Hi everyone, I am new here, I bought an '89 Camaro (V6 2.8 Automatic) about 3 months ago and have been restoring it since. I've gotten most of the issues resolved so far, but have a few that haven't been fixed yet. Since I finally tracked down that damn EGR valve problem, I'm on to getting the A/C working properly. My problem is that my engine is surging up & down and the A/C Compressor Control Relay is clicking on & off when the A/C is on. What I've done temporarily is remove the relay and jump the compressor with a toggle switch. When I put the A/C on Max or Normal the RPM's increase as it should, then when I kick on the compressor with the toggle switch, it goes back down to where it should be. The A/C blows cold, too. Everything I can think of seems ok, so it must be something minor.

does anyone have any ideas that would help me? I have both the Chiltons and Haynes manuals and have searched for this issue on multiple boards. Thanks for reading!

 

sounds to me that the ac is undercharged. the rpm should go up when on and drop down when off. low charge makes the compressor cycle on and off alot which could be the clicking. i would check the charge on the system first and check for leaks

 

thanks for the idea, I'll go out and check the charge tonight.
But the clicking I'm hearing is definitely the "A/C Compressor Control Relay." It's a constant click on/off/on/off/on/off and the compressor doesn't turn on when the relay is in. I know the compressor is good still because I have it temporarily jumped to a switch and it still gets really cold.

If I disconnect the 12 volts and put the relay back in that's when the relay clicks like crazy and the compressor won't kick on. (I can physically feel the relay clicking) Also, I've checked the relay itself and it's good.


Sorry if I wasn't clear before. I'll check the charge tonight though and reply with the results.

Thanks again

 

well, my a/c seems to be at full charge... I have 2 guages and one says it's full and the other says it's almost full, so, i guess i have to buy a new one to see what's up...

 

What's full...The problem with those A/C Guages is that "Full" on 1 car is not "Full" on another. It does sound as if it either has a low charge or you have a low pressure switch that is on it's way out.

First thing I would do is replace the relay, it's probably burnt out the contacts for the compressor side with all the on/off.

Next I would have a qualified tech check out to make sure that the system does indeed have a full charge. Only someone with a real set of A/C Pressure guages can tell you that. Then you have to have the system checked with it running so that you can see the High side and Low side pressures in real time.

A/C is a tough system for the home mechanic to deal with.

G/L though

 

my car was doing that when my timing was off. once i got it set it stoped.

 

ok guys, thanks for the tips, I'll bring it somewhere and have it tested properly. I was just hoping that the constant relay clicking was a recognizable problem that had been discussed before.

also, i replaced my distributor and rotor about a month ago, but I think I got the timing pretty damn close now. But, I have a friend that is going to give me a timing light when I get over there. I'll perfect the timing then and let you know what's up.

thanks again!

 

I know this thread is long dead but where is the A/C control relay located?

 

I have a 84 firebird. Its on the firewall under the hood on the drivers side.It has 4 wires going in it . Its close to the fender. On my car there are two seperate relays there . The AC one is the one that is furthest from the fender and is noticeibly bigger