Update: Likely to the dismay of some here I did not blow myself up yet. All fingers and eyeballs are 100% intact. After putting in about 12 ounces of refrigerant the system actually started to blow cool air. Wasn't super cold, but proof enough that the system was working more or less and did need a full and proper purge and proper fill.
That is when the next issue hit. While working on it I walked around to the open door to check the temp and noticed no blower, no air at all coming out, although the compressor was still cycling periodically. I figured the resistor pack was toast since only two of the four speeds were working anyway, so I decided to replace it. Went over and bought a new resistor, came home and tried to pull out the old one only to discover that the plug was partially melted and one of the wires was basically severed completely right at the plug due to heat damage. I subsequently ordered a resistor and plug combo which took a few days. When that arrived I carefully cut off each wire at the old plug one by one and crimped on each new wire on the new plug so as to ensure they went on in the right order. So far so good. Fired it all up, still no blower. No harm, no foul, needed a resistor anyway, so I next pulled the blower resistor relay and bench tested it, worked fine. Next pulled out the blower itself and bench tested it, also works fine with 12v applied directly.
Trying to figure out what to check next. The compressor still does cycle properly so its not the compressor or compressor relay. Thought it could be the fan switch itself in the HVAC panel but that panel is brand new, just installed it maybe 3 weeks ago and it was working fine, albeit with only two speeds functioning (which was the same with the old panel by the way, it was just the vacuum side that was trashed).
Actually I think I made up my mind, I still do have the old panel. I'll put it back in. Although the vacuum side didn't work the fan switch side did so reinstalling it will tell me if it is just the switch in that new panel that let the smoke out. I had a suspicion about it, new as it was, so I'm glad I paid the extra couple bucks to get a 2 year warranty on the thing. I know TJ fan switches have a reputation to fail but three weeks is a bit ridiculous.
That is when the next issue hit. While working on it I walked around to the open door to check the temp and noticed no blower, no air at all coming out, although the compressor was still cycling periodically. I figured the resistor pack was toast since only two of the four speeds were working anyway, so I decided to replace it. Went over and bought a new resistor, came home and tried to pull out the old one only to discover that the plug was partially melted and one of the wires was basically severed completely right at the plug due to heat damage. I subsequently ordered a resistor and plug combo which took a few days. When that arrived I carefully cut off each wire at the old plug one by one and crimped on each new wire on the new plug so as to ensure they went on in the right order. So far so good. Fired it all up, still no blower. No harm, no foul, needed a resistor anyway, so I next pulled the blower resistor relay and bench tested it, worked fine. Next pulled out the blower itself and bench tested it, also works fine with 12v applied directly.
Trying to figure out what to check next. The compressor still does cycle properly so its not the compressor or compressor relay. Thought it could be the fan switch itself in the HVAC panel but that panel is brand new, just installed it maybe 3 weeks ago and it was working fine, albeit with only two speeds functioning (which was the same with the old panel by the way, it was just the vacuum side that was trashed).
Actually I think I made up my mind, I still do have the old panel. I'll put it back in. Although the vacuum side didn't work the fan switch side did so reinstalling it will tell me if it is just the switch in that new panel that let the smoke out. I had a suspicion about it, new as it was, so I'm glad I paid the extra couple bucks to get a 2 year warranty on the thing. I know TJ fan switches have a reputation to fail but three weeks is a bit ridiculous.
