Wire caught in a/c compressor pulley
I've got a '99 Camry (4cyl).
The other day while driving I noticed an electrical burning smell and smoke coming from engine compartment.
I found that "some wire" had gotten caught in the a/c compressor pulley. It got wound up tight down into the tiny gap between the pulley and the compressor body. The friction melted the wire shielding. I was able to scrape out some of the gunk but there is obviously still some wire wrapped up around the pulley shaft as its making an awful squeaky grinding noise while running.
I'm afraid that I'm going to have to go have the compressor replaced which I expect will cost me an arm and a leg even though the part is only $200 since they'll have to flush/refill the refrigerant. As far as I know there is no way for the simple home mechanic to replace a compressor as it'd require the machine to capture/refill the refrigerant lines.
Anybody have alternative ideas. I think that if I could get that pulley off the compressor without removing the compressor and refrigerant lines I may be able to clean the crud off the compressor axle and be ok, but I dont know if it's possible to get that pulley off.
Also, I still have to figure out what wire got pulled into it in the first place. Is there a wire which feeds down into the compressor to control a valve or something? It looks like there is a little piece of a grounding wire still attached to the compressor body, so I'm thinking the wire went there into the compressor but I have no idea where the other end attached. It did short out the circuit feeding my cabin blower, defroster, A/C controller.
Any ideas on the cheapest solution would be great, this is just my budget commuter car so I want it fixed but am willing to be creative.
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