02 Stratus Inop When Extremely Hot

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ElephantKiller

ElephantKiller

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My A/C clutch does not engage when the temperature is above 95 degrees outside. When the temperature is below 95 degrees, the A/C works great. When the clutch does not engage the A/C light on the fan speed switch blinks indicating there is something wrong in the system. I have checked the freon levels when the clutch is working and they appear fine (LS: 40 / HS: 200). What components do I need to check?

Thanks,
Aaron
 
Compressor spins free and there is no abnormal noise when the clutch is engaged and disengaged. Is there something that is in the control system that could be affected by the heat?
 
does it slowly change vents that it blows through or get stuck sometimes? IE, does it not wanna change from defrost to upper vents
 
Mode and fan speed work fine. Something is not allowing the clutch to engage like a faulty sensor or switch.
 
ElephantKiller said:
My A/C clutch does not engage when the temperature is above 95 degrees outside. When the temperature is below 95 degrees, the A/C works great. When the clutch does not engage the A/C light on the fan speed switch blinks indicating there is something wrong in the system. I have checked the freon levels when the clutch is working and they appear fine (LS: 40 / HS: 200). What components do I need to check?

Thanks,
Aaron
Click to expand...

using a scan tool ,see if the cars computer is recognizing a request for a/c. if the computer is recognizing the a/c request,Then start poking the pressure cut off switches with a test light checking for continuity. :read2: just my thoughts
 
I don't have a scan tool, but I think the computer is recognizing the request. Right before the system goes into error mode (A/C light flashing) the system kicks the high speed radiator fan on for a second. When the system goes into error mode, the fan shuts down and the system shuts down.
 
I have seen this same issue on a stratus last year, a/c would just go away when it warmed up. It was very hard to diagnose. We had replaced the pressure switches with no luck. We ended up replacing the hvac control unit and it worked perfectly. Not saying thats what your issue is but it very well could be.
 
Were there any other sysmptoms with that vehicle? When not working did the control unit appear to operate normally?
 
ElephantKiller said:
Were there any other sysmptoms with that vehicle? When not working did the control unit appear to operate normally?
Click to expand...
No other symptoms at all, just the darn thing would quit on its own. That was our last shot at repairing the car or else we were sending it to the dealer. Low and behold it fixed it. See if you can find a used control unit at a pick and pull, should be pretty cheap.
 
On my -98 Dakota I had a issue with the A/C, randomly the compressor didn´t start. I messured to see if I had 12V to the A/C clutch, so I did. I removed the clutch and pulled two of the shimwashers behind the clutch. Has been working great since then. Don´t know if this could be the problem with yours, just thought I should mention it.
 
Like you guys did, I'll hold off on the control head until the last resort. I thought about the shims in the clutch. I'll have to check how much gap I have between the clutch and the pulley. It seems that it does everything right up to engaging the clutch. Cooling fan comes on and RPM increase, but then it cuts out when it comes to engaging the clutch.
 
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