AC recently has not been working, most of the time, however sometimes it will work and blow cold.
Looking at the AC compressor/clutch, when I turn the AC on I will usually not see the clutch engage, at all.
A few times, rarely, I have seen it engage (i.e. the clutch gap goes away) and seems to work and blows cold air.. but then I've also seen the clutch sometimes slow down/stop spinning entirely and looks like the clutch gap didn't come back (so, clutch was still engaged, I guess?)
So... could it just be the clutch? I guess could be an electrical issue too.
I would just like to avoid the possible cost of an AC compressor. But, I'm expecting bad news lol.
Thanks!
Have you checked the possibility that just maybe after 40 years enough refrigerant has leaked out that the low-pressure safety cutout is protecting the compressor? It would be trivial to hook up a test light or voltmeter to see if the clutch is receiving power.
@chucktobias Yes it's got enough refrigerant (i actually refilled it like, 8-10 months ago and checked pressure again, it has enough). It's also not acting like it did when it was low on refrigerant... it would try to start then immediately stop, wait some time, try again then stop, rinse and repeat.
also when it does seem to engage, the air blows cold and makes the cabin comfortable.
yeah I was thinking of checking the power to see if clutch gets it or not.
Definitely check that. If the compressor clutch is getting power but not working you know the clutch is the problem. If not then you have an electrical problem to track down, possibly a hinky relay or bad connection somewhere.