2004 3.0 ac delay

[g300d]

Anytime, good luck and let us know how it goes!

[Marine6531]

Okay so I punked out a little and decided to take it to a indy to get fixed. I just didnt want to deal with it all and i really just need it fixed correctly. So when I get there he says there is nothing wrong. I told him ofcourse there is not right now because the car is warmed up. I explained how the first 15 or minuites after the car is cold is when it doesn't work. So basically, since I didnt want to sit there for 5 hours and wait for the car to cool down, he couldnt really do much because everything tested good and the ac was frezzing. I explained to him about the variable displacment control valve but he said he couldnt tell cause it was working. He cautioned me about just replacing the compressor if I am not 100% sure. He said he would do it though if I twisted his arm. I decided to wait.

g300d-
After reading your post again I noticed you used the word "intermittent" to describe you ac. This would tell me that it works, then suddenly stops, and comes back on again with no rhyme or reason, is this correct? My problem I wouldnt neccessarily call intermittent. Once my ac is working it stays working until the car sits for a few hours and cools down. When the car is cold, no aux fan and no ac, when car is hot fan is spinning and ac is cold. Do you still think our problems are the same and therefore replacing compressor would work? Thanks again

[g300d]

What you are experiencing now is exactly what I was going through in the beginning.

Then it started to become intermitent, it would cool after the engine warmed up, then it would stop cooling, then come on again, with no apparent pattern.

Eventually it took longer and longer for the AC to start cooling, till it hardly would work at all.

And all that time the compressor clutch was engaged too! Really threw me off.

I remember that the day I decided to replace the compressor I started the car to move it to the service bay and the damn AC started working, I almost lost my nerve to replace the compressor right there!

[g300d]

Maybe you could leave the car overnight with the indy so he can see the problem first hand in the morning?

[g300d]

Here is a good article on variable displacement compressors and a description of the problem:
http://www.aircondition.com/tech/get...9WYWx2ZXMucGRm

[Marine6531]

So the starngest thing happenned. I was just ready to make an appointment with my indy when.... my car wouldn't start. I got a jump and it started immediately. I figured i must have left an interior light on or something. I drove around for about 2 hrs and turned it off. 3 hrs later it wouldnt start and i needed a jump again. I went to have the battery tested and they told me it was bad, not enough CCA (they didnt tell me the number it did have). replaced the battery and everything worked fine.

Next day I start my car and within two minutes ac is blowing cold!. it has been two days in a row now and ac is working without any long delay. still takes 2-3 minutes but not 15. and doesnt blow steaming hot air even when not fully cold. Could a low battery have caused my ac issues? is this possible?

[lynhnn]

My 03 3.0 X5 has exact the same A/C delay problem. So you say replacing the compressor will do the trick? Do you know how much part/labor cost?

[g300d]

Marine, the compressing action of the AC compressor is not electronically controlled as I understand it. The clutch is engaged and stays on when the AC is on, but the compressor internal control valve determines whether the compressor actually compresses refrigerant.

I know how you feel buddy, everytime the AC happens to cool I would say to myself, maybe it was this or that, but in my case eventually it reached the point it was not cooling more than it was cooling, and I replaced the compressor.

What you are experiencing now seems to be the "intermittent cooling" I went through, LOL!

I really do understand your hesitation as this is a problem/diagnosis that involves major work and an expensive part replacement to verify. I suggest that if your AC puts out cold air most of the time, just live with it in the meantime.

As I understand it, the valve is not a part that either works or doesnt; it can malfunction intermitently, or totally stop working. In my case, it stopped working often enough that I felt justified in taking the chance to replace the compressor assembly. AC was back to normal after that, which confirmed my diagnosis.

Lynhnn, I am not sure if your car has the same compressor as mine, my research indicates pre-facelift cars use Denso compressors as opposed to the Calsonic Kansei mine has. Labor should be about 3-4hours of work plus refrigerant costs at your favorite indy.

[Marine6531]

Sorry I haven' t been back to update. Well it seems I was excited about nothing. It lasted for two days but now it is back to the long delay. Infact the delay has seemed to get even longer. I'm gonna go ahead and replace the compressor, just waiting to find a good time to get it done.

g300d, after I read your post it always encourages me that it is the compressor. I get amped up to replace it but I seem to lose my nerve. I think I'm going to print out this thread and read it in the indy parking lot so I actually go through with it LOL!

[n00dles566]

This may be a dumb question, but have you checked the freon level? Mine was doing the same thing about a week ago and when I took it down they said that I was a pound low on freon. They also told me that this is a normal function of the AC on these cars, for the AC to delay coming on when the freon level is low. Mine now works fine since I got the freon topped off.