AC problem in 98LX will not kick on

OK - don't think I'm a loon but I have been having a heater problem for a long time and this winter I decided that I would try to work around having to take my dash off to fix the heater problem. Here is what I did - It seamed that the AC compressor was coming on every time I turned the heater on and mixing with the hot air making it cool when it came out of the vents. So I had a brain fart why don't I put a switch inline to the compressor and just switch it off manually - well it don't work now my AC compressor will not kick on. I reconnected the wires as before but still not working. I think I may have killed a relay or something somewhere. Any in-site?

Which wire did you put the switch in series with? Did you put it in series with the A/C clutch relay coil or the high current wire to the clutch directly? Or, did you put it in series with some other wire?

Are you sure that your A/C system still has a charge of refrigerant?

-Rod

I used the wire in front of the engine (Blk/yellow) that leads directly to the AC compressor. There are only 2 wires Blk/Yellow and I think Blk - Blk/Yellow was the hot wire. When I hooked it up it worked for a while and then just quite. Could my relay be bad? I would change it but can't find it. I looked in my Haynes RM and couldn't find it.

Yes, I'm almost pos. that the refig. was good it had always ran really cold and would last through each winter.

Thanks for your reply!!!

It appears that you are correct, there is a black/yellow wire from the A/C clutch relay to the A/C clutch field coil. Yes, this is the hot wire when the relay is engaged. The other end of the field coil is connected to ground through a black wire. The black/yellow wire also goes to the cathode of the A/C clutch diode. The anode of the diode is connected to ground through a black wire. This diode is to shunt voltage spikes to ground when the clutch disengages. If your switch was noisy, there is a chance it could have damaged the diode. Normally I would expect the diode to open in such a case, but it could also have shorted. Either way, you should check the diode with a multimeter set to the "diode check" setting, often the same setting for measuring continuity.

The relay and diode should be located in the engine compartment fuse/relay box. The switched side of the A/C relay is connected through a fuse to the battery and is hot at all times (relay terminal 3). Relay terminal 5 is the switched power to the clutch field coil. Relay terminal 1 receives a ground signal from the PCM to turn on the relay, and relay terminal 2 is connected to a switched source of power.

Grab your meter and start checking voltages. Good luck.

-Rod