sonicboom909

I have a 1996 Nissan Maxima and the AC wont turn on inside the vehicle ie nothing happens when I press the buttons. I checked both the fuse for the AC inside the car as well as the one in the engine bay. Both are good. From what I've read online it could be that either the switch itself is malfunctioning or the AC circuit is not getting power.


I just got my car stolen and returned to me yesterday, This might sound dumb, but I checked to see if maybe they stole the compressor and that is why my AC wont turn on. I am a complete automobile know-nothing, so I watched a video on youtube describing where the compressor is located in the engine compartment. I looked down and I saw the two visible bolts bolted in on the right near the engine block and on the left side there is still the belt attached, so I'm assuming the compressor is still there. It's impossible to reach down in there or really get a good view, but it appears the compressor is still there. But I'm not even sure a missing compressor would cause the AC unit inside the car not to turn on....


One thing is they tried to take the stereo, so the dash is kinda screwed up where the ac unit and stereo meet. Could they have possibly screwed something up with the AC unit inside the car when they attempted to steal the stereo?


Another thing I should also note is that when I picked my car up from the tow yard, the battery was missing. As it turns out, the starter also needed to be replaced (I'm thinking that's why they abandoned the car?). So I've got the car running with a new battery and a new starter....but could either of those 2 things be the cause of my AC not working?


Thank you for your help. As you can imagine it was nice getting my car back, but I've already dropped a lot of money on a car that isnt worth that much so I'm hoping this repair will be relatively inexpensive. Fingers crossed.

maxfever1987

iTrader: (93)

It might be as simple as a fuse misting or burnt out, inside your car under the steering wheel pull out and look at the fuse label, than look for something that says ac or air con, and pull that fuse and report back, I dont have the cover in front of me otherwise i would tell u exactly which one it is,

sonicboom909

Yeah like I said in my original post, I already checked the fuse. I even went as far as replaced the ac fuse with a known working fuse (turn signal) and it still didnt work. So I know it's not the fuse. Thanks for the reply though.

Turbobink

iTrader: (2)

flynlr

iTrader: (2)

check that the wiring harness is attached to the ac control panel and intact. no cut wires. ..the attempted stereo grab could have jacked that up

maxfever1987

iTrader: (93)

Also right on top of the ac compressor us a small black wire, make sure its connected and tightly plugged in, also check the relay box for the ac relay, maybe it's not there or if it is swap it for another one with the same color and see wat happens, also since they messed with radio and ac control area, does anything behind the control switch for the ac look bent or broken? No damaged wiring? I

JvG

Detach the wire which is attached to the compressor. Attach a jumper wire to it. Start tge car. Touch the other end ofthe jumper to the positive (red) terminal of the battery. You might hear a chug-click noise. That would be the compressor clutch activate. You might hear the engone slow down a bit. If you are real lucky the air inside the car will blow colder.

if you hear the chunk click noise, chances are that you just need to recharge the system. Your local parts store will have the recharge kit. Get the one with a meter. About 35 psi worked for me. One can was all I needed.

sonicboom909

Actually, I looked at my dash again and actually there is a space now ABOVE (not below) the AC control panel between the panel and the digital clock that wasnt there prior to my car getting stolen. So that makes me think somebody removed or attempted to remove the AC control panel at some point.

I guess my next question would be how do I pry off the AC control panel to look behind it at the wiring harness? Tried looking that up on Youtube but all i found was radio removal ironically.

sonicboom909

If it isnt properly charged, would that cause the system to not turn on? In other words is their some type of control that prevents the ac system from turning on if the system is low/out of refrigerant?

JvG

yes. The system must have an internal pressure switch.

every car I have had over the years wont turn the ac
on if it is low on freon, or r134. They would turn the compressor on when it is jump wired to the battery as I mentioned. That indicates that the ac clutch works. So the low pressure switch stopped flow of electricity to the ac clutch.

I've added freon several times over the years. The ac clutch will turn on by itself while I'm still adding freon.

Most of the time a slow leak on the system requires a can of freon every year or two. A worse, but managable leak would be twice a year.

Some members might have environment concerns about freon leaks. Others not so much.

sonicboom909

Ok I will check the freon level tomorrow. LIke I said I know absolutely nothing about doing this, but I'll look up on youtube how to do it as well as your instructions and if I have any problems, I'll reply back tomorrow with questions.

Turbobink

iTrader: (2)

A local shop will do this for little ... maybe even no ... cost.