Troubleshooting & Repairing the Nissan Xterra Air Conditioning

Written By: Doug Layne
  • Comments: 29
Troubleshooting & Repairing the Nissan Xterra Air Conditioning

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

6

Time Required

1 hour

Introduction

The 2000 Xterra's Air Conditioning is sometimes cool but may not work other times. The Air Conditioning System will get cold when the Compressor Clutch is engaged but the clutch quickly quits and just blows semi cool to warm air.

One possible cause of this symptom is that the Thermistor may be defective. Here is how to troubleshoot and replace the thermistor.

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    • The Thermistor connector is located below the glove box. You can see the white connector hanging out from under the dash.

    • The purpose of the Thermistor is to keep the Evaporator from freezing. It does this by measuring the temperature and turning off the Compressor when the Evaporator gets below approx. 40 degrees F allowing the Evaporator to defrost.

    • Locate your Air Conditioning Compressor. The clutch is the center area. If the clutch is engaged the center area will be turning. It will be turned off by the Thermistor to prevent the Evaporator from Freezing.

    • Here are the tools that you'll need to complete this guide.

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    • Test the thermistor by turning the Engine ON and the Air Conditioner ON.

    • Using a Voltmeter (set to DC Volts), the Green/Orange wire will have battery voltage (around 13.5vdc) from fuse #29 in the under hood fuse box.

    • The Blue wire will have battery ground from the AC control assembly.

    • The most important wire is the Blue/Black wire. The Voltmeter will show less than .5 volts with the thermistor on (temperature above 45 degrees F). It will show a nominal 4-5 volts with the thermistor off (temperature below 40 degrees F).

    • During inital operation, the temperature at the evaporator will be above 45 degrees and the Voltmeter should read less than .5 volts. When the temperature of the evaporator is below 40 degrees F, the Voltmeter will read 4-5 volts which turns the Air Conditioner Compressor OFF. This keeps the Evaporator from freezing.

    • If your Thermistor is reading 4-5 volts when you first turn the AC on then your Thermistor is defective and needs to be replaced.

    Hello good day. I tested my ac thermistor the blue/black wire reading is above 0.5v when I just turn on the a/c. Is the thermistor bad already? Thanks

    type1028 -

    ,if I unplug the bad coupling and plug up the new one will the unit work then before take it apart???

    Jimmy Parker -

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    • Replacing the Thermistor requires removal of the glove box.

    • Remove the four upper screws and the two lower screws as indicated.

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    • Using a philips screwdriver, remove three screws. (as indicated by the orange circles)

    • Using a 10mm socket, remove four bolts (as indicated by the blue squares) The two on the right are easy to see but the two on the left are difficult to see and are behind structure.

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    • Here's were it can get tricky. Of course the correct way to replace this is to completely evacuate the system and remove the evaporator but with a little ingenuity you can have it replaced in 10 minutes.

    • Open the evaporate shell by splitting the halves. I used a spring clamp, backwards, to help me hold the halves open.

    • Using a long pair of needle nose pliers, gently work the Thermistor out of the evaporate fins.

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    • I purchased a new Thermistor for $52 at the dealership. Install the new thermistor by using the Long Needle Nose Pliers to insert into the evaporator fins.

    • Removing the connector from the bracket was difficult and I broke the bracket. I was happy to see that a new a mounting bracket came with the new thermistor. You will need a small sheet metal screw to attach the mounting bracket in a hole next to the existing mounting bracket. They provided a hole for you to mount the new bracket. ( I guess they al

    Be careful when installing the new one, the attachment arm can break fairly easy if you force it.

    Tom -

Conclusion

To reassemble your Air Conditioning System, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Author

Doug Layne

Member since: 21/06/12

1195 Reputation

26 comments

Excellent information. My 2003 Xterra was acting up with the AC compressor kicking off and on when the vehicle got up to temperature. One mechanic told me the compressor was knocking and ready to fail. I found out that it was simply overcharged with Freon after a high pressure AC hose replacement. It has worked fine for two years now after getting the Freon right.

Glenn -

Article by Doug Layne was the answer to my 2000 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab. The Thermo Amplifier was the cause of my problem. A/C works like new. Also make sure you clean inside the unit. I have no idea how so much dirt got into the unit. Must be poor design.

