2012 Fiesta Sedan A/C Compressor

[dragonfly0201]

Has anyone ever done a video or write-up on how to remove the a/c compressor? 2012 Fiesta S sedan with a compressor that's bad. I can't seem to find a decent video on YT that shows the entire process from start to finish. Thanks!

 

[Handy Andy]

I can't seem to find a decent video on YT that shows the entire process from start to finish. Thanks!

No unfortunately there are not many people that service that type of AC that are willing to show how to do it.

Are you looking to Delete the AC or just service it? Remove, repair or replace, Reinstall?

There's a thread on the Facebook groups that might offer some direction as to what or where to go with this?
https://www.facebook.com/groups/963263484488858/posts/1636913863790480/

However, there is a lot of trim - body parts and even the radiator to get access to the compressor - aside from just removing the belt, depressurize and unbolt hoses and the pump from the motor.

So did you check this? This is for an ST -

Back when (before while the car was in production) they tried ways to delete it. They found one idea that worked, but it required you use an idler roller they had used on the Zetec motor used on the Focus to take the place of the AC pulley was, with smaller length belt size to offset the changes the new smaller pulley made.

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I've done a delete to a Scion xA - much easier and far more worthwhile - the AC developed a leak thru it's lifetime so the pump was pretty much shot after about 4 years of refilling and trying to use it for summer. The pulley was on the serpentine so it eventually affected and damaged the water pump so all of the components on it's belt path had to have something done - after taking off the AC it was easier to get at the water pump and so when it was put back together I left the AC off the car, removed the hoses and was able to use a smaller belt because the Alternator mounting "bracket" and pivot Ear was able to be used to apply tension on the belt and the engine seemed to have run far easier and cooler without the AC pump - so you're preaching to the Choir here...

But, that does not help you when the Water pump, Alternator and AC have to be in the alignment and position they are on the Sigma motor the Fiestas' used past 2011-12 model year (USA). Due to their pulley to belt travel - you don't have much to work with...

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Aside from the fact that the Alternator by position alone interferes with pulley to belt travel due to the water pumps location when you try to remove the AC.

On the Scion, the AC appears as the "Add-on" so they simply stuck it as the base of the motor over by the oil pan level - the Sigma motor does the same - but the water pump pulley interferes by size (diameter) to accomplish this delete thing which requires you to use the idler pulley from an older Focus Zetec motor they put in there to accomplish the clearance - only they did relocate the Alternator as a swap to replace the ilder on the Sigma motor..

 

[dragonfly0201]

Not looking to delete it! It gets hot here in the summer
Needed a video that shows removal/installation of the compressor itself.

 

[dragonfly0201]

That st video is what I was looking for!

 

[dragonfly0201]

Got the compressor replaced. STILL no cold air.
The radiator fan connector started smoking when I tried to have the system filled...fan is NOT RUNNING. FUSE BLOWN. Is the fan shot???
Is the ac system and radiator fan connected somehow??

 

[Handy Andy]

They use two different relays - one powers the FAN when the AC is on. The other powers the FAN when the car gets too hot.

They work parallel to each other (so they work across the two wires to the FAN) so you may have a second wire that runs thru a resistor used to slow down the speed of the fan to make it quieter as you operate the AC but it kick into high - gear power when the AC compressor is engaged - but that wire becomes bypassed when the system needs the FAN to be on high.

Since they've made several changes to the wiring thru the years, to narrow it down to which two relays - you'll need to refer back to your manual for that car.

The AC Clutch uses a relay on the compressor to operate the magnetic solenoid to pull the clutch on to engage it - using a wire to energize the solenoid from a separate controller - being either a relay near the body control module (it's fuseblock behind the glove box) or at the Climate controller - the big knob in the console - to make it work.

 

[dragonfly0201]

The fan wire connector itself started smoking when I hit the ac button in my car. No hot air even though the system seems to be pressurized and the compressor is new. The fan is NOT moving. My question is, would the smoke be an indication of a failed cooling fan or is it something else? I replaced the ac clutch relay (R6) yesterday, hoping maybe that was the issue. It's not. I have not replaced the radiator fan relay. I found that one today when looking through my manual (R5) in the engine bay. I also checked the 10amp fuse that is for the ac clutch solenoid and relay. That fuse is good.

