JaxLax
Bronco Guru
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO it's now upper 70s in FL and it won't get much colder until December, so it's high time to get into the A/C in Ginger and get it ready for summer/wife driving.
First, huge shout-out/thanks to Jaxgtc! We recently met, looked over our near twins (ok, his is def the prettier one), and he left me with an extra unit he'd gotten from another member for parts (if I need them)! ;D It was also great to see his working unit and it's routing/setup/belts/etc as this will become important later.
This will be a photo heavy thread, so prepare yourselves.
First: What we are starting with:
I've got an ARA labelled unit that does not run/power up. I have the vents/limbs, but they are not complete. I have the lines and compressor, but no v-belt to turn it. I also have a Coldmaster labelled unit (from Jaxgtc) that looks to be the same main unit design and parts in case I need them or just a reference.
So I feel like I have 75% of the parts in the system already installed. I'm missing "power", refrigerant, belt, and a vent trim piece.
In the immediate things that ought to be simple to fix/replace: refrigerant, power, and new vents/limbs. I want to think that the belt issue will be the most difficult to solve.
I have not yet removed MY unit as I don't want to cut the lines and such. I will remove it at some point, but that might be after I get it at least functioning/powering and possibly obtain new vents so that I can make sure I won't have to modify them after restoring the unit internals [if].
Second: the issues
1. Mine does not power up. I traced and checked the wires that I could and they mostly line up with those on the extra unit, but not fully. I connected the black ground (with fuse) to a body ground and got nothing, I will start tracing the wires to see if perhaps it's disconnected elsewhere (but the dash is a rats nest) and the fuse panel is tapped and cut and tapped again. The wire number and colors are the difference I immediately found (kind of). The extra unit has 3 wires: Blue, Red, and Black (obvs cut so I don't know their final locations, but I can take educated guess). My unit has Blue, Black, and a three way gang connector with Red, Yellow, and Orange going into the unit. For mine the BLUE wire goes from the unit and grounds to the compressor, the BLACK has a fuse and I presume to be the ground wire. The RED then is assumed to be the positive power. The extra unit RED wire terminates in what looked to be a fusable connector link; I am yet to fully trace the 3 colored gang wires on my unit.
2. Refinishing/Refurb/etc: I don't know the internal condition of mine. Luckily the extra unit has great looking coils and most parts just need to be cleaned and aren't showing any sign of failure through wear. And I will need at the very least the trim piece that holds the vent vanes in place. Perhaps go with a new set?
3. The compressor/belts: I think this is where the most of my physical work will be done. Compressor turns freely and the lines don't have a visible issue/leak (which is why I'm hesitant to remove the unit by just cutting them). There is some discoloration on the blue wire that is then spliced onto the compressor for a ground and it's connection is showing some discoloration too, this will be checked with a multimeter later to make sure it's fully grounded and not shorting. THE BELT. The belt is the thing that I have to figure out. There is a double pulley on the compressor and a triple on the engine, BUT the fan is in the way. I need an idler or intermediate pulley somewhere to clear it. There's enough room behind the blades, but it's going to contact the base. I do have an unused hole on the compressor mount bracket (see my hand photo). It could support a single bolt idler, but it'd have to extend out farther than I'd think it should to hold tension over time. Jaxgtc has an idler, but his stuff is routed completely different (as these were dealer installed, the shop guy could do some things how ever he saw fit).
If you've got thoughts or photos of yours, POST THEM UP or send them to me and I'll do it. I've searched around the internet and there doesn't seem to be a repository of any real amount of information on these units for EBs. Jaxgtc turned me on to place here locally that did some work on his and, of course, it's full of 70+ year old techs who are full of information that's gonna leave this world when they do.
First, huge shout-out/thanks to Jaxgtc! We recently met, looked over our near twins (ok, his is def the prettier one), and he left me with an extra unit he'd gotten from another member for parts (if I need them)! ;D It was also great to see his working unit and it's routing/setup/belts/etc as this will become important later.
This will be a photo heavy thread, so prepare yourselves.
First: What we are starting with:
I've got an ARA labelled unit that does not run/power up. I have the vents/limbs, but they are not complete. I have the lines and compressor, but no v-belt to turn it. I also have a Coldmaster labelled unit (from Jaxgtc) that looks to be the same main unit design and parts in case I need them or just a reference.
So I feel like I have 75% of the parts in the system already installed. I'm missing "power", refrigerant, belt, and a vent trim piece.
In the immediate things that ought to be simple to fix/replace: refrigerant, power, and new vents/limbs. I want to think that the belt issue will be the most difficult to solve.
I have not yet removed MY unit as I don't want to cut the lines and such. I will remove it at some point, but that might be after I get it at least functioning/powering and possibly obtain new vents so that I can make sure I won't have to modify them after restoring the unit internals [if].
Second: the issues
1. Mine does not power up. I traced and checked the wires that I could and they mostly line up with those on the extra unit, but not fully. I connected the black ground (with fuse) to a body ground and got nothing, I will start tracing the wires to see if perhaps it's disconnected elsewhere (but the dash is a rats nest) and the fuse panel is tapped and cut and tapped again. The wire number and colors are the difference I immediately found (kind of). The extra unit has 3 wires: Blue, Red, and Black (obvs cut so I don't know their final locations, but I can take educated guess). My unit has Blue, Black, and a three way gang connector with Red, Yellow, and Orange going into the unit. For mine the BLUE wire goes from the unit and grounds to the compressor, the BLACK has a fuse and I presume to be the ground wire. The RED then is assumed to be the positive power. The extra unit RED wire terminates in what looked to be a fusable connector link; I am yet to fully trace the 3 colored gang wires on my unit.
2. Refinishing/Refurb/etc: I don't know the internal condition of mine. Luckily the extra unit has great looking coils and most parts just need to be cleaned and aren't showing any sign of failure through wear. And I will need at the very least the trim piece that holds the vent vanes in place. Perhaps go with a new set?
3. The compressor/belts: I think this is where the most of my physical work will be done. Compressor turns freely and the lines don't have a visible issue/leak (which is why I'm hesitant to remove the unit by just cutting them). There is some discoloration on the blue wire that is then spliced onto the compressor for a ground and it's connection is showing some discoloration too, this will be checked with a multimeter later to make sure it's fully grounded and not shorting. THE BELT. The belt is the thing that I have to figure out. There is a double pulley on the compressor and a triple on the engine, BUT the fan is in the way. I need an idler or intermediate pulley somewhere to clear it. There's enough room behind the blades, but it's going to contact the base. I do have an unused hole on the compressor mount bracket (see my hand photo). It could support a single bolt idler, but it'd have to extend out farther than I'd think it should to hold tension over time. Jaxgtc has an idler, but his stuff is routed completely different (as these were dealer installed, the shop guy could do some things how ever he saw fit).
If you've got thoughts or photos of yours, POST THEM UP or send them to me and I'll do it. I've searched around the internet and there doesn't seem to be a repository of any real amount of information on these units for EBs. Jaxgtc turned me on to place here locally that did some work on his and, of course, it's full of 70+ year old techs who are full of information that's gonna leave this world when they do.