Just bought my first jeep with a few known issue. One is the AC/Heater is stuck on defrost blower. I have traced down a few potential vacuum leaks under the hood that need attention. I am concerned with what I found behind the glove box. These are what I am assuming to be vacuum hose look cut and are not connected to anything. If anyone is familiar with the AC system please let me know where these should go. 97 TJ 2.5l
You are correct, those are the vacuum lines that go from the mode selector switch to the door actuators. You will either need to splice in a section of hose or get replacements. Head over to Morris 4x4's knowledge base and get yourself a factory service manual and a parts catalog. The FSM will have diagrams for where each hose goes on the mode selector.
You also might want to take a look at your radio wiring. I see a bunch of blue crimp connectors in the upper left hand area of the second photo. Those should be soldered and covered with heat shrink.
Thanks Afton for the reply. Looks like the previous owner really didnt want AC. The female harness was chopped off almost out of reach. I took a gamble and extended the cut lines with some 1/8" Fuel line. I Attached them to the male harness that was thankfully still attached behind the selector. The fuel line was a snug fit on both sides... Fired her up and I got air blowing out the dash vents now. Took a full can of refrigerant and got the ac clutch moving. All is good. Now on to the next problem.
Thanks Afton for the reply. Looks like the previous owner really didnt want AC. The female harness was chopped off almost out of reach. I took a gamble and extended the cut lines with some 1/8" Fuel line. I Attached them to the male harness that was thankfully still attached behind the selector. The fuel line was a snug fit on both sides... Fired her up and I got air blowing out the dash vents now. Took a full can of refrigerant and got the ac clutch moving. All is good. Now on to the next problem.
Glad you got it figured out. HVAC stuff oftentimes scares people out of doing the work. But please tell me you didn't use a can of refrigerant with stop-leak in it. That stuff will put a very expensive AC machine out of commission in very short order.
Nope didn't use the one with stop-leak. I did inject some dye though. Being it was the first time charging it I wanted to know where or if there was a leak. Checked it out this morning and couldn't see any noticeable leaks.
Well back to no AC... The first problem is still fixed. The air was only blowing out the defrost due to the lines being cut. After sitting for 2 days when i started it, the air was blowing hot. Not just the ambient air temp, but actual warmed air. Switched to the heater to see if the selector was stuck on heat and the temp rose significantly. So I ruled out the selector being stuck on heat. Popped the hood and the clutch was not engaging and no voltage going to the sensor. The low pressure pipe was also warm. Hooked up an old empty refrigerant can and gauge to the low pressure side and the gauge pegged out. I released the pressure back into the empty can, and when the gauge read back in the green the clutch started to kick on and off in a roughly 5 sec intervals. I monitored this for a while with the gauge still hooked up. The pressure started to rise to the red and the clutch would stop once the pressure got too high. I Bleed more off back to the can and the clutch would engage again... Did this twice then shut it down... Without taking it to the shop, anything else I could try or am doing wrong?
At this point I'd take it somewhere that has a hood AC machine and a good AC tech. You're basically going to start at square 1. The system will have to be evacuated and pulled into a vacuum and checked to see if the vacuum holds. Then a recharge to the proper amount of 134a in the system and then see how the system runs as well as sniff for leaks. For that entire system check it should take about 45 minutes to an hour if the tech is able to stay on one job but the book calls for 1.4 hours so be prepared to pay that much (ex. 1.4 hours X $100/hr. = $140).
$100/hr is about average but each shop will be different.
Once all those steps are done the tech should be able to tell you what's wrong. If your system is over charged then the shop 'should' be buying the excess 134a from you. Because I work at a shop and I take pride in my work I write down how much has been recovered and how much is charged into the system. We've purchased a couple pounds of refrigerant from customers in the past few years.
Yes the system has a high pressure cutout switch
You seem pretty committed to fixing this yourself...If so, you'll need some info and some equipment.
Rent an A/C manifold gauge set and vacuum pump and do some research on how to use them. The gauge set will let you know what your pressures really are and will let you know if you really have a leak.
Vacuum the system with the gauges hooked up and leave for a few hrs to see if it hold vacuum. ( I've left the gauges on for a couple of days before while searching for a tiny leak )
Lafayette LA weather shows 91° today and the FSM shows ( at 90° ambient ) compressor discharge pressure should be 250-300PSI, Pressure at low side charge port should be 38-47PSI, and temp at center vents should be 37-48°F
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