CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

104 degrees today ... and of course my brand new A/C stops working. Help me diagnose!

Jessie James

1/2 ton status
Joined
Oct 16, 2009
Posts
2,514
Reaction score
8
Location
VA
1991 K5, I had a frozen compressor replaced, about 3 months ago. Brand new, replaced some other related parts (dryer? Condensor? Dunno.), etc. Worked fine this morning, went I tried this afternoon it isn't working.

Popped the hood, compressor is cycling on for about 1-2 seconds, then turns off for about 5-6 seconds. Repeat.

Is this a simple fix? Or do I have to take it back to the shop?
 
Murphy's Law at its finest. I'll bet it'd work just fine if it was 40* outside.

It sounds like you had a shop replace it for you so I'd say take it back to them and let them figure it out. Any reputable shop will stand behind their work for those 90 days.
 
The shop should stand behind it at this point. Don't do anything to it if you want to change that.

Martin
 
Thanks guys, I know the shop will take care of it, but I just wanted to know if it was something simple I could do.

Off to the shop!

rampage said:
Murphy's Law at its finest. I'll bet it'd work just fine if it was 40* outside.
You got that. Today I also got a screw in one of the tires of my brand new car as well. Run flats. $250 each. Luckily the warranty covers it, but I don't have time to take it in, and when I do it will be 3-4 days until they can get a new tire anyway!

And tomorrow my wife is scheduled to give birth to my son. Who wants to bet I wake up to three cars that are unfit to drive? :doah:
 
dont need new tire on run flat if not drivin on flat.

plug patch from inside will keep warrenty on tire and run flat rating last i knew of when i use to do tires.
 
So I opened the hood and sure enough there is something spattered all over under there. Close inspection of the compressor shows the line fitting/housing on the back of the compressor has all sorts of oil-like fluid that has leaked out. I am sure the shop will fix this as that appears to be either a failed part or bad install. Thanks for the advice.

As far as the tire, I could pull the screw out, but who knows how that will work out. I'm not too worried, but ... how does a run-flat tire work? Does it just plug the hole? I am reluctant to remove the screw and watch the tire deflate the day before we have to go to the hospital, you know? Murphy has been on my back ...

I was thinking of playing it safe, so to speak, and leaving the screw in for now. Once the baby and wife are safe I can leave it at the shop while they figure it out and order a new tired if needed.
 
Screw it, leave it in.
And just because she is scheduled to go in tomorrow doesn't mean she will. Just think of the most inopportune moment and BAM ! ---> Murphy again. :whistle:
 
Screw it, leave it in.
And just because she is scheduled to go in tomorrow doesn't mean she will. Just think of the most inopportune moment and BAM ! ---> Murphy again. :whistle:
Actually we are going in. She was due last week, and now the doctors say she MUST be induced tomorrow. Baby is around 10 pounds, her amniotic fluids are low, and the placenta is not 100% anymore. My son comes out tomorrow.

This didn't happen on the way to the Post Office did it?:whistle:
Actually it did! :haha: I still got there, can't hold up a CK5 member just cuz of a little heat ... wave ... torch ... damn it was hot!
 
Tires and plugs...................................One night I was leaving my brothers house,82 miles away from mine..it was raining lightly,and when I got in my van,I heard a hissing noise..brother was standing outside the door,he looks doan and says "Uh-Oh--theres a drywall screw in your tire!..and I'm out of tire plugs too"...................................................................................................Not wanting to change the tire in the rain there (or on my way home),I wondered if I should just stay over,and deal with it in the morning...but he took a phillips screwdriver and unscrewd the screw from the tire,then put some black RTV permatex on the threads and under the head of it--it was about 2" long,so he cut it shorter,maybe 3/4" ,so it wouldn't gouge up the inside of the tire (it was nearly dead center in the tread anyway,so I doubt it would have even if he hadn't trimmed it down).................................................................................................He screwed it back in and tightened it as much as he dared without stripping it,and said "you should make it home ok"....I drove it home ,and was a bit paranoid,every time I hit a pothole or rumble strip I'd have a bad feeling the tire was going flat,but I not only made it back home OK,I drove it to work the next day--and never remembered to get the tire plugged properly...forgot all about it !!..about 2 years later,that tire was finally bald,and when I removed it from the rim,I saw the screw,and said to myself "DAMM!..that thing is STILL in there,and it never leaked!":doah:...the head of the screw was now paper thin,you could barely see the remnants on the phillips head slots in it...............I had driven the van to NY,NH,VT,and many local trips too!..
 
