A/C and Radiator Fan died on same day.

[Harold]

Is there a way to check the refrigerant?

[Harold]

Before the fan would cycle on and off constantly. Even in the winter

[Fummins]

I don't have the "proper" stuff and just use a cheap deal like this https://www.amazon.ca/Wefond-Univers...79349542&psc=1

I lied in my previous post. The most common problem is the rubber ac hose coming off the front of the compressor gets pushed right into the compressor pulley if you hit something low with the rh front corner of the bumper..curb, pothole, protester etc.... Rad support pushes back, pushes line into pulley, bang no refrigerant. It's hard to see as it cuts the bottom of the rubber hose usually. Can reach down from the top and give if an awkward rubdown.

Condensers do leak too, and it doesn't take much of a rock to poke a hole in one. Really it could be anything, but those are the two most common deals I've seen. My suggstion is see if it's charged, could even just pop off a cap and push on the shrader valve with a screwdriver or key(after covering hole with a rag) for a split second to see if there's even any pressure in the system. If nothing comes out look for a major leak.

[Harold]

I guess I will hook the fan back up and see if it overheats. I will monitor the temperature. I wonder what temperature it's supposed to turn on at.

[Top_Fuel]

...I wonder what temperature it's supposed to turn on at.

In a thread that Fummins mentioned a few posts back, someone made the following observation...

...radiator fan comes ON at 220 F and turns back OFF around 206 F.

I just looked through the service manual and I don't see any reference to specific temperature figures. Makes you wonder if they set the cooling fan parameters up differently depending on where the car is being sold. Here's the only mention I could find:

COOLING FAN CONTROL

The ECM judges the required revolution speed of cooling fan motor using the input signals transmitted from A/C switch, secondary pulley speed sensor <CVT> or vehicle speed sensor (VSS) <M/T> and engine coolant temperature sensor.

Well...that's helpful.


So that got me wondering... At what temperature does the high coolant temp light come on? For those who haven't looked, the green coolant temperature light will turn on red if the car overheats. What temperature is that? I have no idea. I couldn't find that, either. The only reference to it is in the owner's manual:

This light comes on in red if the coolant temperature becomes excessively high.

[Harold]

I guess they like to keep it vague.

[Fummins]

I guess I will hook the fan back up and see if it overheats. I will monitor the temperature. I wonder what temperature it's supposed to turn on at.

Yesh.

My radiator fan comes on at 220 F(104C) and turns back off around 206 F(96.6C) . No warning lights.

[Harold]

Will the AC compressor turn on if the refrigerant is low?

[Harold]

I worry that the coolant temperature sensor could be faulty. I really should not rely on it.

[Top_Fuel]

Will the AC compressor turn on if the refrigerant is low?

No. There's a minimum system pressure required before the compressor will turn on. It's built that way to protect the compressor from destroying itself if the charge level is too low.

Buy/borrow a cheap AC pressure gauge. It's a quick check.