Thread: E30 A/C Trouble
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rswapp4432 rswapp4432 is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2014
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Cool Possible answer to jumpering question on AC

Before you go too far with jumpering the switches you first need to make sure you have adequate pressure on both the high pressure side and low pressure side.
If the pressure is low then the low pressure switch opens causing the clutch not to engage.
If the pressures are acceptable you need to disconnect the compressor coil and measure the resistance. In most cases the clutch coil may be open and if that's the case the clutch/pulley and coil will have to be removed and coil/clutch assembly replaced.
You may or may not have to fully remove the compressor from the vehicle. If you do have to remove the compressor from the vehicle I recommend reclaiming the existing refrigerant before removing the compressor. If you have your own A/C guage's and vacuum pump make sure you add the proper amount of refrigerant oil before recharging the system.

Now as for the switches, one is the over pressure and the other is the under pressure, they are wired in series.
The low pressure is a normal closed contact and the over pressure is also a normal closed.
The low pressure opens with loss of refrigerant and the over pressure opens if the pressure is greater than 385psi.
I would take an ohm meter and check to make sure both switches measure close to 0ohms, you may read 1 or under which should be fine.
If both read okay then definitely measure the resistance of the clutch coil.

As for the different color switches it makes a difference on what year the vehicle is, do a search for the proper schematic for you vehicle.
Old 09-04-2014, 10:44 AM
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