Re: electrical detail info needed/was 8U failure.

[Fred Di Matteo <fredalfa@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Bill, the very low resistance value for your compressor clutch coil
indicates to me that is just about a dead short.  If you look closely at
the point where the wire enters the compressor, you might notice the
insulation broken or the wire crushed to ground.  If you tried to feed
that wire through a higher amperage fuse you will notive that fuse will
blow and or the wire glow a bright red and melt.   The smart thing to do
is disconnect the circuit and feed the coil through a high wattage bulb
(to save wasting fuses), when the light goes dim, you'll have cleared the
short.   Fred Di Matteo  AROC Technical Advisor, Fort Myers, Florida

Alfa Romeo Search and Rescue Society wrote:

> My 164 has a failure in the a/c circuit, pointing to the compressor
> clutch magnetic coil. It seems to be drawing too much current.
>
> Friend, (electrical type) tested the coil for resistance and by putting
> the DVM on 200 ohms setting, and putting black to ground and red to the
> red wire going to the compressor clutch, reading is 1.2 ohms. He said
> this resistance is causing the coil to require more amps to get the
> clutch to work, therefore exceeding the limit of the correct 10 amp
> fuse. With clutch wire disconnected, System functions normally control
> unit ok, blower fan happy and goes through speeds fine. Connect
> compressor and 10 amp fuse blows upon clutch engaging.
>
> Does this sound correct? I am somewhat ignorant on electrical issues.
>
> Options, assuming this makes sense, are to replace clutch coil, (ugly
> job) and 2) inserting a resistor in the circuit to reduce the amp draw
> to acceptable levels. (experimental)
>
> Opinions, options, theories??
>
> Thanks in advance.
> --
>
> Bill Harkell
> Tampa Florida
> http://pw2.netcom.com/~alfabill/enter.htm
> '91 Alfa 168 B, currently cooled with humid air. :o)

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