My air conditioner on my 2010 outlander does not seem to be engaging even though the AC light is on and the temperature is turned all the way down.

At first I thought it was low on refrigerant but when I connect the recharge kit to the low pressure hose, there's no pressure at all to suck in the bottle.

I tried turning on and off the air conditioning but nothing happens. There is not even a change in engine Rpms like other vehicles.

Anyone know what I should look at?

 

I would check the pressure switches. Could be stuck open or closed depending on how they are configured.

Also, you can provide 12v to the compressor straight from the battery with some wires. Just disconnect the compressure and run 2 wires to it, you should hear the clutch click and the system should get cold. Doesn't have to be very thick wire, the clutch only takes a few amps at most. Don't leave it like that too long or you'll freeze up your system. If this works, then you know it's not the physical AC system or compressor. It's just either wiring, a bad relay or switch, or blown fuse. Also the remote possibility you blew a high side drive in the ECU which turns on the relay.

I would start by checking the relay and fuse first. Relay should click when you insert it. If it doesn't then mark it with a pen "A/C", then take out another non critical relay like for instance the trunk solenoid or something relay. Put it in place of where the A/C relay should go. If it clicks then it's a bad relay.

 

Couple of red flags here. If there is no pressure, then there is a good possibility you have a leak. However, there is no "sucking in" when you are re-charging. The re-charge can is under intense pressure and adds refrigerant and lubrication oils via that pressure.

To re-charge a system correctly, you need to monitor the high pressure side as well. who's to say you don't have blockage going from high to low...and then you just added more.

Some re-charge kits have additives that are "stop-leak" additives. Those additives wreak havoc on AC evacuation systems as they really gum them up. A lot of shops won't touch your vehicle if you tell them you added that stuff. The alternative is you are "that" guy who won't tell them, and now the shop is down an expensive piece of equipment until it is cleaned out.

The quickie re-charge kits really aren't that good an idea.

Are you hearing the AC clutch engaging/disengaging?

 

Hi, thanks for the guidance. I checked the relay and fuse and both are good.


As for running the wire from the battery to the compressor, can you give me a little more detail about this? Thanks

 

The AC clutch is definitely not engaging.

 

Can you see the A/C clutch from over the hood?? Have someone turn the A/C on and off while you look at it, see if it moves in and out. If it moves, then perhaps your clutch itself is worn out. You could replace the clutch disk, but i was able to fix my friends truck by shimming the back side of the clutch because the clutch had worn thin and wasn't engaging. Of course it was a ford and ford actually makes shims to do this. For mitsubishi, you would probably have to replace the clutch disk.

If the clutch is not moving, then the electric clutch solenoid is probably burned out. Wiring it directly to 12v as i described above would confirm.

Before you do that, make sure you are getting 12v to the A/C clutch, you'll need a multimeter or a test light to check. Just unplug the clutch and check for 12v at the plug.

Tire run the a/c clutch manually run 2 wires directly to the A/C clutch. I have electrical tools at work with various connectors to crimp on, so it's easy for me to do that. You might have to shove the wires in the terminals if they're female. I'd solder the ends of the wire so it's hard and you don't get stray strands. If they are male terminals, you may need to figure something out to get the wires to stay on there. Once the wires are on the A/C clutch, just wire the other ends to the the battery terminals directly. If you have a switch available, that's the best way to do it. Run the wires to a switch, then to the battery. Turn on the clutch with the switch or by touching the wires to the battery terminals. You dont' need the car on to hear the clutch click on and off.

If the clutch kicks on, check to make sure it's nice and solidly clutched to the compressor. THe disk may be worn out or the compressor itself may not be compressing.

If it doesn't click, then you know you have a problem with the a/c clutch. Not sure if it's replaceable by itself or if you'll have to replace the whole compressor. If that's the case, try and find a salvage unit.