That's a great story!

So anyway, after everything that happened ... we had a major storm pass through and were without power all night. And of course it was stupid hot and humid, so we got almost no sleep. Perfect for the day before having a baby when you should be well rested and all that!

Power is still out but we're at the hospital now, and fortunately I was smart enough to buy a cellular-to-laptop app (Easy Tether) so I can surf the web because the hospital is without phone and internet service too! They are running on a generator!

I ordered a Briggs & Stratton from Sears, but I have to drive nearly an hour to get one because they are all sold out near my house. We have three fridges and I'm hoping we can get back to save our food!
 
I love this forum:D In one thread everything from a/c leaks to jimmy-rigged tire fixes to giving birth (congrats btw:waytogo:) and power outages have been discussed, and it's all perfectly normal!:haha: Hope everything works out fine.
 
Thanks guys. We've been at the hospital since 9:30 and she's still only 7-8cm dialated. Hopefully I'll be a daddy in a few hours, I sure am tired ... and can only imagine how much worse it'll be in a few days!

And Sears, after all my work, sent me an email letting me know my generator is ready for pickup. Not two minutes later they sent me another email saying it was cancelled. No reason, just cancelled and they were refunding me. Too bad they charged my card so now I don't have the funds to get another one. Not like anyone around here HAS one but ...

My poor Akita is dying in the house. It's 83 degrees in there. :(
 
I dont have a generator (yet) that I'd be able to use in a power outage (I do own a Lincoln gas powered welder that also produces 110V AC,but its 50 cycles and I wouldn't trust it to power anything thats frequency sensitive )..........................................................................................What I do have though,is several garden tractors,and on one of them I mounted a GM 10SI altenator,to use for charging the tractor battery and I've also jump started my trucks with it...I had a battery booster "jump pack" that had a 110V inverter built into it that had a junk battery ,so I took the inverter out and wired it up so I can use it on the tractor to power some tools,lights,etc...its only 400 watts,but better than ZERO in an emergency...you can buy inverters pretty cheap now,up to 3500 watts,and use your car or truck as a temporary "power supply".--some folks up here had no power for 3 weeks during an ice storm,and some used their cars as "pwerplants" that way,as no one could buy a generator anywhere once the storm hit..................................................................................................Some older tractors had optional altenators that made 110 or 220V ,at up to 5000 watts....I looked up "Induction Generator" on Google and found that one can be made easily from an old electric motor,that will produce 60 cycle current by simply adding some capacitors to the terminals the power cord used to go to (which will now be the "output") ...only bummer to this idea is they dont start other electric motors well,unless you use a large HP motor...they are better for lighting and small appliances than for powering an air conditioner or fridge.......................................................................Many "110V" appliances are actually 12V or lower voltage DC once you get inside them,they use a transformer & rectifier to reduce voltage and change AC to DC current...in a real "SHTF" situation,many things can be opened up and the DC power wires found,and be run directly off 12V by a car battery...its also fairly easy to get 110V from a stock GM altenator,but it will not be 60 cycles ,more like hundreds of cycles,and being 3 phase,it could fry many household appliances,but one will run lamps,and universal AC motors like those used on drills,blenders,can openers,etc,OK..
 

Latest Posts

Top Bottom