My first post - 1985 colony park in uk - cfi & eec-vi issues!

[DerekTheGreat]

Careful with jumping that switch! Did you verify the system has pressure first?? If you jump the switch it'll make the compressor kick on regardless if the system has sufficient pressure/oil.

[kishy]

Here's where the relay should be on the driver side fender. The ECA relay is brown, the fuel pump is green, and the WOT should be black or white (can't remember which). The horn is hanging outside the plastic shrouds. Watch for spiders and other creepy crawlies when digging around in there.

I hate to break it to you, but the CFI cars are not that well-organized...or sophisticated...in fact I'm pretty sure there is no WOT cutout relay, after never having located one in my cars, and now looking for it in the EVTM unsuccessfully, plus Mel above not being able to find it lol.

Those pretty little relay boxes do not exist in the CFI cars either.

+12V hot in accessory or run via fuse 6
White with pink stripe wire to HVAC selector switch
In A/C normal or max, or defrost, or mix modes, light green with pink stripe wire is made hot via switch.
This wire forks off at a connector, it goes to the ECM to tell it that A/C is on (raise idle speed I think), and the other side of the fork goes to the A/C clutch switch.
From there, it goes to the A/C clutch with the diode in parallel with the clutch coil.

It does make this circuit brilliantly simple.

+1 on verifying the system is actually charged correctly, and +1 that an original switch for these cars (including new replacement of original specifications) will need to be adjusted to work for R134A pressures.

[sly]

right... 85, not 86. Relay should be up near the brake booster if equipped... in that mess of wires.

[gadget73]

On further investigation, you are correct about the WOT relay. I'm not used to the CFI stuff, all of mine have a relay.

[DerekTheGreat]

So I haven't unplugged my connector but my car was converted to 134a ('88). Which direction do I need to turn that screw or is the screw labeled to make the 20psi correction easier to spot?

[gadget73]

looks like backing it out about 1/4 turn will do it according to some dude on Corral. Ideally it should be checked with a pressure gauge though.

[DerekTheGreat]

Thanks gadget. On that note, shouldn't the compressor run constantly when running the A/C? On our road trip I noticed it'll run for about 20-40 seconds before kicking off for about 5 seconds and then kick back on again.

[sly]

If the outside air is cool enough, this will happen. But it may be good to check pressures anyhow.

[DerekTheGreat]

Indeed, I'll have to hook my chincy gage on it. It was probably around 50-60F when we were running it.

[sly]

You're probably good then. Once the outside temp hits 80, that shouldn't be an issue.

[gadget73]

yeah there is a chart in the books showing expected cycles per minute vs temperature. Its hard to really do AC work when its not very hot outside. I actually had to steal the switch off the Towncar when messing with the Continental and it was cutting out at 15 psi. That will need some adjustment. Should be about 20 psi for R134a and 25 for R12.

[DerekTheGreat]

Thanks fellas, I appreciate your knowledge & input.

[melharris]

The Air Con low pressure switch arrived yesterday from Rock Auto.

I put it on and air con compressor started right up.

Many thanks for helping me out again!!

[kishy]

in fact I'm pretty sure there is no WOT cutout relay, after never having located one in my cars, and now looking for it in the EVTM unsuccessfully

Revisiting this:

I was just perusing specifically the ATC page of the 84 Lincoln EVTM and it shows that there is a WOT cutout relay for the A/C clutch. However, it does not specify a location for it, unlike every other part of the system.

In the circuit (Lincoln) it is "in between" C102 and C108 which are both identified as being on the "LH fender apron" but one of them is indicated as being "near ignition switch" on the LH fender apron, which is physically impossible, as the fender apron is nowhere near the ignition switch. Good job Ford.

I then compared to the 85 Ford/Mercury EVTM, but there is no WOT cutout relay identified at all on the ATC or EEC pages.

[gadget73]

There are glitches in the manuals. The power mirror control circuit for my Continental is just completely wrong, both the wiring and the internal switch diagram. Sometimes I suspect the manual is published before the car is made, and the cars sometimes have running changes that the documents don't capture. The picture on the front of the 84 EVTM shows a Continental with the front end used from 82-83 for example.