Everytime i turn on my air conditioner, it makes this squeeky scratchy noise. The ac works fine....but its noisy. Has anyone encoutered this problem? Please help. Thank you.

 

I can't tell from your description of the sound. A worn or loose a/c fan belt makes a noticeable high-pitched screeching sound, especially upon cold engine startup. How many miles on your car and has regular scheduled maintenance been performed?

 

The sound you describe is correct. It is a high pitched screeching sound. I have about 75,000. And the last major check-up I had was the 60,000 miles check-up. Do you think it's the a/c fan belt? or do you think it's just lose? Thank you for helping out.

 

I had a similar problem at 85k miles. Initially, it would screech as the A/C cut in and out. Then I'd also get little burning smells as it slipped.

I wasn't sure if it was the belt or the compressor failing, so I took it in to Kevin at AHQ. Turns out it was the belt that was shot.

 

A worn or loose belt is the usual culprit when you hear that noise. If the compressor itself were failing the noise would be the sound of bearing failure or you would see evidence of the compressor clutch failure in the form of smoke (from the belt trying to turn a pulley that isn't spinning freely) and the pulley would become really hot from the friction. I had another car whose a/c compressor failed and the a/c stopped working and the belt friction almost became hot enough to light the belt on fire.

The a/c belt isn't all that hard to change but might as well have your car serviced for all of the belts, including the timing belt. I had all of my belts changed at the 60,000 mile service. If your a/c belt was changed out at that time, ask the garage to check it for proper tension. The a/c belt on my car had a little slack in it after driving for a few hundred miles so I re-adjusted it. The adjuster is tricky if you don't make adjustments very often - it's reverse-threaded with lock nuts so it can be confusing which way to turn it.

 

Thank you for all your help. I will get my belts checked and replaced.