a/c went out randomly

[duece9s]

driving the other day and the air was blowing cold and i turned the a/c off by hitting the button with the fan speed on max, to pass someone, turned it back on after a few seconds and i stopped getting cold air. i checked the a/c relay , diode, and related fuses and nothing seemed wrong. i checked the 2 wire connector at the a/c compressor while running with a/c turned on and it had 14v. a/c clutch doesn't try to engage.

[goaliemo]

Is it blowing at all? Maybe the blower motor went out.

[duece9s]

the blower fan is still working

[fdryer]

If you are sure 14v on the compressor connector then the clutch coil thermal fuse blew. A thermal fuse is similar to a regular fuse except it opens when reaching a calibrated temperature. Clutch coils tend to heat up from normal compressor operation but rarely exceed the higher temperatures for a thermal fuse. However, cycling a compressor while driving at speed will heat up a coil since the clutch slips from high speed engagement when a compressor doesn't want to spin up right after turning it off as in passing maneuvers. Pressures within haven't stabilized after shut down so it resists turning. Think driving with the clutch pedal slightly depressed - slipping the clutch will heat it up and eventually burn up/wear out prematurely.

[duece9s]

if that is blown it would read open circuit when checking from the opposite side of the plug then? is that a serviceable part on the 2.2 or does that require a new compressor

[fdryer]

If you can measure for resistance between the two pins on the compressor, it should be around 3 ohms. Be sure your multimeter reads '0' when touching probes together (when set for resistance measuring). Clutch coil resistance is very low to pull several amps, generating a large magnetic field.

Some compressors lends themselves to replacing blown thermal fuses while others do not. Coils are epoxy sealed for one time use. If there's room to remove the clutch coil on the car you won't have to remove refrigerant before disconnecting hoses. Some clutches remove easily, others not easily. That's only one challenge. The other is finding a replacement clutch coil. Costs are sometimes closer to the price of a whole compressor with clutch. Going this route requires the whole enchilada; removing the refrigerant, disconnecting both hoses, mounting the replacement compressor, adding any makeup oil that remained in the compressor (pouring out old oil and using this amount for new oil poured into the replacement compressor, replacing both seals, evacuating the system of air and moisture using gauges/hoses, ensuring the repair holds a vacuum when the pump is shut off, then refilling with refrigerant. A major repair that isn't diy friendly.

If you can replace just the clutch assembly, you'll avoid a major repair.

[duece9s]

it read open circuit.

[fdryer]

Thermal fuse blew. Decide on which way to proceed.