2005 HCH , 130000

For background, my IMA started failing last year. Never worked quite right since I got it in 2007 (only got low 40s mpg city). Now I get about 38, but the assist still works, though the battery cycles a lot and throws all sorts of codes. I got a 2 year waiver for emissions last november, so don't plan on keeping the car beyond next summer.

AC stopped working late last summer. The compressor works fine from a cold start, but stopped working after the engine warms up. Quits working much quicker now. Checked the low pressure, sitting at about 35 psi about around 75 degrees. That was a little low, so put a can of refridge in. No difference.

While looking under the hood, when the engine hits a certain temp with the AC on, it goes trough all sort of convulsions trying to get the compressor to kick on. The low pressure jumps like crazy. After about 5 minutes, it quits trying and I have to wait until the engine cools to try again.

All the fans seem to be working, though I could be missing one. Is this a bad compressor? Condenser? Like I said, this car is on its way out anyway (burns oil, bent the frame on a pothot a while back so it always blows through engine mount bushings). Is it time to scrap?

 

Make sure that both cooling fans mounted to the radiator are working. If the secondary fan is out, the system will not allow the compressor to run.

 

Both fans are spinning fine. After I put in a can of refrig, the problem seems to have gotten worse. The pressure meter is still in the green (around 35-40psi) for the few minutes the compressor is working, but after about 2 mins, the engine really starts to lug, almost stalling, when at idle. This didn't seem to happen before.

I pulled my codes again, other than the standard IMA codes, also seeing a code for the rear O2 sensor, which I will ignore.

I;ll probably bring it in this week, but I'm hesitant to go through the normal routine of vac and refill the system if the problem is something deeper. If it has anything to do with the IMA system, I'm pushing the car off a cliff.

 

Make sure you use cleats so you don't lose traction.....

You might need to have an AC tech take a look. It might just need to have a vacuum pulled and the correct amount of PAG oil added and new refrigerant added. The compressor could also be causing an issue as it warms up.

 

Mechanic confirmed bad compressor. Said oil and refridgerant levels are fine, no electical relay issue, just the compressor seizing up. I was always under the impression that a compressor either worked, or failed... not work for a while, then crap out... but oh well.

$650 estimate... part seems like a 250-300 bucks, so seems reasonable.