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Auto Air Conditioning & Heater Repair/A/C compressor clutch connector

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Expert: - 2/22/2011


Question
I have a Chevrolet Tahoe, and my a/c blows out air, the problem is that it's not cold air, I noticed that before when I opened the hood and tapped the compressor clutch pigtail the compressor immediately engaged, now it doesn't turn on, could it be the compressor clutch pigtail and how do I replace it?

Answer
Hello We are a UK company and have no specialised knowledge of your vehicle. Also I am not sure what you mean by the compressor 'Pigtail'

If you mean the cable that runs from the compressor power feed to the clutch and disappears down the gap, the fix will depend on how much space you have around it to work with.
A simple fix would be to tandem the existing cable and solder both ends as best you can.
The correct repair would be to remove the whole clutch assembly giving you proper access to both ends of the cable, remove the old one and replace with a new piece.
I would recommend that the bigger job is done on a bench as all matter of springs, cogs washers
and retaining clips can fly in to orbit once the clutch assembly has been given just another 'little' tap to release it !

Reading between the lines you may be tapping the clutch plate itself.
This is activated by an electromagnet that pulls it across an air gap.
If this magnet weakens or the air gap becomes too big then the plate needs help to move it over.

In the first instance undo the nut on the front of the clutch plate,( usually 10mm in Europe) and try to remove the plate only in front of the pulley.You will need something to hold the perimeter otherwise it will spin
It is worth placing a large tray underneath the vehicle as there could be spacers behind the plate.
Re-install using one less spacer and see what happens. If there are no spacers grind away a fraction at a time of the seating by the hole on the clutch plate


If the finished article has an air gap of .( point) 3mm then you should be in business.
If not then the whole clutch assembly requires replacement.

Let me know how you get on  

Auto Air Conditioning & Heater Repair

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Paul Evans/ www.chillywillys.org

Expertise

Any question related to the function or malfunction of vehicle air conditioning excluding model specific problems with the heater controls. We are a UK based company and are unlikely to be familiar with the exact make and model of American vehicles. We will always at least try to guide the owner towards what the problem is likely to be in this instance We may struggle with none specific electrical issues related to the a/c without seeing it but it is likely we could narrow the problem down

Experience

Director www.chillywillys.org specialising predominantly in UK vehicles, fleet, rare and collectables. Although all a/c works on the same principal US vehicles have different controls and electrics. 12 years experience automotive and aircraft air conditioning. This is our sole source of revenue, we see lots of a/c issues that we are able to diagnose accurately mainly down to experience. UK have garages caught on to a potential revenue stream within the last few years but sometimes struggle with the problems as they don't see the issues that often........to be fair they could get their own back and ask me to change a timing belt ! Certain vehicles have known issues, we can help with that and also anything that is obvious to us but not necessarily to the bamboozled owner....... a/c is relatively new here and owners are catching on to maintenance but are sometimes still misguided by inexperienced individuals a bit timid to say' I don't really know

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