Intermittent A/C Help

14246 Views 13 Replies 8 Participants Last post by heavensbigparty, 10 d ago

cptkrush

Discussion Starter · Mar 19, 2015

I have a 2011 fiesta, and recently it has given me some issues and as of last week has completely stopped working. My compressor engages and disengages on it's own while the A/C is on. We checked the pressure gauge from a refill can and it was in the red (meaning too much pressure I think?) whenever it engaged. It tries to get cold when the compressor is engaged, but the clutch disengages it a few seconds after engaging. While the A/C did work, it was making a strange noise while accelerating, kind of like a jetsons space ship. I'm honestly stumped on what it could be, anyone had any problems like this? Thanks for any responses.

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Iceracer

· #2 · Mar 19, 2015

If the pressure is high it will disengage the compressor.

The AC system is complicated with all sort of switches, sensors etc. that can go wrong. It is best to have a competent shop check it out.

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cptkrush

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 19, 2015

found out that the condenser fan is not turning on, and I'm having the entire system looked at by a professional tomorrow, just in case it did more damage.

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FordService

· #4 · Mar 20, 2015

cptkrush said:
found out that the condenser fan is not turning on, and I'm having the entire system looked at by a professional tomorrow, just in case it did more damage.

Are you heading to your dealer, or an independent mechanic? Please let me know, along with your mileage.

Meagan

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cptkrush

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 21, 2015

FordService said:
Are you heading to your dealer, or an independent mechanic? Please let me know, along with your mileage.

Meagan

heading to a friend of the family's shop. The car has about 60k miles and the nearest dealer has tried ripping me off before, so I'd rather not deal with them ever again.

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FordService

· #6 · Mar 23, 2015

cptkrush said:
heading to a friend of the family's shop. The car has about 60k miles and the nearest dealer has tried ripping me off before, so I'd rather not deal with them ever again.

I understand. Should you decide to work with another dealer, please let me know. I'll be happy to check out some options.

Meagan

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pagoona

· #7 · May 4, 2015

I am having the exact same problem with mine that I bought two weeks ago. Yesterday was the first "hot" day where I needed the A/C, and I noticed when driving on the highway the A/C will blow cold for about 15 seconds, then it will shut off for about 90 seconds. I tried running it in my driveway later and the A/C will be cold when I am parked and idling, but when I start driving it will start kicking on and off at different intervals. I haven't checked the refrigerant pressure yet, which I plan on doing soon. Please let me know if you have found out more about the problem and what it took to fix it.

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cuemark8

· #8 · May 4, 2015

Pagoona,

What type of climate system is in your vehicle? Or a better question, what trim level? Depending on whether or not you have automatic climate contol, I'm not sure anything is wrong and your operation is normal.

In the automatic climate control you set the inside air temperature to a desired temperature. The vehicle then does whatever it needs to do to keep the interior and that desired temperature. It's no different than a furnace in your home or central air in your home. If you have auto-climate control the vehicle regularly cycles off and on as it needs A/C. Unless it's set on max cold it will under normal operation turn on and off. The only thing different as compared to a home is that the blower in vehicle is always running when the system is on. A/C will cycle on and off. If you only had the vehicle a couple of weeks you will discover with auto-climate that in rain or cold weather and even when it's providing heat in winter, the A/C will cycle on and off now and then. It does by design to provide fresh and de-humidified air, even in the cold.
As far as it blowing cold air in the driveway and not on the road, it was probably a case of the vehicle being hot. Probably the vehicle interior was hot. You started the vehicle and it ran for quite awhile to cool the interior to the desired temperature. Once you started driving and was getting outside vertilation as well, the A/C probably automatically switched off.
Unless your vehicle is set on maxA/C , it will probably never run constantly for long periods of time.

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FordService

· #9 · May 5, 2015

pagoona said:
I am having the exact same problem with mine that I bought two weeks ago. Yesterday was the first "hot" day where I needed the A/C, and I noticed when driving on the highway the A/C will blow cold for about 15 seconds, then it will shut off for about 90 seconds. I tried running it in my driveway later and the A/C will be cold when I am parked and idling, but when I start driving it will start kicking on and off at different intervals. I haven't checked the refrigerant pressure yet, which I plan on doing soon. Please let me know if you have found out more about the problem and what it took to fix it.

Welcome to the forum, pagoona!

I'll be happy to look into this further. Can you please let me know your year, trim level, and mileage?

Meagan

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pagoona

· #10 · May 6, 2015

It's a 2011 SES hatchback, 53,000 miles. It doesn't have automatic climate control.

I had a shop check the refrigerant pressure and it is good. I bought it two weeks ago from a private seller so any previous service done to the A/C system is unknown to me.

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Iceracer

· #11 · May 6, 2015

The AC system cycles. How long and how often can be caused by several things.
Restricted lines, excess moisture or compressor oil.
There is a cycling switch. and on.

As I said before, a complete system test by a competent shop needs to be done.

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hbradley24

· #12 · May 13, 2016

I have the same issue on my 2011 S (~73k mi, no automatic climate control). Cycles on and off while driving, but stays on when idling in a parking lot. The first indicator was the 'Jetsons' noise described in another post, which I brought in to my local dealer, and they told me there was nothing wrong. Would be interested to know if anyone determines the root cause for this issue.

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jnissen

· #13 · Jun 27, 2016

Having the same problem. What was your fix?

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heavensbigparty

· #14 · 10 d ago

cptkrush said:
found out that the condenser fan is not turning on, and I'm having the entire system looked at by a professional tomorrow, just in case it did more damage.

I have a 2011 ford fiesta and the condenser fan is the same fan for the radiator. Was your car overheating at stops?

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