| Author |
Message |
Chris A. (Asianbond)
Junior Member
Username: Asianbond
Post Number: 57
Registered: 5-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 8:12 am: | |
Lawrence, thanks for the great explanation, that explains why my mechanic initially just changed some wiring and the fuses. When that didn't work he told me we had no choice but to change the clutch.
Wow, I really learn something new everyday, who would had thought there was electrical wiring in a clutch.... |
Lawrence Coppari (Lawrence)
Member
Username: Lawrence
Post Number: 255
Registered: 4-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 6:00 am: | |
The clutch is an electromagnet. It has a winding that is made of fine wire. The wire is wound over itself into a coil and is insulated by some sort of very thin coating. What happens is that in time the coating deteriorates from engine heat/environment and the wires begin to make contact with eachother. So now you have a shorter path. Instead of the current having to pass the entire length, it now must pass only a fraction of the length. This means lower resistance and more current. More current means higher wire temperatures and more insulation degradation. Eventually, you are passing so much current the fuse blows and your system won't operate. The resistance should be 3-5 ohms. |
Chris A. (Asianbond)
Junior Member
Username: Asianbond
Post Number: 55
Registered: 5-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 11, 2002 - 10:00 pm: | |
Folks, this is for the achives in case someone else encounters the same problem.
My 348's HVAC went out (all black, no power or lights or clock) during a spirited run while the air con was on. I checked in the front trunk and under the passenger kick panel for a blown fuse, found out there were no fuses for air con system in both of those fuse boxes. Took to my f-car mechanic, he diagnose that it was a faulty air con compressor clutch that was shorting the system. He put in a new clutch ($200 for part) and it's running fine now. Btw, the fuses for the air con system are behind the carpet enclosure bin in the front trunk.
Initially, I had thought it was just a blown fuse or something electrical shorting the system or the HVAC control unit itself. I would have never guess that it was something mechanical (faulty air con compressor clutch causing too much resistance that overloaded the electrical system).
So for other 348 owners out there who encounter this problem, this could be the caused. |
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