No AC

I get no AC in my '93 LeSabre with dual comfort zone. Thought it was low on 134A so added some. It took 3 cans! Still no AC. The compressor does not even turn. Checked the fuses, ok. ANY IDEAS!!

Disconnect the battery negative cable & reconnect to see if compressor will run. I assume that you did not do a pressure check since the compressor would not run; however, if you put three cans in, the system was either empty, or overfilled. Do you have a flashing light on the digital display when you turn the ignition on?

Put a flashlight on compressor wheel it does click in. Put a cheap pressure gauge on low side it after 3 cans, read 100psi. Should have checked before.
Still the compressor wheel does not move and no clicking sound. Could it be a pressure switch not working? It was prior filled with the flouresent stuff to detect leaks, do not see any.

Put a flashlight on compressor wheel it does click in. Put a cheap pressure gauge on low side it after 3 cans, read 100psi. Should have checked before.
Still the compressor wheel does not move and no clicking sound. Could it be a pressure switch not working? It was prior filled with the flouresent stuff to detect leaks, do not see any.

Wow, 100psi is the reason those refill kits should not be sold. That is way overpressurized on the low side. You need to get some real AC gauges and check out your pressures. If way too high, take it to a shop so they can take some 134a out. On the other hand you may have a leak somewhere and the taking out will take care of itself. To see if your compressor will engage or not, pull the wiring harness off of the accumulator and with the engine running take a paper clip and jump the two wires in the harness. When touching, the compressor should engage and spin. If so, then your compressor at least is capable of spinning. If not, perhaps your compressor is filled with debris or broken somehow. You might have a bad relay, bad wiring, a failed component in your ac system, a bad pressure switch, or little demons living in your car who like it really hot and have sabotaged your ac system.

Good luck.

I will try those suggestions.
Thanks

I would love to know how on earth you have 100 PSI on the low side? Was it about 90F when you started dumping cans in the darn thing? Or did you heat the cans with a blowtorch?
I think they should sell refrigerant at convenient stores because over charged systems slug the compressor and gives me more work. Systems that have been dumped and the oil not replaced, burns out the compressor and gives me more work to do. Then there is the over oiled system that does not get cold.

Any questions?

I would love to know how on earth you have 100 PSI on the low side? Was it about 90F when you started dumping cans in the darn thing? Or did you heat the cans with a blowtorch?
I think they should sell refrigerant at convenient stores because over charged systems slug the compressor and gives me more work. Systems that have been dumped and the oil not replaced, burns out the compressor and gives me more work to do. Then there is the over oiled system that does not get cold.

Any questions?

Its really easy... The Compressor was not cycling... The compressor has to run to be able to pull the low side pressure down... 100psi with the system off is very much in the norm for the HR6 Compressor / AC System.. Nothing unusual at all..

My question is... Does the compressor cycle at all? If not unplug the low side pressure switch on the Drier( Pull the maxifuse relay center cover and you'll see the drier ).... Unplug the switch on the drier and jump the terminals to complete the circuit... If the compressor still does not cycle you may need to swap the AC Compressor Clutch relay with a known good relay such as the horn relay as a test...

Also if you have a scan tool or know a friend that has one, you can look to see if the PCM is seeing the request for the AC to be on...

So there is most likely one of the above issues going on with your car.. also if you have the electronic Climate Control, what temp does the ECC Head read for outside Temperature?

Hold the phone a second
< I never said that 100 PSI on the low side of 134 was unusual. I was just asking how on earth you dump cans of refrigerant into a system that is not pumping? Because of the properties of 134 and Mr. Boils and Mr. Charles, it seams improbable to take a can of 134 off the shelf at 72F and dump it into a system that is hot from the engine running at around 100+f. that means that if there is any liquid at all in the system. The system will be about 120PSI Granted we all know the refrigerant is far from a perfect gas but we also have gauges that have the temp/pressure listed on them. Plus we all have charts that list them as well.
(Do a google search if you don’t)
Checking the pressure without the pump running is a fairly silly thing to do outside of trouble shooting high and low pressure cutout switches. I mean that if you are blindly dumping refrigerant into a system without knowing the evap and condenser discharge temp, How would you know if you have the correct charge without performing an evac and weighing the 134, 12, 22, or p280? We all know that the low pressure cutout should be high enough to ensure proper flow of oil (via the refer vehicle) even then if they just don’t seam to balance correctly after checking the chart it usually means that either the expansion valve is plugged or some home bodey replaced it with the wrong piece. It could be a toasted compressor, but usually by the time it hits the shop the pump is so far south that it just a mixer and not a pump in the auto field.

True?

Please remember that I am not a mechanic or a refer guy, but I have passed the EPA test for cat 1 demonstrating a working knowledge of J 89,90, and 91, (by the way I just barrowed the prep book from a friend that took the test and then looked a lot of stuff up on line. Why on earth they expect you to know about all the protocols and the CFC formulas was beyond me. And how I passed the first time and my friend that worked in the field for years made third times a charm I still have no idea.

Mostly I have forgotten the things on that test because I learned them for the test. In any event only a law abiding dolt would suck a larg system down to a vacuum before they crack the system. Charging the system with N2 is a little pricey just to keep contamination out and I want a palm tree in my front yard.. And lets face it unless the sun goes out,,,, there is a lot of O3 to be had. I mean no kidding there is a Ozone hole over the poles in the winter...... the sun does not shine there

Well thats just it you never did state that... Wish you would have..

I do agree with you tho.. I took my 95 Transport that had a completely empty AC System( pin hole in the condenser, evidence of a minor accident ).. I replaced the Condenser, the AC Compressor, Drier, all seals, EVAP, Inline orifice tube filter and used the PAG oil as stated buy the service manual.. From that point i pumped the system down and made sure it held vacuum.. The system did hold Vaccuum and was the same several hours later... I then recharged the system according to the service manual, for both Temperature/ Humidity and system pressures... This resulted in good cold AC... I agree that the system needs to be dealt with properly to function properly..

Just so that you know:

I never replace a condenser coil because it has a pin prick and is in relatively good shape. I just rip out some of the fins and solder the thing using either 5, 10, or 15 silver solder using a turbo torch that is way to big for normal soldering. I have also cut out more dryers than you can shake a stick at. I believe that they are just a crutch for gear heads and back yard boys. Just as an example the wife caught a deer in 2001 with a 1996 sable. That would have been fine and was not a problem if it the darn thing was not half dead with an arrow sticking out of the darn thing..
Compressed the system with 3 micron filtered air, found the leak, and soldered it up using silver 10%. Yep it died this spring and found a leak on the low side of the pump. Changed the seal and cant find a leak any place. Granted my snifer is a POS. It only reads a leak of 4 ounces a year. But hay, that solder patch has been holding for almost 8 years. Now I cant preach too much because I changed the pump a little while ago and I must have had some contamination on the seals. But hay. I work on my own cars at home with out the benefit of most tools and I would rather let the rug rats help than send the to the creepy neighbors house.