Questions and Answers

Ford Mustang A/C Compressor Bad?? Q. Hi, I have a: 1997 Ford Mustang GT 4.6 liter fuel injected V-8 Manual transmission 73,030 miles. P/S, A/C, Cruise control

I'm having trouble with my A/C. When I turn it on I cannot hear the compressor engage. I had it parked most of winter, but once I turned it on by accident and I heard it kick on. After that it hasn't been working. It only blows hot air now. I also noticed that there is something coming out of the vents. It looks like a filter type material but when I pull it out its like a clog of grease/dirt.

I thought maybe it might be low on freon. I bought one of the Interdynamics recharging kits with the gauge. When I put the coupler on the low end port of A/C on it goes to yellow, which indicates not to add refrigerant seek professional help. Yellow indicates it has 45 TO 65 psi.

Could it be that my compressor is bad? If so what is the easiest/fastest way to check it before I go to a garage. I don't understand how it could be bad when it worked when I accidentally turned on the A/C, and its not working now.

Thanks for any help.
Craig

A. Sounds like you have a couple of things going on. The material coming out of your vents could be insulation material from around your evaporator unit. This could have been loosened up by a number of things. One of the most common, especially during the winter months is small rodents looking for a warm place to nest. They can get into the darndest places and chew up insulation to line their nests with as an example.

Next I would suspect a blockage in your internal A/C system components. This will show pressure on a gauge but not necessarily allow the pressure to get where it needs to go to activate the A/C compressor, ie: pressure sensor switch.

Troubleshooting this can be as simple as evacuating the system and inspecting the orifice filter tube. Any blockages will be evidenced on the tube itself as it's designed to catch foreign materials and metal particles generated by the mechanical action of the A/C compressor.If you don't hear the click, ground the black wire and try again. If you still hear no click, the compressor clutch is bad.