charlersfosho Posted July 2, 2020 Report Share Posted July 2, 2020 So to give some background I have some decent automotive experience but not a lot in terms of AC work. Had a 2007 edge with the PCM issue and bad Alternator. The vehicle also was completely dying while driving and found alternator had a bad voltage regulator. Sent the PCM off to be repaired by circuit board medics and changed the alternator in the mean time when pulling the alternator of course I forgot to unplug the ac compressor clip. This resulted in the 4 prongs that plug into the clips breaking. Also while pulling the alternator out I managed to hit the radiator resulting in coolant coming out of it. (not relevant but slightly funny at this point no local radiators of course so I had local auto parts store order one radiator came 3 days later and was mis boxed so different radiator in the box then what I needed. Another 3 days and I got the right radiator) While replacing the radiator I unscrewed a bolt that let the refrigerant out of the AC lines I quickly screwed it back in though. Got the alternator replaced since the radiator was out at this point and then finished replacing the radiator.Alternator now reads a constant 13.6ish volts. Added coolant let the vehicle run a little bit then added more coolant. One thing I noticed is that one of the radiator fans was not spinning. There are 2 fan connectors and I swapped which ports they were plugged into and they both started working. I currently have swapped them back and they both are continuing to work. The current coolant level is a little bit high in between the cold/hot while cold. Got the PCM back Installed the motorcraft packs and plugs then the PCM. Engine runs 100 times better now. After about 30-45 minutes of running got a P0430. I did not check the gaping of the plugs so I will attempt to do that and verify that I have everything on the intake bolted back down to spec. Besides this code we thought the vehicle was ready to go. Noticed the AC Compressor was not coming on when running. I had attempted to tape the connector from compressor to alternator and ended up pulling it off and re doing it. Since this connection was a bit sketchy now I decided the bypass the connector and connect the prongs themselves to each other. Still no go. I checked the 10 fuse and the 4 pin relay under the fuse box 10 fuse looks good. I verified the numbers on the relay matched the diagram in terms of how the relay sits in there. I also tried to use another relay in place (same part number) still no clutch. Since I had leaked out that refrigerant while replacing the radiator I decided to bypass the relay and run the clutch straight to the battery to add more refrigerant. (going straight to the battery the clutch now engaged and my refrigerant bottle now showed the lower pressure. The system showed full but on the lower end when first trying to re charge it. I filled it until it got the high side of full. The AC works fine now so I know the clutch is not bad. I attempted now to hook the compressor cables up to the wiring harness bypassing the plastic clip. I was pretty sure I had the cables connected properly but also tried swapping them around. While this was now connected I attempted to bypass the relay with a paperclip. I was not entirely sure which 2 of the 4 ports to connect for the relay so i tried all possible combinations for about 30 seconds to 1 minute (except the one that caused a spark). This makes me believe the relay might not be the culprit either. Also when the clutch engages the front radiator fans do start spinning faster they also do not change speed just appear to run non stop full speed. So currently we are using another vehicle but I have rigged up a system where basically there is a toggle switch inside above the dash that when turned on connects the compressor straight to the battery. please help lol. Sorry this maybe a ramble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted July 4, 2020 Report Share Posted July 4, 2020 Are both fans running all the time? You need to put in a new fan assembly. Assuming the A/c system is not contaminated. Did you check pressures with pro gauges or the one that comes with the "ac in a can" product? Rent pro gauges to get an accurate reading. Pressures are acceptable in a relatively narrow range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlersfosho Posted July 6, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2020 When I have pos/neg wires running straight to the battery from ac compressor both fans kick on. I will check if this also occurs when the AC is off. The fans were working and not running constantly prior to doing any of this work. I did the pressure in the can of course. I will rent pro gauges and figure that out as well. Thanks for the advice. Will update my results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlersfosho Posted July 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2020 (edited) On 7/4/2020 at 5:55 PM, WWWPerfA_ZN0W said: Are both fans running all the time? You need to put in a new fan assembly. Assuming the A/c system is not contaminated. Did you check pressures with pro gauges or the one that comes with the "ac in a can" product? Rent pro gauges to get an accurate reading. Pressures are acceptable in a relatively narrow range. Compressor hooked up normally. Low is 100 psi high is 100 psi. Ac compressor with relay bypassed ran straight to battery hooked up low is 350 psi (says retard :(.. )high is 175 psi Edited July 8, 2020 by charlersfosho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlersfosho Posted July 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2020 Update: Bought cheap harbor freight vacuum $17 one. Only vacuumed down to -10 PSI. Going to purchase the better vacuum and try again to vacuum and see if it will hold. Will troubleshoot from there. If I can determine there is no leaks I will have the system evacuated. Then add the 2 oz oil/19 r134 (I might be off on the numbers but will look again when time to do this) Very new to AC troubleshooting so if anyone has suggestions or a different route please let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlersfosho Posted July 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2020 The new vacuum I bought ended up being broken from harbor freight as well but I was able to get dye in. Ultimately the dye was not the best use as everything is covered in the cable management so I took off the front bumper and frame. I noticed the condenser -> Evaporator line that I had previously unscrewed on accident during the radiator replacement was no longer sitting flush against the condenser I attempted to tight that bolt to the recommended 53 in and noticed the bolt was stripped. I believe its stripped on the condenser side. I ordered a new condenser/accumulator/ Condenser to evaporator line just in case. Going to replace all of this then recharge/oil and see where it gets me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlersfosho Posted July 29, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2020 So the bolt receiving end of the condenser was stripped out for that line. I replaced the condenser, That AC line and got everything back up and still no compressor kicking on. When I originally looked at this issue I did look at the #35 10A fuse for the AC and it tested fine. I think at some point I had mixed up the AC Compressor wires since I bypassed the connectors as they were broken. Yesterday I found that one side of the fuse had a very small nick in it. I replaced the fuse and it started working properly -.- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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