2007 Subaru Forester Air Conditioner Not Working Diagnose and Fix
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- Опубліковано 7 жов 2024
- 2007 Subaru Forester Air Conditioner Not Working Diagnose and Fix. Excessive clearance in the compressor clutch causing the compressor to randomly disengage.
Thanks very much for taking the time to document and post this - excellent diagnostic process! My son's 2006 Forester is having the same issues, looks like the air-gap is about .035. We're going to try to remove shims to get it back in spec, hopefully that'll be enough to get the clutch working consistently. If not, we'll install a new clutch.
Why not just buy a new clutch? They are not that expensive. You are half way to replacing it by reshimming it. New ones come with shims.
I am interested in some info on your AC pressure tester and the load test light kit. Thanks. Both appear to be very useful in fixing this problem. My fix was the $10 AC Relay.
What was your final gap in mm? Thanks
The heat from the engine, over time, causes the little rubber bumpers to shrink. These rubber bumpers are on the front of the clutch, closest to the round metal inner ring out front of the clutch. They are on their own little arms. three of them. You can see the rubber bumpers in the old clutch and compere them to the new bumpers in the new clutch. the shrinkage is visually obvious, it is the reason the gap size becomes too big for the magnet to overcome.
This shrinkage of the rubber...causes the clutch to sit too far out for the magnet to pull it in, when it is activated. the trick is to remove the clutch, and put a smaller spacer in, so the clutch gap is 0.1mm to 0.4mm, which is spec. If you look, the clutch is almost almost 1mm out.
So one can add in some small spacers on the rubber bumpers, by using some small spades, with the terminal end cut off, and force fit into the space just behind the rubber bumpers.
This cheap fix, might hold for a year or more. That is the experience of people, who do the cheap fix. This basically happens to all the subrau's of this era, and that $2.00 set of spades is the cheap fix that can be done in about a hour or less.
To do it permanently, put a new clutch and magnet in, or remove the old clutch and get those rubber dampers bent in or pushed out, or set to be closer to the magnet via spacer adjustments.
I bent my rubber damper arms in with a piece of steel and a hammer, which the whole thing left in situ. and BOOM!.. air conditioning, just like that. but try this one at your own risk, as you might get an unbalanced system or some bearing damage.
I try not to show people that stuff because it my reputation on the line and I don't want comebacks, I need to fix things permanently the first time. Also with the clutch constantly slipping you never know how much heat it is generating on the wear on the the surfaces.
I wrapped the three arms in front of the clutch with copper wire, pushed the wrapped wire out toward the outside of the clutch plate till the plate bent enough toward the compressor, then locked it down with JB Weld. That was 4 years ago, still works fine.
Why didn't you just reshim it or replace the clutch?
@@RobertDotterer because my mechanical skills at the time were nil & my mechanic told me you can't replace just the clutch, I'd have to replace the whole compressor, total cost $800.
Nice video !
I own a 2011 Subaru Forester and My ac is not working right now, but the compressor starts when I turn the ac on. Two days ago I noticed that my compressor was leaking oil because of the smell and also a noise in the clutch appeared. Would you say it is the o rings that are worn out?
Does anyone know?
Thank you
The seal is probably bad. You are probably better off buying a new one. Without seeing or hearing it in person it would be my safest recommendation for you.
My A/C was intermittent and couldn't figure why, but my battery light came on that was caused by a bad alternator. New alternator = cold A/C.
You should always check the charging system before trying to fix any electronic issue. AC is the first thing to be disabled on cars with a charging system issue.
Hello,
Thank you in advance for answering this but my ac wont work (02 forester) My fans dont seem to come on in the low setting for the ac, also i did a power test with a volt meter (like at 7:30 ish in the video) and got no voltage. Is it a relay issue?
Extra note: I have no check engine light but when I first got the car I had to get new fans because only one would work but since that both have worked
Again thank you
Do you have a wiring diagram for it?
@@RobertDotterer just got one off of google
Can you look at scan data and see if it says AC is requested?
Thanks for sharing, wonderful video. I have a 2013 Forrester less than 50,000 miles. The AC works in town for short trips just fine. On the highway after about 5 to 10 minutes it stops cooling. If I manually switch the compressor off for 2 minutes and switch it on, it cools for a minute sometimes 5 minutes. Could this be the AC clutch wearing out ? Thanks.
Sounds more like a low charge. Have you done an ac performance test?
Thank for the reply. I was able to add half a pound. Low is less than 37 psi. Not skilled with ac. I am looking for a shop.
You shouldn't really be adding freon unless you know you are actually low. You can a damage the system.
@@RobertDotterer Thank you for your help. I think I solved the problem. Bad AC relay. Once it switched off, I tapped it small screwdriver and it kicked on. I replaced the relay. It is working again.
That is good to hear!
I have a 2007 Forester. Mine is doing the exact some thing. I was wondering where did you get the fan clutch and how much? TIA
I got a replacement from Subaru. I don't remember the exact price.
Robert Dotterer thank you.
You're welcome.
My 2010 Subaru Forester uns blowing cold air only on passenger side, is that the actuator bad on the drive side? How can I fix that?
is it a valeo dkv 10r
I am not sure, sorry.
Ok. I had a leak. I replaced the condenser that had the leak and it worked fine. This year it blows air but its not cold. I filled the freon. Replaced the clutch in the compressor. And it still doesnt blow cold air. wtf?
My ac is working but when I turn the ac off the compressor looks like it's not spinning is this normal?
So what was the gap at
I don't remember.