Help with A/C clutch never disengaging

StanleyFallsNoah

New Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2021
Messages
3
Location
Tampa, FL
So the other day after driving to work I went to add more washer fluid to my reservoir. After opening my hood I noticed that my entire AC line was frozen white. At the time I just assumed I was low on Freon. The next day however after inspecting further I noticed that as soon as my vehicle started, my AC clutch immediately engages and starts spinning, even with the AC knob in the cab set to off. At first I assumed it was my pressure sensors, when I removed them with the car running the clutch still did not disengage. My low side seemed to be bad due to there being no ohm reading so I replaced it, still no luck (even when unplugging the sensors it still stays engaged). My relay in the fuse box seems to work fine, in fact the only way to disengage the clutch (without turning the vehicle off) is by pulling the relay out. I even hooked up pressure gauges to see if my low and high levels were right and they were, meaning my Freon is good. One other thing to note is that when turning the AC on and off in the cab the fans and stuff inside respond accordingly, as well as the pressure levels on the gauges.
To sum it up, my AC never cuts off unless pulling the relay or turning the vehicle off. The clutch isn't frozen and it can still disengage, it just doesn't when I turn my AC off. It's not the Freon, it's not the relay, and I don't think it's my sensors. Does anyone else know what it could be? Thanks.
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You don't mention replacing the relay, but you state "it's not the relay." Have you tried a new relay?
 
You don't mention replacing the relay, but you state "it's not the relay." Have you tried a new relay?
Yes, I took my working horn relay and interchanged them, nothing changed. Unless the clutch relay is special but I assumed that they were the same. I could just be dumb.
 
Remove the climate control cluster and inspect the wiring harness and harness connector for signs of melting.
Do you have any other electronic items that are acting strange ?
 
Remove the climate control cluster and inspect the wiring harness and harness connector for signs of melting.
Do you have any other electronic items that are acting strange ?
I did take a quick look at my wiring harness and nothing looked burnt, I plan on taking a closer look tomorrow. I've had no other electrical problems for a while, a few months ago my aftermarket Silencer car alarm kept glitching out and would give a false positive (basically it would kill my starter every time I tried to start my vehicle) we figured out that it was caused by a very loose battery connection. Ever since then my electronics have been perfectly fine (except for this).
 
No easy way here, I'm afraid. I'd start by consulting the wiring diagrams and tracing the12V at the coil terminal on the A/C clutch relay and going back from there to the battery. Somewhere along the long, it's got to be shorted to a switched 12V wire somewhere, or there's a failed component/switch that's shorted internally to 12V switched. Good luck!