A/C Clutch Frozen?

[grn92xlt]

Hello all, I recently acquired a 92 Ranger from my brother. It's not a bad little truck, it just needs some minor work.

I noticed when the engine is running(4.0 V6 by the way), the a/c compressor clutch is always spinning, even with the blower off. Disconnecting the wire lead to the compressor has no change at all. If this were the case, would this part somehow "drag" the engine down? Truck has a habit of sucking fuel down like there's no tomorrow and it has some hesitation problems when first started. I already cleaned the MAF sensor and that made it run smoother, I'm just wondering if the compressor is putting any strain on the engine being engaged like that. Also, I can safely say the air conditioning does not work anyway, it just blows warm.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

[martin]

If you have the heater set to defrost it runs the compressor.

 

[Bob Ayers]

If you have the heater set to defrost it runs the compressor.

Not the problem, disconnecting the clutch wire should disengauge the AC compressor clutch.

Sounds like you need to replace the clutch.

 

[MAKG]

An always-engaged compressor -- especially one known to be out of its operating point (warm) -- can cause some significant mileage issues, but if it were bad enough to make it "suck down the fuel like there is no tomorrow", it would just make the serpentine belt slip. Really noisy.

So, there is likely a problem there, but it's not THE problem.

 

[grn92xlt]

Thanks for all of your quick replies, I really appreciate it.

Mileage went up a little after I cleaned the MAF sensor. Not expecting 20+ mpg out of a truck with a little over 184,000 on the clock.

I do not want or need A/C in this truck. According to the belt routing sticker under the hood, it shows an option for "without A/C", so I'll just throw a non A/C belt on it.

Thank you.

 

[MAKG]

If you think you don't want A/C in your truck, you've never tried both options in wet weather.

The defogger actually works with A/C. Without it, it's not very effective.

But fixing your A/C is likely to be a bit pricey, since it is engaged but still warm.

And FYI, 20 MPG is about what you can expect from a 4.0L Explorer. Your truck is significantly lighter.

 

[Bob Ayers]

Thanks for all of your quick replies, I really appreciate it.

Mileage went up a little after I cleaned the MAF sensor. Not expecting 20+ mpg out of a truck with a little over 184,000 on the clock.

I do not want or need A/C in this truck. According to the belt routing sticker under the hood, it shows an option for "without A/C", so I'll just throw a non A/C belt on it.

Thank you.

Not a good idea! Without running the compressor, it will tend to lock up, and you will be buying a complete compressor some day, instead of just the clutch.

 

[AllanD]

I've gotten 21-ish from my 4.10 geared Ranger supercab 4x4 over the last THREE tanks of fuel and I'm not even trying to get good mileage.

Fix the A/C.

DO NOT simply replace the compressor clutch, if the compressor has been
spun even though it doesn't "make cold" the insides of the compressor are no longer "happy"

Might I suggest a junkyard compressor?

AD