What Causes The Car Air Conditioning to Suddenly Lose Cooling Capacity?

As temperatures keep rising, driving without functional air conditioning is simply unbearable. Shortly after, a Chery Tiggo 8 arrived at the workshop. The vehicle owner complained that the AC suddenly stopped cooling, with only hot air blowing out from the air vents, making driving nearly impossible in such scorching weather!

After receiving the vehicle, the mechanic looked up information via the VIN and confirmed it was a 2020 Chery Tiggo 8 290TGDI Automatic Elite equipped with a 1.6T engine. This model has a well-known common fault: loss of AC cooling caused by a damaged AC compressor coil.

The mechanic opened the engine hood and asked the owner to switch on the air conditioning inside the cabin. Using a flashlight, he inspected the compressor. Only the compressor pulley was spinning. A multimeter test showed the coil resistance read zero, confirming the coil failure.

To achieve a thorough and reliable repair, the mechanic recommended replacing the complete AC compressor clutch three-piece kit, which only costs a few hundred yuan. The owner agreed to the repair.

This vehicle was manufactured in 2021 and has been on the road for five years. As shown on the instrument cluster, the total mileage stands at just 80,000 km. Its average fuel economy is reasonable at 7.4 L/100 km.

Looking into the engine bay, the compressor is mounted at the lower left side. It relies on the drive belt to transmit power, so the mechanic first needs to remove the belt.

The vehicle is then lifted up as shown in the picture. Let’s take a quick look at the undercarriage. There is no skid plate fitted underneath the engine and transmission. The chassis is somewhat dirty, yet there are no signs of oil or coolant leaks.

Looking at the middle section of the undercarriage, it is protected by undercoating. There are no signs of rust, so it remains in fairly good condition.

Looking at the rear section of the undercarriage, a spare tire is fitted at the tail. The rear suspension adopts a multi-link independent suspension. Inspection shows all components are in good condition.

After inspecting the undercarriage, we continue repairing the fault. To remove the AC compressor clutch three-piece kit, the right front wheel and the small lower liner guard on the right front inner fender need to be taken off, allowing access for disassembly from the side. As shown in the picture, the fixing bolts outside the compressor pressure plate have been removed.

Due to rust, the suction disc is tightly secured on the intermediate shaft. Rust remover and penetrating oil are sprayed first to loosen it.

After removing the clutch pressure plate, the pulley assembly becomes visible.

As shown in the picture, here is the comparison between the new and old clutch suction discs.

Once the pulley assembly is removed, the internal electromagnetic coil can be seen. This damaged component fails to generate magnetism to attract the clutch pressure plate when energized.

The electromagnetic coil is relatively easy to remove. It can be taken out after removing the circlip at the center.

The mechanic tested the coil with a multimeter and confirmed an open circuit, indicating an internal failure of the coil.

As shown in the picture, this is the complete AC compressor clutch three-piece kit. From left to right are the electromagnetic coil, pulley assembly and clutch suction disc. The installation sequence follows the same order from left to right.

The picture below shows the installation process.

The picture below shows the new clutch three-piece kit. Install the electromagnetic coil first, then the pulley assembly, and finally the clutch suction disc.

After all parts were installed, the mechanic started the engine. When turning on the air conditioning switch, a distinct "click" sound could be heard. The clutch suction disc rotated together with the pulley assembly, and the compressor operated normally. Cold air blew inside the cabin, and the problem was fixed.