# AC clutch troubleshooting



## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

You're not the only member on this forum with that problem.

I don't know where the other is at in his diagnosis though.

Try unplugging the sensors on the low and high lines. The low is compressor. The high is supposed to be radiator fan.

Service manual don't have wiring diagrams?


----------



## CruzinForABruisn (Aug 23, 2018)

it does have wiring diagrams(attatched below), I would be eternally grateful if someone could test the connector on their compressor to see if it is supposed to read 12V all the time. It's gonna be the difference between me tearing the car apart to find a short to voltage, or replacing the compressor. It would really suck to replace it, only to find that an electrical issue was the culprit in the first compressor malfunctioning! I would be willing to CashApp some money as a thank you. I removed the pressure sensor from the evaporator as a test, the only change was it made the radiator fan scream, no change in compressor voltage.


----------



## Timberfly (Jul 22, 2018)

Does your compressor clutch spin with the engine running and the A/C turned on? 12V all the time should mean that the clutch is always engaged.


----------



## CruzinForABruisn (Aug 23, 2018)

Sorry, I didn't specify. My compressor actually never spins, I cant turn it (clutch) by hand no matter how hard I try. I'm thinking it may be seized. UV leak detector appears to have dye behind the clutch; The electrical contacts on the clutch appear corroded/ burnt. The compressor ground circuit also has a resistance of 11Ohms, manual specifies <5 as acceptable. The compressor is definitely faulty; this seems like a compound issue however


----------



## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

CruzinForABruisn said:


> it does have wiring diagrams(attatched below), I would be eternally grateful if someone could test the connector on their compressor to see if it is supposed to read 12V all the time. It's gonna be the difference between me tearing the car apart to find a short to voltage, or replacing the compressor. It would really suck to replace it, only to find that an electrical issue was the culprit in the first compressor malfunctioning! I would be willing to CashApp some money as a thank you. I removed the pressure sensor from the evaporator as a test, the only change was it made the radiator fan scream, no change in compressor voltage.
> View attachment 266253


If you look at the schematic. You will see that teh ac compressor clutch is always hot. (SORTA) It's tied in to a fuse that goes to the battery. BUT, the ac relay is the off/on for the power. And what turns the ac relay off/on. Is the engine control ignition relay. Which is wired in to the engine control module. 

Either your ac relay is stuck on. You've got a short somewhere supplying power to that wire. Or the engine control module is glitching out and keeping it turned on.
Find the ac relay and pull it out. See if the compressor is still powered up At the plug. 
Check the terminals at the relay. One should be hot at all times. Another should be hot with key on. The one that hots all times will be a different direction then the other one. And there will be another terminal running parallel to both power terminals. Those parallel terminals are the ground to work in conjuction with the power terminals. 

If you have 5 terminals. The middle one that sits between the 2 terminals that operate with the key is usually a blank terminal. Usually. 

And on that note. If you look at the schematic. You will see a symbol on both sides of the compressor clutch. upside down frownie faces. And you will see a rectangle inside the relay for ignition. I can't find anything on google for what those symbols are. You're service manual hopefully has a description for you.


----------



## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

CruzinForABruisn said:


> Sorry, I didn't specify. My compressor actually never spins, I cant turn it (clutch) by hand no matter how hard I try. I'm thinking it may be seized. UV leak detector appears to have dye behind the clutch; The electrical contacts on the clutch appear corroded/ burnt. The compressor ground circuit also has a resistance of 11Ohms, manual specifies <5 as acceptable. The compressor is definitely faulty; this seems like a compound issue however


It's not easy to turn clutch by hand. Specially if it has freon. Think compressed liquid.


----------



## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

I think you're trying to measure the solenoid, not the clutch. First, the wire is going into the back of the compressor, not by the pulley. Second, the schematic shows a black and red wire going to the compressor solenoid - and I'm seeing red and black wires in your picture. And yes, the solenoid is supposed to have 12V hot and the ground is supplied by the control module. 

At minimum, I'd go and look for the second set of wires that we know has to goes to the compressor.


----------



## CruzinForABruisn (Aug 23, 2018)

ChevyGuy said:


> I think you're trying to measure the solenoid, not the clutch. First, the wire is going into the back of the compressor, not by the pulley. Second, the schematic shows a black and red wire going to the compressor solenoid - and I'm seeing red and black wires in your picture. And yes, the solenoid is supposed to have 12V hot and the ground is supplied by the control module.
> 
> At minimum, I'd go and look for the second set of wires that we know has to goes to the compressor.



