Air conditioning won't stay on (and it's 110º out)

[Ryker]

Howdy. Earlier last week, while driving between Tucson and Phoenix, my AC cut out on me... :-\ (This was before pretending Subie was a creek ferry.) When I press the AC switch on the dash (returning it to 'off'), and then try to turn it back on, the system will kick on and stay on until:

a.)

if idling, I depress the gas pedal

b.)

if driving in-town, 30 seconds to a minute lapse

c.)

if driving on the highway, 5 to 10 seconds lapse

I can hear the -- I believe -- compressor audibly kick off in each of these scenarios and the airflow gradually turn warm/hot. Because I'm in Tucson/Phoenix and it's summer, it's too darn hot and dry to tell whether the air coming in varies from the air temperature/humidity outside. Hmm. Taking to the forum, I searched high and low for any comparable instances, stumbling upon this strikingly similar one. Some of the various potential culprits suggested in that thread are:

1.)

a relay going bad

2.)

the pressure switch going bad

3.)

the compressor clutch going bad

Do these culprits still sound applicable to y'all in my case? My Subie's an '88 4WD GL wagon... that enjoys evening drives around and off of eroded desert escarpments.

 

Right now, driving during the day is . I'd like for it to be :cool:.

Any suggestions or pointers are greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks,

Ryker

[ausubaru92]

Last summer i had pretty much the same problem.

I would switch it on, it would cycle on, then off and stay off,... grrr very frustrating indeed.

 

I dont know what caused it but i did notice that it got worse with hotter temperatures, which lead me to believe it was the pressure switch.

I never got around to look into it but i will have to when it gets hotter.

 

My Quick fix was to just switch it off then on again when the vent air temp started to warm up again:brow:

 

 

Gannon

[Tcat55371]

I ran a hot wire to mine and have it hooked to a switch. Problem is I have to remember to turn it off but it beats 100 outside

[Cougar]

You could check to see if there is a bad connection at the fuse and relay for the compressor. They are on the right hand strut tower.

 

It could be numerious other things also, including low refridgerant. You may need a service shop to look things over. To me, AC is not optionial where you live.

[azsubaru]

I live in Phoenix, and back before my Loyale's AC died completely, it would always give up and start blowing hot air when the temperture got over about 105 - even when the car was still young! Used to travel to Tucson a lot, and I spent a lot of time stuck on Oracle in this kind of heat, never was able to get it fixed.

 

Hope you have better luck with yours.

[Subaru in the hills]

Hey this does sound really familiar, check out all the helpful suggestions I got http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=38628 .

 

Please excuse my last post though, it was a bit premature, I am still battling the A/C. Mine did run for a day - on all the time - now back to beginning . Anyhow when you test the relay by switching those two by the pass. side strut DON'T take them out of the brackets just disconnect relay from wires and swich wires. Good Luck, looking forward to YOUR solution and a trip to the junk yard to find some new relays, I'm back to thinking that is my problem.

[Ryker]

Hey this does sound really familiar, check out all the helpful suggestions I got http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=38628 .

 

Please excuse my last post though, it was a bit premature, I am still battling the A/C. Mine did run for a day - on all the time - now back to beginning . Anyhow when you test the relay by switching those two by the pass. side strut DON'T take them out of the brackets just disconnect relay from wires and swich wires. Good Luck, looking forward to YOUR solution and a trip to the junk yard to find some new relays, I'm back to thinking that is my problem.

 

Actually, that sounds spot-on -- sorry I missed the thread. Thanks for all the input. Still no AC. (Rather, I have the monsoon to thank for a reprieve from the heat/misery.) I've checked the relays and the fuse; all good. After checking the refrigerant pressure, I think the system could stand a recharge... just one problem: I don't know which type! How can I tell whether it's running R-12, or has been 'converted' to 134a?