360 1999 Ferrari 360 AC stopped mid drive

You have to look at the compressor and see if the clutch is engaged, then diagnose from there with that info.

 

There is a fuse. You may not be able to see the clutch to tell if it is working without a camera. A set of gauges goes a long ways to diagnosing the issue.

 

Skid— can you see the ac comp clutch from the cabin access panel?

 

I'm wondering what my A/C issue is. I had it recharged and it worked mildly well for a minute or two. Then it was hot air. Turned it off and back on, same deal. I only drive my car on cool days and evenings and mornings anyway, so I'm not worried about it. Dumb question: does the A/C not work when the car is in neutral? I have so much stop and go around here, that the car is coasting to the next line about half of the time.

 

The A/C does work in neutral. If the air blew cold, even for a short time, then I would say it's a major leak somewhere. However with that said, most compressors will shut off if the system is under charged (maybe over charged too, but not sure) so that may also be an issue. Not necessarily a major leak, but probably a leak somewhere.

 

it blew cold for a bit last night, too. The darn ACs in these things have always been a joke even under the best of circumstances. And most of the cars are so sporadically driven, keeping an AC working properly is a lost cause IMO.

 

I might get mine out a couple times a week for a few miles. But there will be many inclement times over the winter where it doesn’t leave the garage for extended periods. I only enjoy the spider with the top down. I’ll have to really push it to hit 1500 miles a year.

 

I tho k

I think I briefly spoke with you before you pulled out at Caffeine and Octane, bummer about the AC. Hope to do some drives when my F430 ships

 

Sure did. Flying out now to California as we speak. Seller agreed to pay for a new clutch so test driving it then having it done this week.

 

I don't know about that... My 360 is an '03 so perhaps it's been upgraded in the newer model years(?) But my car is only for pleasure too. In Florida (like this past week) it rained constantly so the Ferrari sat in the garage since I don't enjoy driving on the wet roads and among a host of careless drivers that don't seem to adapt their driving habits to slick wet roads.

My A/C has always worked well and trust me, here in hot Florida, it gets a work out. So far over the past 3 years I've only clocked about 1300 miles a year. FWIW. But I will say, one time the vents seemed to be blowing hot air, like the controls on the dash were in the heater range when I had the A/C on. But it corrected itself it seems. Hasn't happened again.

Seems like the HVAC controls maybe? No way could you lose enough Freon to have the system blow warm and then miraculously blow cold again.

Although weird things can happen. Some time ago in my 911, the A/C just quit. No fan, no cold air, nothing. I got to work and shut it off and when I came out at the end of the day, voila, it was working just fine again-- and it never happened again in the following years I owned the car. Go figure.

 

Yeah I’m not too worked up about it. I don’t drive when I would need the AC in anyway. Anything other than mid 50s to high 70s, it’s in the garage.

 

It always worked well and blew ice cold. A set of gauges can tell you a LOT about what is happening. Compressor are pretty notorious on these cars for leaking. AC systems are not complicated: if the compressor works and it is properly charged EVERYTHING else is just pipes and such so nothing much to break. IF it has been properly charged and that changes then you have a leak. Leaks are easy enough to find with some dye.

OK, there are a few odd things that can happen like fans failing or the steppers that open/close the diverters but that is pretty rare.

 

I had a failed fan relay which apparently led to a compressor overheat.

The compressor has standard internals and was an easy rebuild.