I think you're completely right ChevyGuy, I must have been testing the solenoid. I checked my buddies newer(2013) cruze, and he has a second set of wires going directly to the clutch. I did test the solenoid on his and found it was always hot as well. The problem is that my 2011 cruze does not have a second set of wires! I've attached pictures of a 2011 compressor, notice that there's only wires to the back of the compressor. I honestly have no idea how this clutch could operate unless it has some type of relay/ induction coil inside of it, activated by who-knows-what. Anyone know how this style operates? The voltage does increase from 12 to 15ish when the AC is activated


----------



## CruzinForABruisn (Aug 23, 2018)

I think you're completely right ChevyGuy, I must have been testing the solenoid. I checked my buddies newer(2013) cruze, and he has a second set of wires going directly to the clutch. I did test the solenoid on his and found it was always hot as well. The problem is that my 2011 cruze does not have a second set of wires! I've attached pictures of a 2011 compressor, notice that there's only wires to the back of the compressor. I honestly have no idea how this clutch could operate unless it has some type of relay/ induction coil inside of it, activated by who-knows-what. Anyone know how this style operates? The voltage does increase from 12 to 15V when AC is requested


----------



## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

Your compressor shows your engine to be 1.8

The 1.4 compressor has 2 wires. Control valve and clutch. 

The schematic diagram you posted would be for the 1.4. 

Post a diagram for the 1.8 ac compressor.

In the future it be more helpful to post year AND engine. Cuz the parts and diagrams aren't the same between the 2 motors. 

I could be wrong but I believe more people have the 1.4 then the 1.8


----------



## CruzinForABruisn (Aug 23, 2018)

2011 Chevy cruze LT 1.4L turbo. eighth digit(engine id) of vin =9. It must be the wrong diagram, however I can't find a different one on prodemand!


----------



## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

The diagram you posted is for 1.4 with 2 wires. 

But if you look at rockauto.com. The ac compressor for a 1.4 won't look like the pics you posted. The one for a 1.8 will. 

If your car is 1.4. I"m wondering if it's possible someone installed the wrong compressor. In which case you should have an extra plug floating around somewhere around there.


----------



## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

snowwy66 said:


> But if you look at rockauto.com. The ac compressor for a 1.4 won't look like the pics you posted. The one for a 1.8 will.


It depends on which compressor you look at. Some do, some don't. As best as I can figure out, some have the "fuel improvement" feature (RPO code Y8X). I'd think it would be the ones with that feature that have the clutch. (Like the Delco model). But the "Four Seasons" brand has it the other way around. My manual is for a 2013 and it shows a clutch for both "Manual" and Auto climate controls. It doesn't care about the engine size.

As for the photo, it's clear that the compressor pictured doesn't have a clutch. If it did, we'd see the extra wire. As it is, I can see the empty bolt hole when the wire hold-down would go if it had it.

Bottom line, there is no clutch. We're gong to have to look somewhere else for the problem. Perhaps that solenoid isn't working.

Another question for the OP: what country are you in? Nearly all of our resources are for US-built Cruze used in the US.


----------



## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

ChevyGuy said:


> It depends on which compressor you look at. Some do, some don't. As best as I can figure out, some have the "fuel improvement" feature (RPO code Y8X). I'd think it would be the ones with that feature that have the clutch. (Like the Delco model). But the "Four Seasons" brand has it the other way around. My manual is for a 2013 and it shows a clutch for both "Manual" and Auto climate controls. It doesn't care about the engine size.
> 
> As for the photo, it's clear that the compressor pictured doesn't have a clutch. If it did, we'd see the extra wire. As it is, I can see the empty bolt hole when the wire hold-down would go if it had it.
> 
> Bottom line, there is no clutch. We're gong to have to look somewhere else for the problem. Perhaps that solenoid isn't working.


I could understand that. But didn't see it on rock auto. Every 1.4 pic had 2 plugs. While all the 1.8 pics had 1. 

His wiring diagram doesn't match the compressor and the compressor isn't matching the website. 

And that looks like a clutch on his pic at the bottom of page 1. Those looks like plates that help push it back out to disengage. You're saying that's not the case? It has to have something to disengage. I can't see the compressor spinning the entire time the car is running. The pulley obviously but not the compressor.


----------



## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

snowwy66 said:


> I could understand that. But didn't see it on rock auto. Every 1.4 pic had 2 plugs. While all the 1.8 pics had 1.


Just so we're looking at the same things: RockAuto > CHEVROLET> 2011 > CRUZE > 1.4L L4 Turbocharged > Heat & Air Conditioning > A/C Compressor

I see 7 listings. The UAC CO22221C, GPD 6512820, ACDELCO 1522221, FOUR SEASONS 68220, VALEO 815566 all have two connectors (The AC Delco is hard to see. You can catch a glimpse in photo #2.)

While the ACDELCO 1522253, FOUR SEASONS 68218 only have one wire and show a empty spot where it should be.




snowwy66 said:


> And that looks like a clutch on his pic at the bottom of page 1. Those looks like plates that help push it back out to disengage. You're saying that's not the case? It has to have something to disengage.


Let me re-phrase that. There's no separate electric clutch. If you look at the pulleys of the two groups I've mentioned, you'll see a difference. The two-wire models have a solid pulley while the single wire models have some kind of open-air clutch visible.

I think we agree what's on his car doesn't match the manual. The OP makes it sound like this setup used to work. So, I think it's time to find a better manual. I haven't tried it myself, but I'd suggest alldatadiy.com. $30 for a one-year subscription for one car. By then, you should have been able to download everything you need.


