2014 Ford Focus a/c

Question

My partner has a 1.6TDCI 2014 Focus and all was well till the aircon stopped producing cold air.

The system has gas and has no leaks, this was tested by a local garage. The issue is that the clutch isn't engaging on the compressor, so I started to look at electrical faults. The relay is fine, the fuse is fine, if I bridge the connections on the relay, the clutch still won't engage.

Removing the undertray and the electrical connector for the clutch, I measured 10.4v coming through, the same reading as I got at the relay. With the engine switched off, the same meter read 12.6v on the battery. Everything else on the car works, there aren't any other electrical issues.

My questions are:

• Is 10.4v enough to engage the clutch (it's a multi meter thats not calibrated)?
• Can the clutch be replaced separately?
• The part number of the compressor is CV61-19D629-EA, do I have to replace the compressor with an identical part number, or will other variants be okay?

The car itself has only done 76,000 miles, which seems low to me anyway, to suffer aircon issues such as this?

Any help /advice given will be gratefully received.

Answer 1

You need further research:

Measure the resistance of the solenoid: Around 5 Ohm is good, 0 or infinite ohm means the coil is damaged (or the fuse is burned).

If the resistance appears to be fine you can test the solenoid:

Detach the clutch plug and apply directly 12V (in line with an fast acting 5A fuse to prevent damage in a short circuit). If the coil pack is working you should be able to hear the solenoid clicking. If the coil is fine and actuates on the applied 12V the fault lies somewhere in the cabling / relay.

Repair (assuming a faulty clutch)

The clutch (most likely catalog number 1747950) can be bought from aftermarket shops and replaced separately. While most shops detach the compressor from the system it could be possible, depending on the available space, to do the work with the compressor in place. That means you don't have to clean and recharge the AC system.

In theory one can also replace the molded fuse by opening the plastic mold. I don't recommend it as the fuse is designed to trip in exceptions, the underlying fault is still here and re-insulating the difficult to source fuse is complicated.

While I don't have experience in your particular model you will certainly need some circlip pliers, matching sockets and a tool (Strap wrench or improvise by holding an old drive belt with some pliers) to fix the belt pulley while removing the holding bolt. At best you also have a matching puller at disposal.

Normally the removal goes like this:

• Slacken the drive belt
• If possible move the compressor to a suitable place without detaching it from the AC line.
• Hold the pulley
• Open the holding nut/bolt on the friction disc (Most likely a hex or torx head)
• Remove the friction disc. Attention: There are some small shims on the shaft.
• Remove the circlip securing the belt pulley.
• Remove the belt pulley. Perhaps it needs a little force. A puller might be the best choice, but some patience and careful levering with some screwdrivers might also work.
• Remove the circlip securing the coil.
• Remove the coil.

If you want to do diligence work then you can replace the bearing under the belt pulley and the friction disc (as most of the work is already underway).

Spare parts

In my experience the catalogs from the aftermarket online shops are quite reliable. While finding a shop that has the desired part in stock is tedious work, one can be confident that the part later will match as long as one observes the fine print on the part description