What to look for when the air compressor won't come on?

Tiny
BURNETTE'S AUTO
  • MEMBER
  • 2000 LINCOLN LS
  • 144,560 MILES
The fan motor is running but air compressor won't operate. Have checked all fuses. Blower motor works. All wires are in working order. But can't find a reason that the compressor won't work. Everything else seems ok on the vehicle.
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Friday, March 2nd, 2012 AT 7:54 PM

10 Replies

Tiny
MERLIN2021
  • MECHANIC
  • 17,250 POSTS
Low r134a charge.
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Friday, March 2nd, 2012 AT 7:59 PM
Tiny
WRENCHTECH
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You need to start with pressure gauges. If you see over 80PSI static pressure, then you have an electrical issue and you will have to track it down with a wiring diagram.
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Friday, March 2nd, 2012 AT 8:04 PM
Tiny
BURNETTE'S AUTO
  • MEMBER
  • 17 POSTS
Have attempted to install freon. It doesn't allow it to come up to 80 psi without the compressor cyclying.
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Friday, March 2nd, 2012 AT 8:09 PM
Tiny
WRENCHTECH
  • MECHANIC
  • 20,758 POSTS
That means you have an electrical issue that needs to be troubleshooted.
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Friday, March 2nd, 2012 AT 8:13 PM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
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Lincoln is VERY hard to charge to R134a spec on the decal with a charging station, take it to a garage with an a/c station, this might solve your problem. Had to do it with my own 03 TC.
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Saturday, March 3rd, 2012 AT 4:10 PM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
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The other thing is with 145,000 miles, the compressor itself could be the issue.
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Saturday, March 3rd, 2012 AT 4:11 PM
Tiny
WRENCHTECH
  • MECHANIC
  • 20,758 POSTS
Refrigerant is not the reason the compressor is not coming on. It has 80 PSI static and that is plenty to energize the compressor.
Try disconnecting the battery for a minute. Some will set a code for low refrigerant and then lock out the system until the code is cleared and then it could be charged if that were the case.
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Saturday, March 3rd, 2012 AT 5:10 PM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
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I though he said he could not get 80 psi into it. If the compressor runs but cycles due to low charge, use a charging station.
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Sunday, March 4th, 2012 AT 3:37 AM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
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The other point with r134a is at least on FLM cars they are almost if not impossible to charge accurately with a gauge set.
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Sunday, March 4th, 2012 AT 3:40 AM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
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What does the gauge read with the compressor not running?
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Sunday, March 4th, 2012 AT 3:42 AM

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