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Altima Nissan Altima Sedan Discussion Forum

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  #1  
Old 08-29-2017, 11:13 AM
06altimaCalifornia 06altimaCalifornia is offline
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2006 Altima Sedan
2006 Nissan Altima 2.5S
 
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Default AC High Pressure Side Is Low

Hey everyone, I'm having an AC issue on my 2006 Nissan Altima and if you can let me know if I'm diagnosing it correctly that would be greatly appreciated.

The AC is blowing hot air and there is a noise. The noise is only audible when the car is at idle and it goes away while driving. It's an intermittent rattling type noise. I thought it was a loose bolt rattling around at first. The noise doesn't happen all the time.

First I measured the pressure on the AC with engine OFF:

Low side - 73 psi
High side - 115 psi
Ambient temperature 100F


Then I measured again while the engine was idling. After 2 minutes of idling:

Low side - 73 psi
High side - 115 psi
Ambient temperature 100F

With the hood open, it sounds like the rattle is coming from the AC compressor.

One other observation:On plugging the gauge onto the low side with the engine off, the pressure climbed from 30 and stabilized at 73 psi.

My diagnosis - Something is wrong with the compressor. I think that replacing the whole thing will fix the problem. What do you think?
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  #2  
Old 08-29-2017, 03:50 PM
mpe235's Avatar
mpe235 mpe235 is offline
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2015 Rogue
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: New York
Posts: 5,530
Default

Probably a bad compressor clutch. It can be replaced wirhout replacing the entire compressor.
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  #3  
Old 08-29-2017, 09:11 PM
jcg0324 jcg0324 is offline
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2011 Altima Sedan
2011 Altima 2.5s
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 41
Default ac system

the car is 11 years old. replace the compressor, have the whole system drained and replaced with new r134a and oil according to manufacture specs.
check the serpentine belt and replace that too if it looks questionable. a good auto ac pro could tell you in 5 minutes what you need.
auto ac systems are very difficult for diy's. you really need to find an honest mechanic in your area to service it.
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  #4  
Old 09-02-2017, 03:21 PM
06altimaCalifornia 06altimaCalifornia is offline
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2006 Altima Sedan
2006 Nissan Altima 2.5S
 
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Default New AC clutch didn't solve issue yet - any suggestions?

Quote:
Originally Posted by mpe235 View Post
Probably a bad compressor clutch. It can be replaced wirhout replacing the entire compressor.
Thanks mpe235. I ordered a new one on eBay. As a test before installation, I disconnected the old one and plugged in the new one while it was resting above the fans. I turned on the AC but the magnet did not turn on, so I think that the AC clutch might be OK. I'm thinking there is electrical issue somewhere, what do you think?

I checked the "air conditioning" fuse in the fusebox under the hood, passenger side, and it appears normal.
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  #5  
Old 09-03-2017, 08:43 PM
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smj999smj smj999smj is offline
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2003 Frontier King Cab
2003 Frontier KC SVE 4x4
 
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Unplug the AC clutch harness connector and see if power is getting to the clutch when the engine is running & AC turned on. You can also test the clutch by running 12v directly to it.
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  #6  
Old 09-09-2017, 07:16 PM
06altimaCalifornia 06altimaCalifornia is offline
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2006 Nissan Altima 2.5S
 
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Default AC Fixed! - New AC Clutch Did It

Thanks for the input everyone. So taking the suggestion I took a voltage reading at the plug for the AC clutch with the AC on. It read 12.41 V. Replaced the AC clutch with a new one - got it for $40 on eBay. Works great now.

On the old clutch that I removed, the bearing was not moving at all and the electromagnet wouldn't engage. Pretty simple fix overall, took like 3 hours for me to do it - breaking through corrosion and a stripped screw.

I didn't know when I originally tested the new clutch that you have to connect it to a ground on the car for it to work - duh.

I had a mechanic tell me to replace the whole compressor and he said they don't really bother to do just the clutch anymore - probably because they want to charge $1k for it.
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