 

[Handy Andy]

Yes, the motor bearing - sounds like it seized up. Some Fiestas have the more fancy Climate Control system that also used a dropping resistor added onto the HOUSING the fan is in. So if the housing is causing the jamming - the Fan may be un-serviceable and you'll need to get another one.

Why I mentioned the resistor is they too can cause a smoking condition - the fan could be jammed, but the resistor will heat up and get damaged (smoked) but will save the fan motor because the resistor drops the power draw to help save that fan from further damage it won't heat up as much.

 

[dragonfly0201]

Ok. I think I may just replace the fan. It's not that expensive on eBay or Amazon. I'm not about putting very expensive Motorcraft parts into this junk.
If I'd known all the issues with the Fiesta, I would never have bought the car...

 

[dragonfly0201]

Went to the junkyard. Got a cooling fan. Got back home, my dad showed me how to check for resistance in my old fan, sure enough...old fan motor is toasted. Replaced the cooling fan, and!!!! My a/c works now.
I did not even need to take the radiator hoses off.

What would cause the fan motor to seize and smoke?! The 40amp fuse was blown as well in the engine fuse box. Replaced that before realizing the fan motor was bad. I didn't find out the fan motor was bad til 2 days ago....when I went to recharge my a/c system and the fan motor started smoking. This car is a 2012 for crying out loud! Why is all the electrical crap going out in this car....

Did Ford just not design these cars well or what....

 

[Handy Andy]

Just seize? There are many answers to that question, but you raise a good point that after all this time, why now or what cause this sudden failure?

For some motors, its the conditions it operates and rests in - hot weather and a hot radiator can bend plastic so it's not out of the question that the motors housing could have failed - it's a long shot but the vibration of the fan at one speed sets up a resonance and can shake the entire shroud - you might not notice it but the wobble can make the fans bearings wear prematurely - even no rain, and constant use of the AC - can put a lot of "miles" on the fan and its housing.

Fan blades - even if clean, if out of round or shards from the casting - are left behind by lack of quality control, the high-spin rates of any device at high speed can generate a wobble that is self-destructive caused by out of round or unbalance conditions - so a minor nick or something bounced to the inside of the blades as they were spinning - can cause premature failure.

Currently I'm using a '15 Fiesta that still has much of the OEM but has +218,000 miles on it - still starts but the valve train rattles and the fan does still operate - so my guess in normal and diligent maintenance helps...

Best way to say this is possible that the Mean Time Between Failures got reached because of the weather the car was driven in. And the conditions it was used. Parking in the car lots on a hot day is never a good thing for any vehicle - if the interior and any objects left inside it on sunny hot days can attest to - it can mean the rest of the vehicle suffers this too.

It's not just Ford, but Toyota's, SAAB - Fiat - everything solar radiation can build up in or on or thru, can fade and fail when you least expect it.

 

[dragonfly0201]

That's a very good explanation. And probably one of those caused the motor to burn up. The woman I bought it from said she had it from the time it was new. She lived in Colorado before moving here to New Mexico. She said she kept up with maintenance and had things fixed etc when needed, but the more I drive it...the more I've noticed things don't seem accurate.
My boyfriend is a mechanic, and he said the ac compressor was indeed bad and needed replaced. So, there's that.
Anyway...it had 138k miles on it when I bought it at the end of January this yr. It now has 147k. I live in a rural area, and the nearest towns are 30 miles one way each direction. I am a single parent, this car takes me EVERYWHERE. To/from work, my son's therapy appts, doctor appts, to/from my boyfriend's place who is 10 mins away, etc etc, to/from Albuquerque, which is an hr drive one way (roughly 55 miles one way), so the car gets USED a lot!
I'm just disappointed that at 13 yrs old, a lot of the electrical stuff is going bad. 13 years old to me, is not that old....
My dad has a 27 yr old Toyota 4Runner with 286k original miles and he has had to HARDLY work on anything. All the electrical STILL works! Even the a/c.

Cars/trucks ARE NOT made like they used to be....

The tire pressure monitoring system light keeps coming on, going off, coming on, going off. My tires are not low. I have filled them all. My guess is a sensor going bad, see! ELECTRICAL.