So I just woke up today and went to class about 10 minutes away from my house and 2 hours later, I left. It started raining and the windshield started to fog up, so I turned on the AC and it worked fine for like 10 minutes until halfway there, the air became warm and I could smell something weird from the vents for a few seconds, it almost smelled like some food or something was rotting on the road near me and the AC brought it inside, but it went away after a bit. I stopped at a store and on the way out from there, the glass was really fogged up and I couldn't defog it, so I stopped at a gas station and wiped it and checked my compressor. The AC light was green on the button and the high speed fan was turning, but the compressor wasn't turning with the belt, it was like it was off. On the way home, I had the fan set to blow air on the windshield to at least try to slow the fog down, but after a while, I noticed a slight burning smell from the vents. I'm not 100% sure if it was actually a burning smell, or my head playing games with me, but I turned it back to face and legs and turned it off. I couldn't smell anything wrong again, but at home I grabbed some pliers and pulled the fuse for the compressor, and it's blown. I know putting in another fuse will fix it, but don't fuses blow for a reason? Unless this fuse is the original one and just blew due to old age? Is that a thing for fuses? If there is a deeper problem, what might be the next few steps to take to try to figure it out? Should I buy a couple fuses from Autozone and put one in to see if it blows again or can that cause whatever the bigger problem might be to cause more damage?

Thanks.

Pics:
https://i.imgur.com/yzTRoJt.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/3EZiuN3.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/TJXYrMC.jpg

 

 

A fuse really shouldn't blow, though it's not unheard of for one to fail. The burning smell is what concerns me, but if it were my car, I'd replace the fuse and hope for the best (and keep a nose open for signs of a problem). OTOH, I'm not too bright. ;-)

About the only thing that the fuse should blow from would be a bad A/C compressor clutch coil (probably shorted to ground, though it could have an internal short that reduces the resistance of the coil). The good news is that it's possible to replace just the clutch, and it's not TOO hard (just take off the right front wheel and fender liner, and you have good access to the clutch).

And FWIW, it's very common for the clutches to wear to the point where they slip (which can generate a burning smell, too). Normally, this is fixed by removing the clutch and removing a shim to reduce the space between the clutch plate and the compressor, so the clutch magnet can once again pull it firmly home when commanded to do so).