Hello,

I have a 1998 C200 Kompressor with digital system

Below is the history of my A/C:

I bought the car last September and the A/C was not working (EC light was staying lit).

In April I cleared the codes through the onboard diagnostic system and I could engage and disengage the compressor clutch by pressing the EC button, but there was no cooling.

I had the a/c coolant flushed and refilled and the a/c was blowing cold (5*c or 41*F on the evap core).

A couple of days later I see a/c coolant vapor coming out and saw that the glass screen of the drier had cracked and the coolant was evaporating from there. The viscous fan didn't seem to be working either as the engine temp would stay around 96 - 98*c and push up to 100*c then the aux electric fans would engage just to drop the engine temp.

I had the viscous fan replaced as well as the drier replaced and system refilled.

After that I could see that the lowest evap core was 11 - 12*C (52 - 54*F) and then it would just stop blowing cold air. The A/C clutch stays engaged during all this time.

I had the A/C system rechecked and they told me that the A/C compressor must be dying and needs replaced.

After the viscous fan change I haven't seen the aux electric fans engage at all while the a/c is running (engine temp stays around 84-86c).

I also noticed that when the a/c stops blowing cold air, the a/c compressor speed stays at 000 even if the clutch is engaged and I rev the engine.

I know it is difficult to help diagnose these issues remotely but can the a/c compressor fail in such a short time?

Thank you,

Deni

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1992 Mercedes 190D 2.5 turbo 5sp manual. EGT+boost gauges. Boost controller set to ~14.5 psi. 1 1/4 turns on full load adjustment. LPG injection. Next in the list is water injection.

I re-read your post, and if I read it correctly, you didn't say whether the compressor has been replaced? Is it original to the car? You said the viscous fan and drier were replaced, but not the compressor.

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'89 260e (212K Mi.), '92 400e (208K Mi.), '92 400e (not a misprint) (146K Mi.), '95 C220, '81 240D--Sold

No I haven't had the compressor changed.

What I mean by " can the a/c compressor fail in such a short time?" is that the compressor was working great before the leak and then starts giving troubles right after changing the drier.

Is there anyway to force the aux fans to run to see if the compressor will do the same thing after aux fans running?

Sure. A/C compressors can and do fail in about 2 seconds. Happens all the time.

I recently re-vived the A/C system in a W210 that had been out of operation for a few years. The system worked fine for 3 days and then the A/C compressor locked up and it didn't work to well at all.

Many of the W210 and pretty much all of the W202 series of cars are getting to the age where A/C compressors are nearing the end of their expected lifecycle. Not saying thats the case with yours but if the A/C compressor is turning and the system has a reasonable charge of R134 it should develop pressure. If it doesn't its almost certainly a compressor problem.

The aux fan issues is kind of a separate thing, as I recall when I was using a W202 as a daily driver the temp crept up a bit in stop-and-go-traffic. The aux fans are triggered by A/C condenser pressures and they should be on if the car is stationary and the external temp is above the mid-70's. You can force the aux fans on via the Star diagnostic tools but I don't think thats your problem, you first need to see if the compressor is functioning and what kind of pressures it is developing.

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98 Dodge-Cummins pickup (137K)
13 GLK250 (157k)
06 E320CDI (341K)
16 C300 (89K)
82 300GD Gelaendewagen (54K)

I see you posted your EVAP temps. Do you have the freon refrigerant pressures from the digital display? The aux fans will not engage if the pressures are too low

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88 W124 3.0
96 R129 119eng
06 ML350
98 ML320 sold
02 CLK55 amg