Preston

Ok, I just replaced the belt for the A/C. I also converted to r134a. I was trying to charge the system and noticed two things.

1. The a/c light on my climate control doesn't lite when i push it

2. The compressor doesn't turn on. It spins but it won't turn on.

When I try to charge, all the refridgerant stays in the tube with the port on it. Now it is a bad compressor or a bad motor in the climate control maybe not tellin it to turn on? Any help is welcome thanks.

ghostman

hmm normally i'd say bad compressor. but since the a/c light dosent come on.... maybe it is the climate control. only way to find out is to have someone check the system.

shotty53

the light might be that the illuminating bulb is loose.
slide out ur ac unit. there should be a small rectangular flap that you can lift. in there, there should be 2 round philips head plastic plugs. tighten them and then turn ur car on. ur ac light should light up when u turn it on

if lost, look at ur FSM under heating/air

l2aine

sometimes a low charge will not start the compressor... if that makes sense

Preston

The system is empty. The pressure buildup from flowing the refridgerant should kick the compressor on and go from there (I've done it before this is like my millionth time doing ac charging). This time it won't though. Maybe just the compressor is dead? But wouldn't it seize up and NOT spin freely like it does now...they usually seize. Mine spins like normal, just no compressing action.

ghostman

same thing happened to me. compressor spins like normal but dosent actually "activate". so yeah most likely the compressor's dead.

Preston

F*uck.....it's like $300 at advance.......looks like i can go w/o ac for a while

wikd240

jump the compressor wire to see if it will activate the clutch and kick the compressor on... send 12 volts to the wire that is attached to the compressor... do this with the motor running and see if the compressor kicks in.... then charge the system...

my compressor would not fire until i did this and had it full or freon...

now if the compressor does not fire then it points to a bad compressor or clutch...

ghostman

see if you can call some junk/salvage yards. you can normally buy a used compressor for about 80 bucks. if your worried about condition, some places offer 30-90 day warranty.

TWong1200

I'd have to think the same thing as well. There should be a pressure switch on the low-side line and if it senses no pressure, then no trigger to the compressor.

Why do you want to turn it on first anyway? I usually charge it firs with a pound and use the site glass from there.

Just my $.02.

Preston

The way you do it is to turn the car on max ac and run. Since it's empty the compressor won't turn on. But once you start puttin in the refridgerant it will fire cause then there's pressure. Mine just keeps building pressure in the low side port tube and never leaves it cause the compressor's not kicking.

wikd240

thats why i said to jump the compressor... take a wire from the battery and put it to the wire on the compressor... it will tell you right away if it works or not... if it dont work then you need a new compressor... i know how it should work but every car is different... and act a nd do things in different ways for what ever reason... jump the compressor and see if it works... if it dont... get a new one... it is an easy thing to try...

and btw... just a foot note... the pressure switch on our cars is located on the dryer... which is after the expantion valve... so that might be why there is no pressure getting to the switch...

TWong1200

Yes.....good way to do it. Perhaps your pressure switch is bad? Use an ohm meter on the switch as you fill it. See if the resistance changes. If not, I think it's could be the pressure switch?

More questions...

What was the status of your system before you converted to R134A? Was your system working normally? What did you do exactly when you converted over? What was and wasn't replaced?

Preston

No idea on status. Previous owner said it worked but he drained it cause it was causing allergy problems. So I assumed that meant everything worked. I'm gonna go play around with it tonight or tomorrow and see what I can do.

l2aine

Negative - when you recharge you shouldn't put the fan at max, because unless you are using a forced recharge, the r134a won't get into the system that easily since air is rushing through too quickly (not pulling in the r134a instead). When we recharge we run the fan at 2 or 3, hookup the recharge lines, tip the r134a canister over, and it takes 4 minutes to fully recharge.