2005 C230 AC problem
06-23-2016, 08:56 PM
#1
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2005 c230
2005 C230 AC problem
Hello,
My wifes car decided not to send out any AC anymore. Here are the symptoms:
1. it was working fine yesterday, and then today it turned instantly HOT. not just warm air but really hot (grant it, it is 90 degrees outside right now). it didnt slightly go from cold to warm to hot, it stopped all completely. going into work it was fine, when she came out to go home it wasnt.
2. I do have the clicking under the dash sometimes, but air still can be circulated to the various areas. Maybe the problem but i dont think so because....
3. Before when it was working, the AC compressor was noticeably on. the engine shook a little more than normal with the AC running, especially in reverse and stopped at stoplights. now, it no longer does this. making me think the Compressor isnt engaging.
4. I was hoping that it was just low freon and that the sensor is cutting the compressor out due to this, but i dont have "AC light always on" symptom on the climate control center. could it be low freon even though the AC light isnt staying on? (see update below. i have ruled out low freon)
5. I have done the climate control reset by holding the two buttons down and waiting for the flashing to go off. they stay flashing back and forth (but i think this is due to the linkage arm not functioning perfectly, but could this point something else other than the linkage arms?)
6. I checked fuses 41 and 51 to make sure they are still good. they are.
7. there are no lights on the dash or anything else that would indicate a code to be pulled.
so my trouble shooting steps seem to be as follows:
add some freon, hopefully it was just low and the ac compressor is back in action.
if that doesnt work, what should be my next step? should i replace the sensor?
Hopefully i can get some much needed expertise from the community here. i was hoping that these symptoms might definitively point to an area that someone could identify for me.
Any help will be much appreciated and if you live in the utah area, Dinners on me!
UPPDATE:
so i went to get some freon in it. turns out the freon is totally full. so we can rule that out.
i can confirm that the compressor itself is not engaging, it is not rumbling along or lowering the RPM at stop lights/while in reverse like it used to do. so my next guess would be the sensor, but is that correct? what else could cause the compressor from not engaging? (other than it being completely shot, which is a possibility. I just was hoping to rule out any other easy solutions before shelling out a few hundred bucks.)
My wifes car decided not to send out any AC anymore. Here are the symptoms:
1. it was working fine yesterday, and then today it turned instantly HOT. not just warm air but really hot (grant it, it is 90 degrees outside right now). it didnt slightly go from cold to warm to hot, it stopped all completely. going into work it was fine, when she came out to go home it wasnt.
2. I do have the clicking under the dash sometimes, but air still can be circulated to the various areas. Maybe the problem but i dont think so because....
3. Before when it was working, the AC compressor was noticeably on. the engine shook a little more than normal with the AC running, especially in reverse and stopped at stoplights. now, it no longer does this. making me think the Compressor isnt engaging.
4. I was hoping that it was just low freon and that the sensor is cutting the compressor out due to this, but i dont have "AC light always on" symptom on the climate control center. could it be low freon even though the AC light isnt staying on? (see update below. i have ruled out low freon)
5. I have done the climate control reset by holding the two buttons down and waiting for the flashing to go off. they stay flashing back and forth (but i think this is due to the linkage arm not functioning perfectly, but could this point something else other than the linkage arms?)
6. I checked fuses 41 and 51 to make sure they are still good. they are.
7. there are no lights on the dash or anything else that would indicate a code to be pulled.
so my trouble shooting steps seem to be as follows:
add some freon, hopefully it was just low and the ac compressor is back in action.
if that doesnt work, what should be my next step? should i replace the sensor?
Hopefully i can get some much needed expertise from the community here. i was hoping that these symptoms might definitively point to an area that someone could identify for me.
Any help will be much appreciated and if you live in the utah area, Dinners on me!
UPPDATE:
so i went to get some freon in it. turns out the freon is totally full. so we can rule that out.
i can confirm that the compressor itself is not engaging, it is not rumbling along or lowering the RPM at stop lights/while in reverse like it used to do. so my next guess would be the sensor, but is that correct? what else could cause the compressor from not engaging? (other than it being completely shot, which is a possibility. I just was hoping to rule out any other easy solutions before shelling out a few hundred bucks.)
Last edited by Logan McLeod; 06-23-2016 at 09:49 PM.
06-27-2016, 10:46 AM
#2
MBWorld Fanatic!
Sorry to hear that...
Sounds like the famous alternator overrun (sprag) bearing problem.
The bearing is supposed to freewheel in one direction so as to reduce the V-belt vibrations when the engine changes its RPM. Bad alternator bearing puts a lot of stress on the belt tensioner and the AC compressor pulley.
The symptoms: weird sounds when parked and selecting Reverse gear, vibration when in gear and stopped.
Most likely your AC pulley is now broken.
I am not sure if it's possible to replace just the AC pulley, but you may try to search around. Otherwise it's a new AC compressor and alternator (or replace the alt pulley).
Sounds like the famous alternator overrun (sprag) bearing problem.
The bearing is supposed to freewheel in one direction so as to reduce the V-belt vibrations when the engine changes its RPM. Bad alternator bearing puts a lot of stress on the belt tensioner and the AC compressor pulley.
The symptoms: weird sounds when parked and selecting Reverse gear, vibration when in gear and stopped.
Most likely your AC pulley is now broken.
I am not sure if it's possible to replace just the AC pulley, but you may try to search around. Otherwise it's a new AC compressor and alternator (or replace the alt pulley).
