1. What is Ac Pulley?
AC pulley may look like a small wheel. If the A/C is on, the pulley spins in sync with the compressor.
If the A/C is off, the pulley spins but the compressor does not.
The air conditioning pulley or Ac pulley is located on the front of the air conditioning compressor. It
drives the compressor with help from the engine's accessory drive system. The AC pulley is attached to
an electronic clutch, which allows the pulley to spin freely when the AC unit is not in use, but, once the
compressor is activated by the AC switch, the clutch engages and the pulley drives the compressor.
There is hardly ever ever an issue with the AC pulley itself, though; the bearing that the pulley rides on
typically requires infrequent replacement. The electronic clutch system that works with the pulley can
be heard engaging as an evident clicking sound when the air conditioning system is in use. A slight drop
in engine speed is often found associated the clutch activation.
An AC pulley bearing requiring replacement can often be indicated by a squealing sound coming from
the compressor, as well as a noticeable quiver in the pulley itself as it spins with the vehicle's engine
running.
What if Ac pulley is not working properly?
Ac pulley creates a problem very often, but there are certain problems which are described below:
A disastrous electronic clutch on a vehicle's AC compressor can lead to the freeze up of the AC pulley
which, in turn, destroys the belt.
The circumstances are dangerous due to the serpentine belt powering not only the AC unit, but the
vehicle's charging and cooling systems in the same way. Usually, the pulley will freeze due to a
malfunction in the electronic clutch or the failure of the pulley's bearing.
Of these state of affairs will be represent either by a squealing or grinding noise radiate from the front
of the AC compressor unit. This state has been commonly originated in vehicles only that are driven with
an out of order AC system for longer periods.