Thanks Doug from another Doug

Doug Wacha -

What was yours doing and what did you do to fix it.I just got mine 01 and the compressor is working but not cooling much.please help.

jbegleybuild -

What was yours doing.my compressor is working and the garage charged it but not getting cold.they said they thouhht it was the expansion valve.what do you think

jbegleybuild -

In step 6, part of the sentence is cut off, what should it say: "They provided a hole for you to mount the new bracket. ( I guess they al"

Karen Strong -

This info was awesome! I was having the same problem ( cold air and when you shut the car off it might not come back for 10 - 15 min after restart. got an ac thermistor amplifier and did the install as shown ( great pictures and info ) and problem is fixed. Thanks for sharing . Wife drives the xterra and is very happy :) :)

rkcarcare -

What if you don't pick up any volts from the blue/black wire?

Eddie luna -

My 2003 Xterra was having same issue. Replacing thermistor was the fix but 2003 Xterra used a two wire component instead of three. Nissan PN 27723-8J000.

ben1542 -

My 2002 Xterra AC worked intermittently the past two summers. It would often start fine in the morning but not work after a couple of stops. I could hear the solinoid clicking but just couldn't get the cold air to come on again. A mechanic said it needed a new clutch/compressor unit. Fortunately my son was able to replace the thermistor using your instructions. It works like new now - and at a savings of at least $600. If I'd gone to the expense of replacing the unit, the problem would still exist. Thank you for saving us a bundle!

Connie -

2004 frontier replace all of my a/c component holds vacuum got the freon ,check all of the relays and still the compressor still no engaging comes on sometimes please help.

amartell79 -

How do you release the thermistor plug from under the dash? it seems like it is screwed in place and doesn't want to release from the dash

tom -

If you were to recharge a ac using a ac recharge on a 2013 xterra what port would you use the low

ac port or the evap test booster?

Kyle -

Where is the acc compress located on a 2003 Nissan xterra

onealpat.5 -

I think it is the same as my 2000 Frontier. Looking at the engine its on the right side.

The pulley looks different that the others because of the clutch.

Russ -

What if you have 12 volts on the blue and black wire? I replaced my thermostor and still same issue. The new one looks different though.

Russ -

Worked on my Nissan 2000 Xterra,,, had tried other stuff with no success ,

morajuan80@gmail.com -

So far this seems to have fixed my intermittent cooling issue on my 2002 Frontier.

I had to take out the middle parts of the dash as well around the dials, I needed more room to work. It’s a tight area to work in.

even so, I broke the connecting arm on my first attempt of putting the new one in. Takes patience, and don’t force it. The second attempt went much better. $30 part at O'Reilly.

thanks for posting this! Nicely done

Tom -

mingalarpar friends

mg myo -

Do you think this is too ambitious for an amiture???

smudgeandnatthecat -

I have a 2001 Nissan Xterra that is having the same issue. The compressor clutch kicking off/ on intermittently. Then, Stays off & starts blowing just warm air. It has a brand new Condenser, Compressor, Low Pressure Line. And, Full of Freon. So, I ordered a new Thermistor(Nissan PN: 27675-9Z000). I ordered from Amazon. I hope it's the correct one. And, That it fixes the issue I'm having. Because, This Oklahoma Heat & Humidity is horrible!!

carver_jm1980 -

Thank You! Great Information!

iamago -

In step 2 testing with a multimeter do you only need to stick the positive probe into the wire terminals? Thanks in advance!

dkgoodman -

The issue i am having is the a.c. will blow cold air then hot air… and after a few minutes cold again..

any advise.

manny ramirez -

With your guidance I got the part from Carid.com <$30. Used the reverse clamps as suggested! Wrapped my left wrist and top of hand with blue painters tape to reduce chance of getting cut and it worked great! Thank you, my AC is now blowing COLD!!!

Victor Kan -

This is very good detail process specifically about measuring voltage. I was able to get part replaced and AC is working now. Thank you

Nimpat -

Hey guys! I'm having overheating only when I cut on the AC. Just checked thermistor with multimeter and it's faulty. Will replacing it help my truck to stop overheating and leaking from the condenser?

Tyler Mosteller -