Evening NAM,

Hoping someone out there can help guide me in the right direction.

I recently purchased an 04 MCS as a potential daily driver. Bought the car without a working AC, seller claimed it was from a bad AC coil. I read how common these things are to go bad and trusted it was just the coil.

I purchased the below clutch/coil assembly from amazon, decent reviews, almost a perfect fit. I swapped out the supplied clips with the OEM for better fitment. After 9 long hours, I got the coil out and installed the new along with new pulley. Put my belt back on and cranked the engine. As I feared, nothing but hot air blew out. the clutch spins freely, though you don’t hear it engage when switch AC on.

A few things I checked:

Relay inside fuse box under hood: pulled the relay and checked to see which had power when ac was switched to on. Power is there, though both #86 pins that allegeldy receive power from coil were dead. I don’t have a fancy digital reader so I’m not sure if any bit of power is being fed, but I don’t suppose so.

I can’t imagine the brand new part to be bad, especially since none of the reviews are in response to a faulty new coil.

I’ve narrowed it down to an electrical issue, power not being received to the top. I’m thinking back to the connection, I want to believe I did it correctly. Both the factory coil and the new coil only have one connector, though the photo shows a connector and ground. The OEM setup had a small metal bracket holding both connectors (coil to car). When assembling, I did put the bracket back on, but not sure if correctly.

Now, I wonder, is the ground on the new coil built in? Or perhaps, the ground is sourced from the metal bracket and screw.

Either way, I’m pretty bummed. Thought I’d finally get the AC fixed so I can start driving the little guy. I rather not take it to a shop unless completely necessary. Really hoping I can get some help/ feedback.

I apologize in advance for the lengthy explanation, rather not leave any detail out.

Same coil I purchased, only without the ground wire.

thanks! I haven’t checked the pressure in the system yet, on my list before diagnosing anything else. Also, think I’ll get a fancier voltmeter to test power out of the coil directly. Sadly I won’t have time to get around to this until next Saturday, the mind will wonder many things until then.

thanks for the reply!