No cold air

Tiny
ERICTAPS
  • MEMBER
  • 2004 FORD MUSTANG
My mustang vibrates and I do not get any cold air from my air conditioning. What does it mean?
Monday, July 13th, 2009 AT 9:38 PM

42 Replies

Tiny
MHPAUTOS
  • MECHANIC
  • 31,938 POSTS
Hi there,

If this vibration is only when the A/C is turned on the compressor may be failing,

Let use this guide to see whats going on

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-air-conditioner-not-working-or-is-weak

Please run down this guide and report back. Mark (mhpautos)
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Monday, July 13th, 2009 AT 11:14 PM
Tiny
BOBBY1973
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 2004 FORD MUSTANG
  • 160,000 MILES
Two weeks ago my car died on the highway while driving, I thought it was alternator due to gauges going up and down and dashboards flashing. Took it to Firestone and they said it was just battery. Got car back and a/c started to blow cold then hot air. This morning while driving, I turned on defrost cold air because of storms, and my car started to run hot. I turned defrost off, and temp went back to normal. Any ideas?
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Saturday, April 25th, 2020 AT 5:42 PM (Merged)
Tiny
HMAC300
  • MECHANIC
  • 48,601 POSTS
Check coolant level then pressure check for leaks. Cold be a charging problem as well or check battery terminals for being clean and tight. Or a bad body to battery ground.
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Saturday, April 25th, 2020 AT 5:42 PM (Merged)
Tiny
EVERETT W
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
  • 2003 FORD MUSTANG
  • 4.6L
  • V8
  • RWD
  • MANUAL
  • 100,000 MILES
Was installing a aftermarket radio and forgot to disconnect the negative terminal. Started cutting wires and shorted power to ground. I fished up with the install and the radio did not work and now my air conditioner compressor does not come on?
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Saturday, April 25th, 2020 AT 5:42 PM (Merged)
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,727 POSTS
Check the fuses inside and under the hood. You did not say which wire you shorted. If it was for the radio's memory, that is always tied into some other circuit that is always live. Interior lights are used most commonly, but it could also be the horn, brake lights, cigarette lighter, or another computer memory circuit. The HVAC Computer could be involved.

Some radios will be totally dead if the memory 12 volts is missing. Some will only have no sound. They will light up and tune a station. Others will work perfectly fine except each time you turn them on they will reset to 12:00 or 10:00 and the station will go back to a factory preset.
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Saturday, April 25th, 2020 AT 5:42 PM (Merged)
Tiny
EVERETT W
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Thanks for the reply. I checked all fuses and two were blown. One radio fuse and another for the transmission. After I replaced both fuses the aftermarket radio I installed works fine, but still no air conditioner. I hooked up my scanner that I have and I had a p0118 code I believe and long story short the ECT sensor came loose and stopped the air conditioner from working. Lol Thank you again for the help.
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Saturday, April 25th, 2020 AT 5:42 PM (Merged)
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 42,840 POSTS
Glad we can help please use 2CarPros anytime we are here to help

Best, Ken
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Saturday, April 25th, 2020 AT 5:42 PM (Merged)
Tiny
BELVETTE
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
  • 2003 FORD MUSTANG
  • V8
  • 2WD
  • MANUAL
  • 30,000 MILES
The air conditioner on my 2003 GT is barely blowing cold air. At idle the ac compressor clutch seems to continually cycle in & out. The engine rpm's increase & decrease as this is happening. Has anyone experienced a similar issue? Any ideas on how to correct the problem.
Thanks in advance
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Saturday, April 25th, 2020 AT 5:42 PM (Merged)
Tiny
MHPAUTOS
  • MECHANIC
  • 31,938 POSTS
Hi there,

The first thing you need to do is get the system pressures tested, this will give the tech a good idea as to what is going on in the system.

Mark (mhpautos)
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Saturday, April 25th, 2020 AT 5:42 PM (Merged)
Tiny
MJOANNA13
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 2002 FORD MUSTANG
  • V6
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 140,000 MILES
In the morning I turned on my heater to unfog my window I turned it to full fan and I was about to turn off when it just turned off its self and I tryed the ac and didnt want to work either but when I turn on it makes a noise like relieving pressure and we checked everything and cant seem to find the problem.
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Saturday, April 25th, 2020 AT 5:42 PM (Merged)
Tiny
FREEMBA
  • MECHANIC
  • 1,152 POSTS
Check the blower motor fuse. If good, check for power at the blower motor itself with the ignition ON and the blower speed setting on HIGH.
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Saturday, April 25th, 2020 AT 5:42 PM (Merged)
Tiny
FRANKDANK
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 2002 FORD MUSTANG
  • V8
  • 2WD
  • MANUAL
  • 121,000 MILES
The a/c will blow cold air when the car is stopped, but will blow warm air when im driving it, what could this be?
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Saturday, April 25th, 2020 AT 5:42 PM (Merged)
Tiny
RASMATAZ
  • MECHANIC
  • 75,992 POSTS
An A/C system that blows cold air for awhile then warm air is probably freezing up. This can be caused by air and moisture in the system that allows ice to form and block the orifice tube.

Evacuating the system with a vacuum pump will purge it of unwanted air and moisture. Evacuation should be done with a vacuum pump that is capable of achieving and holding a high vacuum (29 inches) for at least 30 to 45 minutes.

For best performance, an A/C system should contain less than 2% air by weight. For every 1% increase in the amount of air that displaces refrigerant in the system, there will be a corresponding drop of about one degree in cooling performance. More than 6% air can cause a very noticeable drop in cooling performance, and possibly cause evaporator freeze-up.

