rocky5517 Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 As we all know, when you list a car for sale, they somehow sense it and something breaks down. Sure enough, tonight when I turned on the AC, I heard the compressor kick in, but no cold air.I turned it on and off, did not hear the clutch engage. When I got home I tuned it on, noticed the clutch was not engaging but seemed to be "struggling" to turn. I tried to spin it a bit with a bar and it moved but really sluggish. No unusual sounds. The belt is good. Last time I had the car out, really hot day, it was cold enough to freeze the ba---ls off an Eskimo. Any suggestions? I'm guessing either a bad electric connection ( not likely) a bad clutch, or the whole compressor is shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnulfo de l.a. Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 Sorry i cant offer any help but wondering if its a factory ac system? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocky5517 Posted July 25, 2018 Author Share Posted July 25, 2018 Yes it is. Went from R-12 to 134, back to R 12. New drier and upgrade to the "suction valve"? Manual controls. Never a problem until last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapom Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 Sounds like the electric clutch is bad. You may be able to take it apart and clean the surfaces (rust, dirt) so it engages easier. Sometimes you can adjust the clutch tighter so it will engage easier. Also may be a shim you could remove so it engages easier. Shim would have to be real thin (.002). If it is thick I wouldn't remove it, I would machine it a bit thinner. I have never worked on one (A 6) before but that is my experience working on others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 (edited) Sam, You say clutch was not engaging but was struggling to turn. It must be engaging or the compressor wouldn't turn at all. Won't hurt to verify 12 volts minimum at the clutch connection. The clutch engages by magnetism. The lower the volts the weaker the magnetic field. Have someone switch it on an off while you are watching the clutch. It should "snap" in when engaged and you can see it move. Key on but engine does not have to be running. Check the ground wire at compressor also. If its engaging tighten the belt. Not uncommon for A/C belt to get loose. It takes a fair amount of power to turn the compressor. Edited July 25, 2018 by JZRIV (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocky5517 Posted July 25, 2018 Author Share Posted July 25, 2018 Great info; thanks Jason and Rapom. I'll have a look myself before I take it to mechanic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocky5517 Posted July 25, 2018 Author Share Posted July 25, 2018 Forum members do it again; the belt was loose. Had taken the car on a long run last nite. When I stopped for an hour, came back out, that;s when I had no AC. I guess the belt had loosened up. Today on a cold start, it ran fine, then slipped a little. In the light I can see it's loose. Also I screwed around with wire connections. Anyway, the enclosed pic show my thermometer reading 40 degrees with outside air temp of 79. It eventually went down to about 38. Once again, thanks guys. And Jason!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 On 7/25/2018 at 6:36 PM, rocky5517 said: the belt was loose I had the same problem last summer. Like JZ says, the belt needs to be tight -- my compressor pulley was 'skipping' and belt was howling like a banshee! Glad it was an easy fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 2 hours ago, EmTee said: I had the same problem last summer. Like JZ says, the belt needs to be tight -- my compressor pulley was 'skipping' and belt was howling like a banshee! Glad it was an easy fix. The reason for the double pulley on the A/C compressor is because out of the full circle on the pulley, there's so little contact space; probably less than 1/3 of the diameter. Two belts give more contact, but they need to be kept tight. A better solution would be to run a separate belt for both the compressor and the alternator. That would relieve some of the pressure on the water pump bearing as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 Actually, unlike the 1st gen, the 2nd gen Rivieras only have a single belt on the A/C clutch. It is separate from the alternator & PS so it wraps around about 2/3rds of the pulley. Even so, it needs to be quite tight (tighter than I originally thought). About 1/2" deflection at the midway point. Personally, I think two belts would be better, but then you need a matched set when replacing them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 2 hours ago, EmTee said: Actually, unlike the 1st gen, the 2nd gen Rivieras only have a single belt on the A/C clutch. It is separate from the alternator & PS so it wraps around about 2/3rds of the pulley. Even so, it needs to be quite tight (tighter than I originally thought). About 1/2" deflection at the midway point. Personally, I think two belts would be better, but then you need a matched set when replacing them. Ah ha! Sounds like a lesson learned. Now my question is this. When you say 2nd generation, are you also including the 66 with the nailhead? The 66's I've owned still had the double pulley setup on them. Or do you mean cars with the 430 / 455 engines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 9 hours ago, RivNut said: he 66's I've owned still had the double pulley setup on them. Or do you mean cars with the 430 / 455 engines? Well, I learned something myself! I guess my comment only applies to the 430 equipped ones (well, at least my '67)... You're right about the '66 and I never really paid close attention to that detail before. Here's the 430: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbinator Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 On 7/25/2018 at 11:24 AM, rocky5517 said: Yes it is. Went from R-12 to 134, back to R 12. New drier and upgrade to the "suction valve"? Manual controls. Never a problem until last night. I know one thing for sure the 134a has ruins your R12 O rings and causes leaks. Turbinator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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