----------



## CruzinForABruisn (Aug 23, 2018)

Thanks for all your help gentleman! I'm in the US, and yes, the AC used to work perfectly. I don't have RPO code Y8X, and all the non-fuel economy compressors do not have separate clutch circuits from what I can see. At first glance this seems not possible, but I guess Chevy found a way. I'm just gonna go ahead and replace the compressor and hope for the best. I'll update in a week or so about the results. I also am going to take apart the old compressor to see how the heck it works internally. Fingers crossed!


----------



## CruzinForABruisn (Aug 23, 2018)

I just stumbled upon gold. While looking up the part numbers from ChevyGuy's reply, I started noticing alot of the listings had a note about "CVC" or being listed as CVC compressors. It stands for clutchless variable displacement compressor > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPuYF0eNK6M. It doesn't have a clutch wire because it doesn't have a clutch! I think Chevy may have been using our cars in a reliability/ economy experiment. The compressor reads a pusle-width-modulation signal on that 12V wire and decides how much refrigerant to pump or to essentially go into stand-by. But the compressor shaft is always turning. If anyone is interested, watch that linked Youtube video or just google CVC AC compressors. Might want to get familiar, apparently more and more manufacturers are adopting this system.


----------



## CruzinForABruisn (Aug 23, 2018)

Really good CVC troubleshooting/info article > https://www.motor.com/magazine-summary/diagnosing-variable-displacement-compressors/


----------



## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

CruzinForABruisn said:


> I don't have RPO code Y8X


Nor do I, yet my factory manual shows it there. I may have to crawl under and see what I got. Maybe it was only done for the ECO trim?

Before going to the trouble of pulling the compressor, I'd check the ground signal on the compressor. See if it's being told to run at all. If it's 12V, then the computer isn't commanding it to turn on for some reason.


----------



## poobah47 (May 25, 2021)

CruzinForABruisn said:


> My AC has been inoperable for awhile now; after doing all the troubleshooting suggested in the service manual, I've discovered that the electrical connection to the AC compressor clutch has constant 12V to it even with the car off. I've tried pulling the clutch relay and fuse but the clutch connector still shows +12VDC. Is there anyone that knows offhand or could stick a probe on their own compressor to see if it's supposed to be always ON? I would really appreciate it!
> 
> attached is a picture of the compressor connector that I'm testing for voltage
> View attachment 266249


I too have 12VDC always on the clutch relay. Looking at the schematic, looks normal.


----------



## V4NSON (Jun 13, 2021)

CruzinForABruisn said:


> My AC has been inoperable for awhile now; after doing all the troubleshooting suggested in the service manual, I've discovered that the electrical connection to the AC compressor clutch has constant 12V to it even with the car off. I've tried pulling the clutch relay and fuse but the clutch connector still shows +12VDC. Is there anyone that knows offhand or could stick a probe on their own compressor to see if it's supposed to be always ON? I would really appreciate it!
> 
> attached is a picture of the compressor connector that I'm testing for voltage
> View attachment 266249


I know it has nothing todo with what your asking but i just replaced mine and i need to replace that wire you have pointed out and i cant find it anywhere form chevy never me because i took the one off the old ac compressor but it dosent want to go into its home and i have it holding on there with electrical tape and now my ac wont get cold i got it recharged and womt get cold. And i know it has something todo with it not being connected properly i need help finding that wire and i dont want to pull one off a junker when i could run into the same issues i just want to buy a new one but chevy cant help me so im hopeing someome here could help (dont mind all the oil i cleaned it up and look way better now lol)


----------



## poobah47 (May 25, 2021)

V4NSON said:


> I know it has nothing todo with what your asking but i just replaced mine and i need to replace that wire you have pointed out and i cant find it anywhere form chevy never me because i took the one off the old ac compressor but it dosent want to go into its home and i have it holding on there with electrical tape and now my ac wont get cold i got it recharged and womt get cold. And i know it has something todo with it not being connected properly i need help finding that wire and i dont want to pull one off a junker when i could run into the same issues i just want to buy a new one but chevy cant help me so im hopeing someome here could help (dont mind all the oil i cleaned it up and look way better now lol)
> View attachment 292678


I’m not real clear with what you’re asking. Is the clutch engaging? I’m guessing it does not are you showing and suggesting that you have a broken wire?

i’ll try to send you the schematic again and you can describe through the schematic what you’re encountering.


----------



## poobah47 (May 25, 2021)

poobah47 said:


> I’m not real clear with what you’re asking. Is the clutch engaging? I’m guessing it does not are you showing and suggesting that you have a broken wire?
> 
> i’ll try to send you the schematic again and you can describe through the schematic what you’re encountering.





poobah47 said:


> I’m not real clear with what you’re asking. Is the clutch engaging? I’m guessing it does not are you showing and suggesting that you have a broken wire?
> 
> i’ll try to send you the schematic again and you can describe through the schematic what you’re encountering.


----------

