This 2000 Nissan Xterra came in with the complaint that the a/c works good sometimes but it may not work at all at other times. The easiest place to test is at the thermistor lead connector (white) at the bottom left of the glove box.
It can be done without removing the glove box but it is easier with the glove box assembly out of the way. There are two screws located in the lower corners. Two screws located in the upper corners and two screws located in the upper center at the latch bracket.
The testing is as follows. Key on and engine running with the a/c turned on: Green/orange wire will have battery voltage from fuse #29 in the underhood fuse box, the Blue wire will have battery ground from the a/c control assembly and the Blue/black wire will have a nominal 4-5 volts with the thermistor off (temperature below 40 degrees F) and less than .5 volts with the thermistor on (temperature above 45 degrees F). The thermistor assembly applies a ground to the circuit which is sent through the dual pressure switch and then on to the engine control computer. This one failed the test and needed to be replaced. The proper way is to remove the refrigerant and then the evaporator case but I prefer a simpler way. It can be a little painful but it only takes about ten minutes from this point to change it. There are three phillips headed screws that have to be removed along with three 10 mm headed screws as shown in the following pictures.
Once the screws are removed, the two halves of the evaporator case can be separated enough to look in, see the thermistor, carefully and a little painfully insert your hand into the box and removed the sensor. Slide the new one in, in the reverse order and install the previously removed screws. The long tab pointing down slides into the evaporator fins and tab pointing to the right is the actual thermistor bulb.
Yeeesss!! I got it working! I just took it in and paid $130 and it still didn’t work. I hope it continues to work now that I vacuumed it out. Thanks! !
My 200 xterra would cool a moment, then it felt like the heater kicked it! I purchased a TCA from local Nissan dealer, and thanks to the photos I replaced it. Blowing cool air today! The real test will be tomorrow. Should be 91 degrees and it will be obvious if it’s working. Thanks again!!!
Oh, and I’ll check the other sensors you mentioned. TPS is brand-new, BTW.
Hi Sparky –
Thanks for the insights, I have a simple code reader, it indicates no codes at the moment, though, and has not shown any codes throughout this investigation. The ECCS system for AC control uses TTL logic (5vDC). It sends a 5v signal through a series of sensors and controls, and if the signal reaches ground, with the engine running, etc. it commands the AC compressor relay to close, as well as bump the idle up, etc. If I ground the GRN/RED from the ECCS (“AIR CON”), that simulates all sensors good (triple pressure and TCA) and A/C selected “ON”. That should cause the ECCS to ground its PINK (“ACRLY”), closing the AC compressor relay and starting the compressor. That check bypasses all sensors and controls to check if the fault is in one of them. If I ground the PINK directly, that bypasses all the controls and sensors AND bypasses the ECCS, forcing the AC compressor on, similar to simply jumpering the relay at the relay box. I’ll try all that tomorrow. BTW, I am an electrical engineer in the aerospace industry, so forgive me if my terminology is a bit non-standard!
You are looking at one of three things. A faulty ECM /ECCS. A broken circuit between the ECM and the relay. A data value that is preventing the ECM from engaging the relay. Such as coolant temperature or throttle position. Do you have a way to look at codes and data?