Inop A/c

My A/C recently quit. Perfect timing for the 6 week trip to lovely Montgomery, AL that I just made. Anyway, when you depress the A/C button the motor slows like it's engaging, then smoothes out without the clutch/compressor running.

Any thoughts on the matter.

How easy is it to charge the system with those $10 kits from auto parts stores or is it more likely something worse than low refrigerant?

It's 22 May and it's aready 97 degrees in OKC.

The most common cause of A/C not working is simply being low on refrigerant. It is the easiest and cheapest to fix and should be the first to check before taking it to an expert ($$$) shop.

Didn't see the year of your Metro noted so I don't know if it has R-12 or R-134a in it. If it is R-134a, or you convert the system to it, then you can get a can of the stuff from any auto parts place. Read the instructions that come with the kit, or gauge if you buy it separately, and you can check right away. Adding a can if needed is very easy and quick - don't overfill.

I had tried to add refrigerant but it didn't take so then I borrowed a guage to check the pressure which indicated it was full. I should have done that first, duh! Anyway, I put a jumper from the battery to the clutch to bypass the switch and I now believe the problem lies with the compressor. When the clutch kicks in it would kill the motor. So I uped the RPMs a bit to keep it going and the belt started to smoke. The compressor is spinning, just not as fast as the it should. However, you could tell it was working somewhat as the lines were getting cold.

Initialy when this problem started to arrise the compressor would make some bad noises like a bearing was about to sh** the bed so???? I guess I will paruse the junk yards for a newer compressor if the price is right. Autozone is $258, Napa $430+, Orielly's $320 so I don't feel like dumping a ton of money into it. On Ebay I see a lot of cheap ($125) compressors for the 1.3 but nothing for the 1L, or does it matter.

Oh, and it's a 96 L3.

If the level of refrigerant is too low, the compressor will not start and no cold air.

If the level of refrigerant is correct, dash vent temperature should be around 40-degrees.

If the level of refrigerant is too high, the compressor will make all kinds of funny noises and will even jam the engine to a stop. Been there, done that.

I just wrote a big thing on here about my compresser, the clutch is shot, look at it during the night and you will see sparks comming from the clutch on the compresser, you cant replace the clutch, you have to replace the whole compresser and refill the system.

Sorry its' bad news, but the system sucks

Auto Zone Has Clutch Replacement Parts. Got Them @ Auto Zone For My 94 Mark Viii

I took the car to the base autohobby shop and had it hooked up to the a/c machine. It showed the low side being up to 400+- psi, the high side normal. The dude working there said it was probably the expansion valve causing the problem. (sticking, dirty????) Anyway, I took it out and it tested fine. I would just replace it, but the dealer A**h*les want $109 for a $25 part.

Also, I am also going to replace the drier/filter, and blow-out/flush the lines before I change the compressor.

I don't know, we'll see what happens tomorrow. OKC is getting hotter every day. Thanks everyone.