Air can get inside a system through leaks, by not evacuating the system prior to recharging it, and/or by recharging the system with refrigerant that is contaminated with air. Recovery equipment can suck air into the recycling tank if an A/C system contains air or if the system has a leak. For this reason, the refrigerant recovery tank on recycling equipment must be checked and purged daily. On some equipment, this is done automatically. But on equipment that lacks an automatic purge cycle, tank pressure and temperature has to be measured and compared to a static pressure reference chart.

Some refrigerant identifier equipment can detect air in the system as well as other contaminants. An identifier should be used to check the refrigerant before the system is serviced to prevent cross-contamination of recovery and recycling equipment.

Possible causes of intermittent cooling in a manual A/C system that might be caused by an electrical problem include:

Faulty low pressure cutout switch. This switch prevents the compressor from running if the refrigerant level is low. If the cutout switch is not reading correctly, it can prevent the compressor from coming on.

Faulty compressor clutch. The magnetic clutch on the compressor requires full battery voltage to engage. If the voltage to the clutch is low, or the clutch coils have too much resistance, or the air gap in the clutch is too great, the clutch may not engage to drive the compressor.

Faulty compressor clutch relay. Check to see if the relay is receiving voltage when the A/C is turned on. Also check the relay wiring and ground connections. If bypassing the relay with a jumper wire or routing battery voltage directly to the compressor clutch makes the A/C work, the relay is probably bad.

Faulty A/C control switch. The switch may be worn and not making good contact when it is turned on.

Some possible causes of intermittent cooling (or no cooling) on automatic A/C systems include all of the above, plus:

A problem in the control module or control head (this usually requires using a dealer scan tool to read fault codes and perform self-diagnostics).

A bad temperature sensor (an ambient air temperature sensor, interior air temperature sensor, evaporator temperature sensor, or sunload sensor). Again, a factory scan tool is usually required to perform diagnostics on the system.
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Saturday, April 25th, 2020 AT 5:42 PM (Merged)
Tiny
INDEED
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
  • 2002 FORD MUSTANG
2002 Ford Mustang V8 Two Wheel Drive Manual

Hello all,

I recently installed an a/c eliminator kit and now my car won't start.

I removed the hose and two wires that fed into the compressor, and rewired the remaining wires back where they belong. I honestly have no idea why it isn't starting.

FYI, I installed a 93 octane performance tune previous to the a/c eliminator kit installation, but even after the tune it would still start. Don't know if this has anything to do with it or not.

The car was starting fine before the installation of the a/c eliminator kit, but now it is just turning without fire. Any ideas?
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Saturday, April 25th, 2020 AT 5:42 PM (Merged)
Tiny
JAMES W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 2,395 POSTS
Instincts tell me it's just coincidence it won't start. The ac modification should have nothing to do with it unless you unplugged something you're unaware of.
You need to check to see what is missing. Spark, fuel pressure or injector pulse. Or, any combination of the three. Also, check the connection on the crankshaft position sensor. Please advise.
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Saturday, April 25th, 2020 AT 5:42 PM (Merged)
Tiny
INDEED
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
James,

Thanks for the response. Here's the update:

I checked for spark and I'm getting it to light up on the right side when facing the engine, but the entire left side isn't getting any juice.

The wires that came from the left wiring harness, and to the a/c compressor plug into the block at the bottom left. Only two wires from this group went to the compressor, and I sealed those two wires off with electrical tape, and the other two wires are plugged back in. The connection though isn't snapping on because I broke the clip that holds it on tight, though I held it in tight when my brother tries to start it, and we still get no fire.

I'm getting fuel pressure, not sure how to check for the injector pulse, and am getting spark only on the right side of the engine. I'm not sure where to find the crankshaft sensor, I'll have to look that up.
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Saturday, April 25th, 2020 AT 5:42 PM (Merged)
Tiny
INDEED
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
Ok, so I went to the salvage yard and got the wires with the connector, wired it up, plugged it in, and it fired up!

Turns out it was the connection on the bottom of the block that was preventing it from starting.

Thanks
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Saturday, April 25th, 2020 AT 5:42 PM (Merged)
Tiny
JAMES W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 2,395 POSTS
Ya' done good. Anything else, you know where to find us.
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Saturday, April 25th, 2020 AT 5:42 PM (Merged)
Tiny
OSSIV99
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
  • 2000 FORD MUSTANG
  • 6 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 95,000 MILES
My wife drives a 200o Ford Mustang 3.8L V6 and the A/C stopped working. We have changed the mass airflow sensor, I've put a new compressor on, checked the freon level and checked all fuses. Nothing has fixed the problem. The compressor is getting 12 volts but it's not kicking on. The CCRM is getting power too.
I don't know what to do next, please help.
Thanks for your input.
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Saturday, April 25th, 2020 AT 5:43 PM (Merged)
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,727 POSTS
Hi ossiv99. Welcome to the forum. If you have 12 volts to the compressor, that just leaves ground and the clutch coil. I can't remember for certain, but I believe the coil is always grounded and the 12 volts switches on through a relay. That's the way most cars are wired. If that's the case, check the resistance to ground on the coil's ground wire and measure the continuity of the coil. One of those two has to be open.

To not overlook something stupid, did you measure the 12 volts with a voltmeter or a test light? If you used a voltmeter AND the connector was not plugged into the compressor, the results can be misleading. The voltmeter will not draw a significant amount of current, so pitted relay contacts that can't pass enough current to run the compressor clutch, will still allow the 12 volts to be seen by a voltmeter. A test light draws much higher current and will cause pitted contacts to show up as low or missing voltage to the coil. For older cars that used special wires for fusible links, the same thing can happen when the wire burns open and leaves a carbon track behind. No current will get to the clutch coil, but voltage will be measured by the voltmeter when the connector is unplugged.

Caradiodoc
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Saturday, April 25th, 2020 AT 5:43 PM (Merged)

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