AC question re clutch
 

Hey. I’ve got a fairly new to me 2011 V60 with the 2.4 D5. AC seems intermittent. 80% of the time it doesn’t blow cold with it occasionally working. Now I know there’s an issue with compressor clutches on some models however I’ve had a look at mine today and even though the ax isn’t getting cold the clutch is clicking in when I press the button. The clearance is on the higher side but I can clearly see the clutch engaging when powered on. My question is would the clutch still spin if it were a clearance issue? There’s defo gas in it however it hasnt had a degas for several years looking at the history. Would the clutch engage if the gas were low?

I can find loads of info regarding work compressor clutches however none of them seem to be for the v60 or style of clutch on mine.

Thanks.

what can happen is that if the clutch gap is too large it will pull in and run when cold and you will get cold air , but as it warms up the electromagnetic coil resistance goes higher hence less current can flow so less magnetic pull and it drops out . When it is not cooling see if the centre of the pulley is rotating ...

This was mainly on the older cars though .

Yeah I had a quick look while the wheels are away being powder coated at the weekend. The pulley continues to engage and spin even if it’s not blowing cold so I’m going to send it for an ac service / gas before going any further see if that is the culprit.

Best to get it checked as if there is no gas in the system, there is a pressure switch that would stop the clutch engaging so as not to damage the compressor (the a/c gas is also the lubricant). Sometimes the pressure can be very low, still enough to operate the switch but not enough to make a noticeable difference in the air temperature.

Reach down to the compressor and see if the centre of it will spin, if it won't the clutch is seized and there might be some residual R juice somewhere else along the pipe warren,

p.s do this with the engine off.