A/C clutch not engaging???

LongrangeLauber · April 19, 2013

Back in September, I replaced my A/C compressor because it locked up on me. I never got it charged since it was going into the winter. I went and hit the A/C button the other day and noticed the clutch did not engage. I checked the A/C fuse and even replaced the relay but it still did not engage. Now, I have a turn on wire piggybacking off of a green wire that goes into the compressor for my electric fans to turn on when the clutch on the compressor engages. Not sure if that affected anything, but I don't believe that's the problem. Any help would be great

LongrangeLauber · April 21, 2013

Ok....so w/ the A/C compressor signal wire off do the fans work correctly? Have you checked the LED's on the VSC per the instructions to make sure you're getting the correct lights?

Yes, fans work flawlessly with a/c signal wire disconnected. The LED's are correct on the vsc when the fans kick on at the set temp.

bossier62guy · April 21, 2013

Yes, fans work flawlessly with a/c signal wire disconnected. The LED's are correct on the vsc when the fans kick on at the set temp.

Great....tells me the controller is working properly then. You have to have some power on that green wire. You do have it piggy backed on the 2 wire clutch connector (green wire) correct? What terminal on the VSC did you have it connected to? Do you have a way to check for voltage on that wire? I know you had/have some A/C issues as well. You need check the green wire at the VSC to see if it's hot all the time. If it is go to the plug on the compressor clutch and see if it's hot all the time. Let me know.

LongrangeLauber · April 21, 2013

Great....tells me the controller is working properly then. You have to have some power on that green wire. You do have it piggy backed on the 2 wire clutch connector (green wire) correct? What terminal on the VSC did you have it connected to? Do you have a way to check for voltage on that wire? I know you had/have some A/C issues as well. You need check the green wire at the VSC to see if it's hot all the time. If it is go to the plug on the compressor clutch and see if it's hot all the time. Let me know.

I do have it piggybacked on the green wire going to the clutch. I will pull out my test light and check it when I make it outside. I wonder if it makes a difference which harness plugs into the a/c accumulator cause I have two connectors coming off the wire loom and I just kind of picked one and plugged it in

bossier62guy · April 21, 2013

Check the plug when you can and we'll go from there. Also let me know what color the wire(s) are on the accumulator switch and I'll check the schematics. Although it shouldn't be hot if the HVAC control is turned off.

LongrangeLauber · April 20, 2013

Your compressor should have only 2 wires going to it....green/black. The green is indeed the power wire for the compressor but it's NOT hot all the time. I've got a flex-a-lite fan setup in my 02 as well and if I disconnect the ground from the battery the fans will run until the battery dies. You've got something wired up incorrectly, faulty controller, etc. How long have you had the FAL fans? Did you buy them new? I'd check out my wiring closely.

I know I unplugged two connectors, maybe one was a pressure switch, which I believe it is, in the back of the compressor. And you are the only other person I know of that has the FAL swap on an 02.

I have had the fans since September last year, but didn't start using them until my truck was up and running again around late October. Yes, bought the fans brand new. I have gone over my wiring I don't know how many times, but I will definitely check it again. I have talked to FAL a couple times and they even sent me a new controller sitting on my parts shelf as well as an inline temp. probe, which is way nicer than the radiator probe they give you. I guess I will run out this morning and go grab a couple more butt connectors and hook up the new controller.

I also have a manual turn on switch wired to my fans on a 30 amp switch, but it does not turn the fans on. Ive checked the ground and its a good ground, but maybe not sufficient for the fans? Just curious, don't really need it but would be nice.

And as for the A/C control bossier62guy on the FAL fans, do the fans stay running even when flying down the interstate when the A/C is turned on? Im guessing so, but Im not sure. Thanks for the info, very helpful

bossier62guy · April 21, 2013

One connector is gray, the other is white....the white one should be connected to the accumulator.

LongrangeLauber · April 20, 2013

Another question kind of off topic but somewhat related. How many cfm's do the 05+ stock fans pull? The fans I have now pull 5500 cfm's at full speed and the other FAL fans I was looking at pull 6000 cfm's but are s blade so should be quieter than my straight blade design. I like how quiet my dads 09 fans are, but I also like a lot of cooling power. Thanks

LongrangeLauber · April 21, 2013

One connector is gray, the other is white....the white one should be connected to the accumulator.

2013-04-21 11.42.11 (640x480).jpg

I jumped the low pressure switch (pictured) with a paper clip and then hooked up my turn on lead to the VSC. Turned the truck on and hit the A/C button and there ya have it, it kicked on, and when I turned the A/C off, so did the fans. The reason they didnt come on and off (Im guessing) is because the low pressure switch told the clutch not to engage if Im not mistaken. Thanks bossier62guy for all the help in troubleshooting the fan delima and to everyone else with the a/c clutch issue

bossier62guy · April 20, 2013

I know I unplugged two connectors, maybe one was a pressure switch, which I believe it is, in the back of the compressor. And you are the only other person I know of that has the FAL swap on an 02.

