My damn AC broke
 

so, coming back from Austin the other day, my Air conditioner stopped working. Its still blowing, just, hot humid air. There has been no signs up to that point of AC getting weaker, which leads me to believe that its not low on freon.... It just all of a sudden stopped blowing cold.

Any ideas on what this could be? I was hoping to get some insight before taking it either down the street to a shop or to my dealership....

Do you have Stillen G3 intakes?

Without hooking up gauges there is no real way to check your system out.

With the engine off, check the A/C clutch. Grab it by hand and see if it spins or not. There are relays and fuses you could check as well.

You said it SUDDENLY stopped working. What were your engine temps? A car starting to run hot can sometimes loose A/C since the A/C Condensor core gets heat soaked.

That's a good point. I forgot about that.

I have the stock intakes.

I was running about 200-230 max oil temp and my coolant temps were average. I made sure to look at this when it stopped working.

i check the fuses with a test light to the best of my ability this morning before work. I was unable to locate one under the hood for the AC but i could have been looking in the wrong location or at the wrong thing. i did check the fuses by the drivers side door.

they all tested fine with the AC running except the:
10a - AIR BAG
10a - ELEC PARTS
10a - METER

these are located at the top left of the fuse box.
Everything else seems to be running just fine

Does having G3 intakes mess with your A/C?

If you don't install the intakes properly, the tubes rub against the lines.

OP, Just a long shot, but when the dealer had to replace my Bose Stereo, they forgot to reconnect the harness back to the controls. Maybe your harness got loose somehow. Have you installed a stereo or anything in that area lately?

yes i have! I installed an aftermarket nav about 8 months ago. the AC thing is below the hu itself right?

It can if you don't protect the A/C line. The intake piping rubs up against the A/C line and over time can (and has in some cases) crack the line.

My car (not a Z) was doing this and we found that the compressor clutch was completely gone. Pretty sure it just decided to fly off somewhere on the freeway at one point when I turned the A/C on. Just a thought.

Yup. You can actually feel for it if you lift the bezel for the shift boot and check for anything loose behind the controls. Check if the AC icon and other lights on the controls light up.

unfortunately, all the controls work, ac lights up ect... damn

when i turn on my AC, you can hear the rpms lower, so im assuming something is kicking on

Could be that something punctured your condenser, had this happen on the Max. Everything blew as normal but it just would not get cold, turns out to be the condenser was punctured.

It looks like the compressors not coming on and the clutch isnt engaging.... We checked and theres pressure in the lines

does anyone know where the fuse or relay is for the AC?

I need to determine why the clutch is not getting power and not engaging.

I called several dealerships around here and they charge about $780 to replace the clutch and $1200 to replace the AC compressor. Im hoping i can find a blown fuse or something........

thanks for all your help guys

i was able to download the service manual off this site... everyone needs to do this ASAP. it was very helpful!!!!

I troubleshot the problem as much as i could determining it was either the AC clutch or compressor...

Took my car in to the Nissan dealership and within a few hours they had my diagnosis.

The compressor is locking up causing the clutch to not engage. So..... a new AC compressor $1334.18 drive-out.... wtf, thats a really, really expensive compressor. I asked for comparison and the altima and maxima are about the same. the compressor itself was close to a grand

It cost that much to get the new compressor + install on my SRT, so that price sounds about right.

:eek:

So it's the compressor? It looks like you can get the AC compressor clutch seperate for far less ($261.90). Not 100% sure if this is all you would need though. From the diagram, it looks like a separate assembly.

AIR CONDITIONING A/C COMPRESSOR CLUTCH - 370Z (Z34) 2009+ :: Nissan Parts, NISMO and Nissan Accessories - Courtesyparts.com

CMike is correct, you can get just the clutch by itself. You will save yourself alot of time and labor since you will not have to crack open the A/C system (so charge/re-charge of the A/C). Since Courtesy Nissan posts fake nissan part numbers...here is the real 10 digit number for the 370Z A/C Clutch ONLY:

92660-1CB0A

Hope that helps.

hmmm.... guess i didnt realize the cost of these things

Yeah, its the compressor, i wish it was just the clutch. Im going to get more details as to why its seizing up. I'll make sure to add it to this thread for future reference.

Thanks Dustin and CMike!

I'm just going to have the dealership work on it. Its way past my mechanical ability, i would have to buy tools, find a lift, ect... plus id probably fuk something up.

It is good to know one's limitations... But pricy

Can you still buy an extended warranty???

Glad u got it figured out...yikes i may consier an extended warranty now. Daaaannnngggg..my compressor went out on my G35 with 37k on it..thank goodness warranty covered it.

just get a AC delete kit and drop 20-40lbs (not sure how much the Z's weighs)

Ive looked at an extended warranty about 2 months ago. I want to say they wanted 3-5k for it. I dont remember the exact cost but it was high enough to not consider it.

youd be crazy to get a ac delete kit in houston...lol its seriously 80-90% humidity in the winter. AC is a necessity down here.

I've been to Houston in the summer...holy crap it get's hot! You'll die without AC.

well.... they werent able to give me an explanation as to why the AC compressor seized up, they basically said these things happen sometimes.

$1334.38 out the door
$859.97 AC compressor
$349.88 Labor

I did get a free loaner car while they worked on mine for a few days.

Oh.... and even though i asked them NOT to wash my car, they did anyways and swirled the paint(which im pretty pissed about!)

Daaaannngggg an extended warranty for my G was only $1200. Crap...forget it"

I called the warranty place that Nissan goes through. you might have better luck with another one. they are all aftermarket companies of course. none of the extended warranties are through "nissan", except maybe the extended powertrain warranty