Overheating in city driving with AC on

UFO · **Posted:** Fri May 28, 2010 11:08 am

I'm trying to make sense of this issue which we have had since we got the CRD. My wife is reporting the temperature gauge is going past 3/4 when running the AC around town, and this seems too hot. When she turns the AC off, the temperature returns to normal. It's not that hot outside yet here, and we have a new thermostat and fresh topped off coolant. 75k miles on the tractor.

Is there a test to check the electric fan operation? What are the operating conditions that activate the fan? Perhaps the mechanical fan clutch is slipping?

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Fri May 28, 2010 11:42 am

Check another post about "fixed my AC without R134" and his follow up post. He indicates there was a bad relay that turns the electric fan on. There are several alike in the power distribution box under the hood so pick one and switch them. They are a standard relay used on other cars including VW so most parts places should have them.

Also I'm assuming you had the flash that recalibrated the heat guage years ago :lol:

UFO · **Posted:** Fri May 28, 2010 12:22 pm

Joe Romas wrote:

Check another post about "fixed my AC without R134" and his follow up post. He indicates there was a bad relay that turns the electric fan on. There are several alike in the power distribution box under the hood so pick one and switch them. They are a standard relay used on other cars including VW so most parts places should have them.

Also I'm assuming you had the flash that recalibrated the heat guage years ago :lol:

Will do, I must have missed that thread. A relay is the best answer I could have. I'm not totally sure about the gauge reflash, I could hook up my Scangauge and see if the coolant temperature really is as hot as indicated.

UFO · **Posted:** Sun Jun 20, 2010 11:34 pm

40A fuse for the electric fan was blown. Relays tested good. I'll confirm the fan works as soon as I get a replacement fuse.

UFO · **Posted:** Tue Jun 29, 2010 11:15 am

Now this issue has gone from annoying to very unpleasant.

I replaced the fan fuse, and verified the fan works, and it turns now. But when the AC is operated, there is a very bad smell, and it's inside and outside the Jeep. It smells a little like gasoline. Maybe it's leaking refrigerant? But the AC blows cold. I'm thinking it might also be hot wires, explaining why the fuse might have blown in the first place.

I will be driving the CRD later this week for a few weeks, so I have time to work on it. Any suggestions on this are welcome, thanks.

:5SHOTS:

(celebrating 1100 posts....)

fastRob · **Posted:** Tue Jun 29, 2010 11:33 am

I get bad smells when I do not turn the a/c off before shutting down to melt off the ice on the heat exchanger/radiator thingie under the dash. The ice melts in the heat and fungus grows. If you dry this off just prior to shut down the ice melts, water drains and no smell is detectable. My GMC P-U was the worst because of the way the drain sat and how I parked in the driveway, very stinky.

Are you sure the main belt driven fan is not bad.
My electric fan never came on, well almost never.

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Tue Jun 29, 2010 12:53 pm

There was a recall on the heater blower motor. Did you get that done?

Does it clear up after a few minutes? If so then it could be mildew from the condension on the evaporator coil. If that's the case shutting off the AC and leaving the blower running a few minutes before you shut the jeep off will allow the coil to dry :SOMBRERO:

UFO · **Posted:** Tue Jun 29, 2010 1:23 pm

Joe Romas wrote:

There was a recall on the heater blower motor. Did you get that done?

Does it clear up after a few minutes? If so then it could be mildew from the condension on the evaporator coil. If that's the case shutting off the AC and leaving the blower running a few minutes before you shut the jeep off will allow the coil to dry :SOMBRERO:

I checked recalls a while back, and according to the Jeep site there were no outstanding recalls. But I do have pre-F37 shift points, so I don't know....

I will be driving the CRD Thursday, so I will test it some more. It's a really nasty smell, it's hard to believe it could be biological in nature.

Overheating in city driving with AC on

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