Ac light blinks three times when pressed? And it seems the compressor is always engaged?

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iboughtatahoe23

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2014 Tahoe lt 177k miles.
Light blinks three times and won’t turn the ac on. I noticed the compressor or something sounds like the is going bad? Or is dirty? I hear a brushing noise from it when I start it up. I’ll drop videos
 

mikez71

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Possibly pressure is too low, could be evap temp, but if it never kicked on, evap shouldn't be too cold. A good scanner would help..
They do wear out. Once had one where the clutch was too worn, gap was too big. Magnet not strong enough to engage.
Mine is quite weak in the summer and a little noisy, think I will need a new one myself next year..

Reminds me of the time boss' friend brought their 2000 kia in to the hotrod shop. We were used to AC pressure switches being the main cause of a compressor not turning on. Turns out it was all computer controlled, and if the A/C fan didn't work, it wouldn't kick on.
I hate computer control for simple things. Never did get to tell him..

Starting to think nobody should work on anything new-ish without a scanner.. #1 diagnostic tool along with a meter..
 
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iboughtatahoe23

iboughtatahoe23

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Possibly pressure is too low, could be evap temp, but if it never kicked on, evap shouldn't be too cold. A good scanner would help..
They do wear out. Once had one where the clutch was too worn, gap was too big. Magnet not strong enough to engage.
Mine is quite weak in the summer and a little noisy, think I will need a new one myself next year..

Reminds me of the time boss' friend brought their 2000 kia in to the hotrod shop. We were used to AC pressure switches being the main cause of a compressor not turning on. Turns out it was all computer controlled, and if the A/C fan didn't work, it wouldn't kick on.
I hate computer control for simple things. Never did get to tell him..

Starting to think nobody should work on anything new-ish without a scanner.. #1 diagnostic tool along with a meter..
My mistake. The compressor isn’t Always on. It doesn’t seem to kick on actually. And yea the ac light just blinks at me. Can’t tell if it’s the smaller belt making the noise or the compressor.


Would low pressure be due to ambient temps? Or how does that work. Pinhole leak?
 

mikez71

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yup, leaked and low pressure. Here's some other things to try...


reset procedure
ambient temp <35 degF ? (Never heard of it until now)
A/C fan not working
 
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iboughtatahoe23

iboughtatahoe23

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yup, leaked and low pressure. Here's some other things to try...


reset procedure
ambient temp <35 degF ? (Never heard of it until now)
A/C fan not working
Makes sense… seems I have to recharge it every summer. You think just recharging it will get things back to normal? Or are we looking at something more extensive here now.
 

mikez71

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If you've had to charge every summer, then it's very likely I'm thinking.
Other thing maybe temp, since it's cold by you. Temp less than 35degrees I expect it to not work, based on a couple of threads..
 

Joseph Garcia

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As @mikez71 stated, there is an outside temperature below which the air conditioner won't turn on. If you attempt to turn the air conditioner on during these cold outside temperatures, you will get the 3 blinks from the air conditioner button when you push it.
 

LurkingLuke

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I have a somewhat related problem. My AC button and operation work fine, but my Recirculate button (which used to work fine) does the 3-blink think without engaging the recirculation function. If it weren't cold and dark out (and if I weren't a lazy bum) I'd check the fuse, but while I'm here I thought I'd ask in the hope it's a quick answer.
 

swathdiver

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I have a somewhat related problem. My AC button and operation work fine, but my Recirculate button (which used to work fine) does the 3-blink think without engaging the recirculation function. If it weren't cold and dark out (and if I weren't a lazy bum) I'd check the fuse, but while I'm here I thought I'd ask in the hope it's a quick answer.
All this stuff is in your owner's manual.
 

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