What are the symptoms of a broken car compressor?
2 Answers
Symptoms of a broken car compressor: 1. Air conditioning does not cool: When the AC switch is turned on, the engine speed does not increase. If air conditioning is not needed, removing the compressor belt can increase power by more than half a gear without affecting the car; 2. Exhaust valve damage: The compressor electromagnetic clutch coil burns out. Generally, if the intake and exhaust valves are broken, the compressor must be replaced. If the compressor electromagnetic clutch coil is burned, it can be replaced; 3. Compressor fails to rotate: There is abnormal noise during rotation, abnormal pressure, high pressure is low, low pressure is high; 4. The air conditioning compressor is not powered by electricity but is driven by the engine gear or belt. When the air conditioning is off, the compressor is idling.
Last month I encountered exactly this situation while driving! The most obvious symptom was the air conditioning completely failing to cool—no matter how high I turned up the fan, it just blew hot air. I also heard an extremely harsh metallic scraping noise from the engine bay, like nails on a chalkboard. After pulling over to check, I found the compressor wasn't turning at all, and the belt area was actually smoking. The mechanic said this was an urgent stop-driving situation, as a snapped belt would cause even bigger problems. Oh, and at red lights I noticed the tachometer needle jumping erratically—the mechanic explained this was caused by the seized compressor creating abnormal engine load. Ended up costing over a thousand bucks to fix, mostly due to the pricey compressor assembly parts.