I have had the fans since September last year, but didn't start using them until my truck was up and running again around late October. Yes, bought the fans brand new. I have gone over my wiring I don't know how many times, but I will definitely check it again. I have talked to FAL a couple times and they even sent me a new controller sitting on my parts shelf as well as an inline temp. probe, which is way nicer than the radiator probe they give you. I guess I will run out this morning and go grab a couple more butt connectors and hook up the new controller.

I also have a manual turn on switch wired to my fans on a 30 amp switch, but it does not turn the fans on. Ive checked the ground and its a good ground, but maybe not sufficient for the fans? Just curious, don't really need it but would be nice.

And as for the A/C control bossier62guy on the FAL fans, do the fans stay running even when flying down the interstate when the A/C is turned on? Im guessing so, but Im not sure. Thanks for the info, very helpful

I've had the fans on my truck since 06 and the only issue I had was the controller and FAL sent me a new one well out of warranty for free. I have the 292 setup on my truck, 4600 cfm. You must have the larger radiator and the 282 setup if yours are rated for 5500 cfm. Yes the fans should run anytime the A/C compressor clutch is engaged (thus the reason why you tap into the green wire on the A/C clutch). I'd be glad to help you out w/ any wiring questions if I can. Just curious, why the manual turn on switch? The larger wires coming off of the controller need to be hooked directly to the battery by the way.

bossier62guy · April 21, 2013

I jumped the low pressure switch (pictured) with a paper clip and then hooked up my turn on lead to the VSC. Turned the truck on and hit the A/C button and there ya have it, it kicked on, and when I turned the A/C off, so did the fans. The reason they didnt come on and off (Im guessing) is because the low pressure switch told the clutch not to engage if Im not mistaken. Thanks bossier62guy for all the help in troubleshooting the fan delima and to everyone else with the a/c clutch issue

I'm glad it's working but your theory is wrong LOL....just some gee whiz info for you.

If the PCM doesn't get a ground signal from the low pressure switch then it does not provide a ground to the A/C compressor clutch relay and therefore you don't get the 12V to the compressor clutch. The FAL controller only needs 12V on terminal 8 to tell it to kick the fans on. If it gets nothing there then you should have no fan activation. Regardless, it's nice that part of your problem is over. You didn't say whether or not you had the correct plug on the low pressure switch.

LongrangeLauber · April 21, 2013

I did have the correct plug on the low pressure switch (white one)... not sure why it all of a sudden worked, because before, I would keep that turn on lead hooked up and it would run the fans until the battery died. Maybe now that it can ground the signal it shuts the fans off as well? I probably just reworded exactly what you just said

bossier62guy · April 22, 2013

I did have the correct plug on the low pressure switch (white one)... not sure why it all of a sudden worked, because before, I would keep that turn on lead hooked up and it would run the fans until the battery died. Maybe now that it can ground the signal it shuts the fans off as well? I probably just reworded exactly what you just said

Beats me but it's nice it's behaving like it should.....if you have any more problems with it just let me know.

LongrangeLauber · April 20, 2013

I've had the fans on my truck since 06 and the only issue I had was the controller and FAL sent me a new one well out of warranty for free. I have the 292 setup on my truck, 4600 cfm. You must have the larger radiator and the 282 setup if yours are rated for 5500 cfm. Yes the fans should run anytime the A/C compressor clutch is engaged (thus the reason why you tap into the green wire on the A/C clutch). I'd be glad to help you out w/ any wiring questions if I can. Just curious, why the manual turn on switch? The larger wires coming off of the controller need to be hooked directly to the battery by the way.

I do have the larger wires hooked to my positive and negative sides of my battery. I do have the 34" radiator which the fans for it are 282 I believe. I'm guessing the controller is the problem with why the a/c keeps the fans on. I also emailed blackbear about a harness, which they do not make anymore, but they recommended me to ls1fans.com who actually make a replacement harness for the VSC for our FAL fans. I think I might go that route, even though I cant adjust my turn on temp. which for me is set at 200

Chris · April 20, 2013

Blackbear sold the harness ls1fans.com made. To keep costs down they have you buy from ls1fans.com. Thats the harness I have.

LongrangeLauber · April 20, 2013

Im thinkn of just buying a 05+ stock efan and get the harness from ls1fans.com and have blackbear do a tune for it to turn them on. I looked at the price of the FAL fans compared to the total cost of harness, efans, and tune, and it is nearly double for the aftermarket FAL fans. Only thing is, how many cfm's do the stock efans pull?