MACS Service Reports - 2016 - MAR3

calls where someone tried to jumper
out the high side transducer wires and
were unable to make the compressor
clutch engage. Since they figured the
clutch must be bad, replacement of the
compressor came next, followed by a
call to the Techline asking why it still
won't turn on.
They're not often happy to hear that
most likely there was nothing wrong
with that initial compressor in the first
place, although since it's now been replaced, it's not that simple to tell anymore. Either way, the original problem
still exists, and needs to be figured out.

Alldata

Fixing the Cavalier

Figure 4: You can't get much simpler than this! Power flows from the main A/C fuse through the dashboard switch in the control head to the compressor cut-out switch (which opens when the accelerator is
fully depressed). If there's enough pressure in the system, power then flows through the cycling switch and
on to the clutch.

March 2016

3

When this vehicle came into the
shop, they started out their diagnosis in a similar way to that described
above. The 2002 Cavalier arrived with
a no A/C complaint, and the first thing
the shop did was to start the engine
and turn on the dash panel controls to
MAX A/C. The blower functions and
mode settings all worked properly, but
there was no telltale Click! to let them
know the compressor engaged, even
though the A/C button could turn the
little green light ON and OFF on the
control panel (Figure 6).
They connected their gauge set and
found 80 PSI in the system. Figuring
that should be enough for the compressor to engage, there must be a problem
with the sensor or the clutch. So they
removed the connector from the high
side pressure sensor and started probing it with a piece of wire, trying to
make the clutch turn on. But when it
wouldn't do so, they figured the clutch
must be bad, considering the car has
142K+ miles on the odometer. Besides,
replacing that factory-original compressor by installing a new one can't
hurt anyway, right?
At least they also went the extra mile
and included an orifice tube and accumulator in the job, as well as an 8 ounce
bottle of PAG oil (which subsequently
overcharged the system with oil and is
a whole other MSR in itself). But they
were disappointed to find out that after all that time and effort, and doing
all that work (including waiting for the
parts to arrive), that the compressor
would still not turn on, and so at this

MACS Service Reports



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MACS Service Reports - 2016

MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JAN1
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JAN2
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JAN3
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JAN4
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JAN5
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MACS Service Reports - 2016 - FEB1
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MACS Service Reports - 2016 - MAR1
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MACS Service Reports - 2016 - MAR5
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MACS Service Reports - 2016 - APR1
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MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JUN1
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MACS Service Reports - 2016 - AUG1
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MACS Service Reports - 2016 - SEP1
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MACS Service Reports - 2016 - OCT1
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MACS Service Reports - 2016 - NOV1
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MACS Service Reports - 2016 - DEC1
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MACS Service Reports - 2016 - DEC7
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