentially remove your entire dash to get to a plastic gear to be able to replace it. The blower will run, but the flaps in front of the air ducts doesn't open or opens intermittently because it's a plastic POS gear where it will continue to spin because the stop has worn off. There's some people who have been able to mod and fix it.
See if this looks familiar to what you're seeing. There's a YouTube video of the repair out there somewhere. I watched it and it didn't look like any fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9Crc7muoTM 3. Motor resistor pack needs to be replaced.
1 & 3 are easy repairs, but yours is kind of sounding like #2. Hopefully, someone else who experienced this and fixed it can chime in with more info.
1. Clogged Cabin Air Filter, needs to be replaced. I believe Cabin Air filters weren't available until 2011 so since you have a 2008, I'm unsure if it has a Cabin Air filter or not. It's located behind the glove box.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I_ELvSjuaQ 2. Blend door gear stop is stripped/broken. This is a common problem, and it's a major pain to fix from what I've seen. It requires you to essentially remove your entire dash to get to a plastic gear to be able to replace it. The blower will run, but the flaps in front of the air ducts doesn't open or opens intermittently because it's a plastic POS gear where it will continue to spin because the stop has worn off. There's some people who have been able to mod and fix it.
See if this looks familiar to what you're seeing. There's a YouTube video of the repair out there somewhere. I watched it and it didn't look like any fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9Crc7muoTM 3. Motor resistor pack needs to be replaced.
1 & 3 are easy repairs, but yours is kind of sounding like #2. Hopefully, someone else who experienced this and fixed it can chime in with more info.
Last edited by Rednroll; Apr 4, 2016 at 07:37 PM.
JK Junkie
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 2,199
Likes: 218
From: Over the hill
Good ideas above, here's another thought...
The orange light doesn't indicate whether the compressor is turning (clutch engaged), it just means the A/C mode is selected. Don't have access to the manual at the moment, but there's several things that stop/stop the compressor automatically. It might be working normally, but different than expected?
Compared to one of my older pick-ups, the JK's A/C doesn't blow as cold and the compressor starts/stops more -- especially when it's only slightly warm outside. When it's really hot, the JK stays just as comfortable as the truck, and I actually like the JK's A/C better because on the truck I have to blend in heat sometimes, plus it dries my eyes out more.
EDIT
Just re-read your first post and I initially missed a key symptom: The orange A/C lamp turned itself off. Maybe it's a bad switch or connection to the switch, or perhaps there is something in the PCM that is turning the A/C off because of a fault condition.
Hello guys I've been lurking for awhile and finally joined. So I have a huge issue that no one can figure out.... So far. Hopefully y'all can help.
so I have a 2008 unlimited 4 door. The a/c is fully charged with no leaks ( checked by two shops) after paying 65$ for checking each time. When using the a/c the orange light will come on indicating that the compressor is turning which in fact it is. Sometimes it will blow cold and sometimes it won't. This is sitting still or moving it doesn't make a difference. Sometimes the light will go off by itself and have to manually turn it on to get the compressor to kick on. The blower motor always stays running when clutch is engage or not. So my problem is both shops can't figure out what is cause this as sometimes it will work and sometimes it won't. Please help.
so I have a 2008 unlimited 4 door. The a/c is fully charged with no leaks ( checked by two shops) after paying 65$ for checking each time. When using the a/c the orange light will come on indicating that the compressor is turning which in fact it is. Sometimes it will blow cold and sometimes it won't. This is sitting still or moving it doesn't make a difference. Sometimes the light will go off by itself and have to manually turn it on to get the compressor to kick on. The blower motor always stays running when clutch is engage or not. So my problem is both shops can't figure out what is cause this as sometimes it will work and sometimes it won't. Please help.
Compared to one of my older pick-ups, the JK's A/C doesn't blow as cold and the compressor starts/stops more -- especially when it's only slightly warm outside. When it's really hot, the JK stays just as comfortable as the truck, and I actually like the JK's A/C better because on the truck I have to blend in heat sometimes, plus it dries my eyes out more.
EDIT
Just re-read your first post and I initially missed a key symptom: The orange A/C lamp turned itself off. Maybe it's a bad switch or connection to the switch, or perhaps there is something in the PCM that is turning the A/C off because of a fault condition.
Last edited by Mr.T; Apr 4, 2016 at 08:15 PM.
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 204
Likes: 0
From: columbia,md
How have the shops checked the charge?
If they did it statically that tells nothing
If the charge looks ok while running and cool but shuts off when hot at idle maybe it's over charged and tripping a high pressure switch ( I think ours are resistance not open/closed) maybe the second fan is not coming on and cooling the condenser. You could have crap floating in the system that causing a blockage and trips the low pressure switch. I think these would cause the light and the system to shut off.
My girl friends crv would would quit cooling in traffic because the a compressor clutch would quit working when it got hot.
If they did it statically that tells nothing
If the charge looks ok while running and cool but shuts off when hot at idle maybe it's over charged and tripping a high pressure switch ( I think ours are resistance not open/closed) maybe the second fan is not coming on and cooling the condenser. You could have crap floating in the system that causing a blockage and trips the low pressure switch. I think these would cause the light and the system to shut off.
My girl friends crv would would quit cooling in traffic because the a compressor clutch would quit working when it got hot.
Thread Starter
JK Newbie
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
From: Panama city
Thanks for the input guys. As stated before the ac works as it should as far as functions. However when the indicator light turns off no more cold air will come out. I can then press the button and turn it back on SOMETIMES. Usually it won't come back unless you press it a bunch of times and then it will only last for 1minute or so... So I took it to a local jeep shop (son of a jeep) and they read a code of b10c1 ( ac switch stuck). I just replaced the TIPM This week to eleminate an issue coming from there. So can anyone help me from here out. The jeep shop said it could be the switch but there leaning more towards a short or more under lining proplem.
please help
please help
Thread Starter
JK Newbie
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
From: Panama city