A/C COMPRESSOR RELAY WENT BAD

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redhawk
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A/C COMPRESSOR RELAY WENT BAD

Post by redhawk » Tue Jul 09, 2013 12:38 pm

Has anyone else had a problem with their a/c compressor relay going bad for no apparent reason?
2002 Trans Am Firehawk Vert #25 Red w/Ebony Interior w/M6 1 of 19 built
2002 Trans Am Firehawk T-top #162 Sunset Orange Metallic w/Camel Interior 1 of 7
1978 Trans Am Martinique Blue w/Black Deluxe Interior Owned since 7/82

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Scott Chab
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Re: A/C COMPRESSOR RELAY WENT BAD

Post by Scott Chab » Wed Jul 10, 2013 7:32 pm

You mean other than an 11 year old electrical component failing?
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HawkLT1
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Re: A/C COMPRESSOR RELAY WENT BAD

Post by HawkLT1 » Thu Jul 11, 2013 12:04 pm

Had a problem with my 1993 when it was about 2 yrs old. Under warranty so no big problem.
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Firebrian
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Re: A/C COMPRESSOR RELAY WENT BAD

Post by Firebrian » Thu Jul 11, 2013 6:00 pm

I think those relays tend to hold up better than the compressors. Still, I see a lot of cars out there for sale with both high and low mileage still sporting the orig AC system components. My compressor failed on me last year (13 years old) due to seal leakage. Sad thing is I replaced it with a new Delphi unit 3 weeks ago along with receiver/drier and orifice tube....and now 3 weeks later the system has discharged again (ie no cool air). Hopefully, it turns out to be a simple 0-ring or something on one of the lines. But, I'll be unhappy if it turns out to be the compressor again. If it also has something to do with the relay that would probably be a good thing.
Last edited by Firebrian on Wed Jul 24, 2013 7:50 pm, edited 3 times in total.

redhawk
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Re: A/C COMPRESSOR RELAY WENT BAD

Post by redhawk » Fri Jul 12, 2013 1:06 pm

My car sits alot, (we are talking 6700 miles now) but last time I used the a/c it worked fine. The next time I go to use it is when it would not blow cold air. Found out it was a bad relay buy switching the fuel pump relay with the a/c compressor relay which are the same relay. Now car just cranks and won't fire. Swap another relay from other underhood fuse box in place of now bad fuel pump relay and now car starts and a/c blows cold air. Went to the local Chevrolet dealer to pickup new relay and either the parts guy didn't now what he was doing or they don't sell the correct relay anymore. The part number supposedly changed to a new number and the relay that he gave me was square shaped, twice the size and not rectangle shaped although had the four prongs and what appeared to be the correct schematic symbols on the side. And it was $26 w/tax. There is no way for the square relay to fit in the fuse box becasuse there isn't enough room for it. So, I went to Auto Zone to check with them. They had one at another store and the price was about $20 which I'm guessing would be an AC/DELCO part & not the factory OMRON made in Canada. Anyway, I decided to look on Ebay for the correct relay and there I find them. Cheapest new ones were on sale for like $12.65 each with free shipping. The auction also had a make offer. I offered $50 for 5 of them and they accepted my offer. I think I got a pretty good deal and now have extras stashed. Plus, I had them the next day. Didn't realize that they were local, but hey the shipping was free anyway.
2002 Trans Am Firehawk Vert #25 Red w/Ebony Interior w/M6 1 of 19 built
2002 Trans Am Firehawk T-top #162 Sunset Orange Metallic w/Camel Interior 1 of 7
1978 Trans Am Martinique Blue w/Black Deluxe Interior Owned since 7/82

Firebrian
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Re: A/C COMPRESSOR RELAY WENT BAD

Post by Firebrian » Wed Jul 24, 2013 7:39 pm

Thanks to Redhawk I eliminated any relays as being the cause of my AC issue. But that oil drop on the ground wherever the car was parked told me it was probably a leak from an ac component. Sure enough, took it back to the shop last week and they said it was a crack on the hp cutout switch. I got the a new switch a half hour later. An hour after replacing that and the car still wouldn't hold pressure. It turned out the leak was from the hp tubing line itself just the other side of the c/o switch. Sort of uncanny that this line was leak tight in June after they replaced the compressor and LP line in the same vicinity (held pressure for about 2 weeks)....and after the recent work the line is cracked and won't hold pressure? The line doesn't rub on anything either. I suspect they may have put enough pressure on the line at some point to initiate a crack. I don't think it's that common for the hp line to crack.

On Friday I go back with a new hp line to try it all again. The only orig components remaining will be the condenser and evaporator.....I don't want to even go there...lol. They might not even charge me for these last 2 visits so it's not all bad. If I did this job again I'd just recommend to anyone doing a compressor to do both lines and the c/o switch along with it. At least that way there are fewer 11-14 year old parts left to cause a problem. Lot of confusion among the dealers as to what OEM equipment was for these compressors. Some day Delco...some say Delphi. My GM dealer insisted they were Delco and they could have sold me one for around $375. It probably doesn't matter as they are mostly all made overseas in Asia. I ended up buying the whole repair kit + compressor + LP line for $375 from a large on-line AC supplier. And as it turned out, the OEM compressor that came out of my car was in fact a Delphi. :wink:

I'd say around half of the original lower mileage '98-'02 F bodies out there still have their original AC compressors. They don't last forever. If you're buying a used F body regardless of mileage, Figure on a $750-$800 for quality parts and labor to do a thorough AC system upgrade if it isn't done already. If you can do the work yourself and don't care about the quality of parts you use, you can probably get 'er done for $350 or so. The lack of stenciling on top of the AC drier is one sign it has been replaced (ie no factory part #). When I sold my '98 Camaro Z28 daily driver 4 years ago, it hadn't had working AC for 3-4 years or so....failed around 8 yrs old or 65K miles. That car didn't sit either as I put about 12,000 miles a year on it.

Firehawk2
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Re: A/C COMPRESSOR RELAY WENT BAD

Post by Firehawk2 » Sat Aug 03, 2013 9:25 pm

Last August-2012-I had compressor replaced. I do not drive my car at all during winter. Last week I took the hawk out and no cold air. I brought it back to my mechanics I've known for 20 years (my wife worked there for 13 years) and they refilled the charge and added dye to detect leak. Well, no cold air and was told it is a pcm problem.
1994 Firehawk #2

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