A/C is not working at all. Please Help

My wife has a 2002 2.4L cavalier. The A/C is not working at all for her. How can I test the compressor to see if it's gone bad? I was hoping it just needed recharged but I connected a gauge to the low pressure port and it appeared to be full of refrigerant. It looks like the A/C compressor is in a real pain in the a** place in her motor so if it's that then I have a real project ahead of me. Anyway, thanks for any info concerning this!

First, you can't just connect a gauge to a system (without it running) and determine "it is full" and second- the number one failure mode of mobile a/c systems is loss of refrigerant due to a leak- that V-5 compressor on your car is very durable- but it can't perform without the necessary refrigerant to pump- refrigerant is a condensible- more refrigerant does NOT mean more pressure- it is NOT a compressible- like air in a tire!! So your death kit gauge reads okay-- but you can only determine that when the a/c is on. A system with 4 ounces of refrigerant will have the same pressure as a system with 4 pounds in it- statically with the a/c off.....so my money is on the fact you need to find and fix your leak and put in the proper refrigerant charge..

You can purchase dye to put into the system. You can use a UV light or black light to see where the die is coming from. Then just go from there! Usually it is a small pin sized hole that you would never find without the dye!

First, you can't just connect a gauge to a system (without it running) and determine "it is full" and second- the number one failure mode of mobile a/c systems is loss of refrigerant due to a leak- that V-5 compressor on your car is very durable- but it can't perform without the necessary refrigerant to pump- refrigerant is a condensible- more refrigerant does NOT mean more pressure- it is NOT a compressible- like air in a tire!! So your death kit gauge reads okay-- but you can only determine that when the a/c is on. A system with 4 ounces of refrigerant will have the same pressure as a system with 4 pounds in it- statically with the a/c off.....so my money is on the fact you need to find and fix your leak and put in the proper refrigerant charge..

I guess I should have been more specific on how I used the gauge, but I just assumed you guys would figure I did it the proper way. I never said how I did it, so you can't just automatically assume I didn't do it properly. I DID use the gauge with the car running and with the A/C on at full blast maximum. It read 40PSI on the gauge. It's a gauge that came with the R134a that I used to put in my truck when I recharged it. Since it got that reading, that's why I figured there had to be something else wrong. I'll take Hungrycat's advice and still see if their might be a leak somewhere. I hope that's all that it is, but if it keeps reading full everytime I check, then I think it may be something else. Hope I'm wrong. Thanks for the advice.

Air in the system will show a high low side pressure- so if you allowed air in or charged without pulling a vacuum last time it was filled- it will "fool" the system and your gauge...

Knowing the high side gauge reading would be a big help.....