My AC is blowing fuses

[Targ3t]

Hey everybody. I have a 2001 Olds Alero. The AC compressor went out so my father in law and I replaced it. It worked fine for about one month, not it keeps blowing the a 10 amp fuse (can't remember which one at this moment, my wife is at the store with the car). I have been told that it is a bad wire, I can't see any pinche wires and have looked up to where the wires go into the tape/plastic casing. I have also been told that it is the compressor that is doing it (the parts store said this was not the case... I think they just don't wanna warranty anything). My wife is very upset at me because I can't figure this out. Any help would be appreciated. Oh yeah, I don't have the money for a mechanic and am having to do it all myself...

[Tech II]

Does it blow the fuse as soon as you turn the A/C on, or does it take awhile?

[Targ3t]

Sometimes it will do it as soon as I turn it on, other times it will run for several hours, then blow the fuse. I am about at my wits ends with this car.

[brcidd]

Most likely a bad coil on th ecompressor- the 10 amp fuse is the only fuse to feed the compressor coil- unplug compressor- see if fuse still blows- if not- replace compressor or compressor coil- if it does blow- then check wiring hasrnes to compressor- most likely pinched in behind compressor when compressor was replaced.....

[Tech II]

Problem is, it can blow right away or not blow for hours......

With the engine running, carefully move the harness to the compressor clutch to see if you can induce the fuse to blow....

That 10 amp fuse does branch off and feeds another circuit, but my diagram doesn't show what it is....

Chances are that fuse may not blow until the coil is hot....about the only thing you can do on the coil is, keep a spare fuse handy....disconnect the harness to the compressor when the fuse blows, then replace the fuse, and rehook the connector,,,,if it blows as soon as you reconnect the clutch coil, the coil is your problem.....when you do this, shut the engine off and turn the key to "on", when you remove the connector, because that belt is close and moving....

Another more involved way of determining if it's the clutch coil, would be to buy a new harness connector for the clutch coil, run new wires from it to power and ground and in the circuit you would need to install a fuse holder for a 10 amp fuse and also a switch......now you turn the A/C on at the head, and also flip your switch on at the same time......if the fuse blows, you know it's the coil....the danger to this method though is this: you have eliminated the A/C pressure sensor from the equation, and have no protection for the compressor or your evaporator.....

Another method, with the car not running, you just flip the switch to turn the coil on, and see if it blows.....but this could drain your battery(unless you use a jumper box)....but in either case of these two scenarios, if the fuse blows, you at least know it's the coil,,,,

One other thing, to try for ha-ha's, is swap the compressor relay with another in the fuse block(same number), and see if that solves your problem......

And one more thing to try....with the A/C running, with the palm of your hand, give the whole Underhood Fuse block at hit with the palm of your hand to see if the fuse blows....

[Targ3t]

Thank you for the help guys. I really appreciate it. I will be looking at the car tomorrow and trying what you suggested Tech. Thank you for all your help guys.

[Mister.C]

So, what did it end up with, now almost 2 years later without any further feedback? Was it the magnetic coil or not that caused the fuse to blow?

[suikojay]

Originally Posted by Mister.C

So, what did it end up with, now almost 2 years later without any further feedback? Was it the magnetic coil or not that caused the fuse to blow?

Considering the OP's last activity was on 9/10/13, and he may not be receiving e-mails to new posts to this thread, it might be better to send the OP a PM since he'll probably get an e-mail informing him of the PM.

[Mister.C]

Originally Posted by suikojay

Considering the OP's last activity was on 9/10/13, and he may not be receiving e-mails to new posts to this thread, it might be better to send the OP a PM since he'll probably get an e-mail informing him of the PM.

Yeah, I could. But I wanted to let anyone know that might came by. I'm surely not the only one missing the last part.

[suikojay]

Originally Posted by Mister.C

Yeah, I could. But I wanted to let anyone know that might came by. I'm surely not the only one missing the last part.

Oh, I actually meant sending him a PM about this thread so that he could come back to this thread to let all of us know what happened.

[Mister.C]

Originally Posted by suikojay

Oh, I actually meant sending him a PM about this thread so that he could come back to this thread to let all of us know what happened.

I just sent him a message. Hope he'll ever see the message and reply

[DMC12]

I'm having the same problem, so I'm actually glad you've revived this discussion!

Now... if we could only get a sure answer...

[Mister.C]

For my concern, it was the magnetic clutch coil that was the problem. I ordered a complete clutch kit from ebay to fit the exact aircon pump model as mine, installed it, and everything is working just great now.