I have an 07 Caliber with 247,000 miles. It has been a great car from day one. I have only had to do basically maintenance repairs on it like brakes, plugs, oil, tires, control bushings, control arms and so on. The only two, well three issues I have with it is the drivers door will not lock/unlock with the power locks. The hazard lights don’t work. And of course the ac.
But last year the ac started blowing only hot air. I put it off until this spring and I took it to get recharged. My mechanic hooked it up and recharged it but it still was blowing hot air. He said that the compressor was bad. So I picked up a used one for $25 off ebay with a 1 year warranty. Got it installed and took it back to my mechanic. Nothing, would not engage. I got a bad one. No big deal. I got my money back and this time I bought a remanufactured one with a 3 year warranty. Got it installed and took it back to my mechanic. Everything looked good but again it would blow hot air. He tested the system by turning the fan on with his scan tool, and it would work fine. But there is no way to keep it on without the scan tool connected. All of the fuses are ok. But with the TIPM, I cannot find a relay for the ac. Am I going to have to take it to a Dodge dealer to get it fixed?
But you are going to have to take it to a better mechanic than you’ve been using. Don’t be surprised if the new mechanic wants to replace the compressor again and replace much more of the AC system. It is nearly impossible to clean the debris out of an AC system once a compressor has failed. You compounded the problem by installing a super-cheap used compressor with an unknown history that may have added its own trash to the system. You won’t like his estimate for repair. And your car isn’t worth the amount of his estimate.
I’d suggest just drive it with the windows down and be thankful you’ve gotten as many miles out of this car you have.
did tech evac system and check for leaks and add 2lbs freon and compressor clutch engaged and no cold air?
Or did he add some freon and find no cold air?
Yes the system was purged and checked for leaks. It took the correct charge was filled. The issue he found was that the fan would not engage to cool the condenser unless he manually turned it on with his scan tool.
There needs to be sufficient high side pressure for the TPIM to actuate the cooling fans, was he able to get the compressor to engage? If the compressor is not operating the fans won’t be switched on.