Mechanic said my compressor is going bad.

[humfrz]

Iffen the AC is blowing cold air and the compressor ain't smoken - it ain't broke - no need to fix it.

from Bubba

[RZNT4R]

Originally Posted by Ossiko

Well I’m not sure, because when he said this to me, and I know nothing about cars, so it was concerning to me. It blows cold air perfectly fine, when the car is in idil, the engine runs, then for a second as the compressor cycles you can hear your RPMs drop a bit, then it picks up again, and the cycle continues etc. Weather was about 80ish degrees and humidity was about 80-90% so I wouldn’t think the ambient had anything to do with it, but I could be wrong

Ambient conditions have EVERYTHING to do with AC performance. 80 degrees and nearly maxed humidity is a decent load on an AC system, if your air outlet temp is in spec, it's likely fine. To test your air outlet temp: Hood closed, windows down, MAX AC setting and max blower speed, 1500 RPM, let you thermometer stabilise.

[Vital]

DO you have an automatic? There is a TSB for idle stability the Autos when they are in Park or Neutral. Otherwise i know there was another TSB for idle stability for Autos and Manuals.
https://www.tsbsearch.com/Subaru/11-136-14

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by FR-S2GT86

You should tell us the name of the shop and the city where this mechanic works so that we all know to stay away from it.

that does about as much good as 'blocking' those spoofed spam callers. if the guy's terrible, much of the time he'll end up bouncing around to another shop in a few weeks time, and all we end up doing is smearing a small business name in the dirt over an employee that they already dealt with.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Ossiko

It’s blowing cold air, that’s why I don’t get it.

Here's why it's normal. There's a temp sensor on the evaporator (in the cabin) The controller shuts off the compressor to keep it from getting too cold and frosting. Test it by cranking the blower to high. It'll quit disengaging because the evaporator can't get cold enough.


Did someone else already answer this? Meh.

[JohnH]

as a professional wrench, its perfectly normal for it to cycle on and off. If its every few seconds it might be either over pressure or under pressure, but other than that, normal. if it sounds normal, and the clutch doesn't appear overly rusty in the contact surfaces(with associated rust all around when it gets worse), and its not noisy, along with the system making cold air, its fine.

If your mechanic said you might need a new compressor based on the compressor cycling, he is either incompetent, or trying to rip you off.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

Here's why it's normal. There's a temp sensor on the evaporator (in the cabin) The controller shuts off the compressor to keep it from getting too cold and frosting. Test it by cranking the blower to high. It'll quit disengaging because the evaporator can't get cold enough.


Did someone else already answer this? Meh.

As they say "the short term memory is the second thing to go" -

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by humfrz

As they say "the short term memory is the second thing to go" -

What's the first?

[Sur]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

What's the first?

Probably ED

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Sur

Probably ED

lol ... I mean Awww...

[FR-S2GT86]

Originally Posted by soundman98

that does about as much good as 'blocking' those spoofed spam callers. if the guy's terrible, much of the time he'll end up bouncing around to another shop in a few weeks time, and all we end up doing is smearing a small business name in the dirt over an employee that they already dealt with.

I appreciate how you compare incompetent mechanics to spam callers.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

What's the first?

[MuseChaser]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

What's the first?

The first what?

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by MuseChaser

The first what?

THAT'S what I was thinking.