98 ram1500 van w/5.2Liter. for a while now when I turn on the ac the battery gauge goes down until it gets warmed up, today I turned on the ac and the battery gauge went way low and then I noticed the ac was not blowing cold. I stopped and looked at the fuses and the 20 amp fuse that is for ac/starter was blown. van would not start. replaced fuse, good to go but when I turn on ac battery gauge goes down and will blow this fuse if I leave ac on for about 10-15 seconds. not sure if this is an ac problem or maybe battery/alternater issue or maybe a relay. everything is fine, starts right up but when I turn on ac battery just drains and will blow this fuse. any advice would be great before I have to pay somebody to find out. I live in florida and it is still in the 80's right now! thanks

 

How is your battery?

Also I have seen a bac AC clutch do a similar thing.

 

Unplug AC clutch (there should be a bullet connector within 6" of AC clutch lead) and replace fuse. If fuse doesn't blow again, AC clutch is bad or wire is shorted.

 

Sounds like the compressor is shot.

 

.....

 

yeah I think I see it. I tried to unplug it the other day but had a hard time figuring out how to unplug it without damaging it cause I did want to look at that fuse. somebody else on here says my compressor might be shot. when I turn ac on the clutch does engage and there is no noise like a failing compressor. I've done quite a bit of work on cars but this is a new one for me. anyway I will check that fuse. thank you blackvan

 

the clutch does engage when I turn ac on with no noise that sounds like failure. I am working on several possible causes. thank you

 

No problem.

Just FYI what can happen is your magnetic coil in the clutch starts to take a significant amount of amperage when it starts to fail.
It will still look like it is working fine.

 

could you possibly tell me how this bullet conector unplugs, does it just pull apart or doI need to pry into it with a flathead screwdriver, and are you sure there is a fuse in there or is it just a connector? I see what looks like two fuses right on top of the compressor. these are the last things I can think of before I have to put her in a shop. this 98 1500 is a mark III in really good condition with just 65000 miles in it and I want to jump on any problems that arise and fix them instead of just let one problem after another pile up. I took it to parts store and battery and alternator (14.1) tested good until ac was turned on then alternator went down to the 11 range. Also in your opinion do you think this could be a compressor issue or just the clutch? I am going back through these archives trying to find someone that has had this exact same problem and not one yet, i'm about half way through the 189 pages and I've seen your posts a lot so I value your input. thank you

 

the bullitt connector just pulls apart---more than likely it is the clutch