AC Questions

[RedFiero]

When charging the system which side do you hook to and where is it located in reference to the front compartment LS or RS ?

[Old Lar]

If the car has the R134a refrigerent, it should have a blue cap on the valve on the "shiney " can under the hood. That is the low pressure side, sort of right center.

[RedFiero]

OK so now we added a can of refrigerant but the compressor wont "KICK" on whats next??

[Ragtop_Renegade]

Test the compressor clutch by hooking 12v+ and ground leads directly to it, if it doesn't click into the engaged position , it needs replacing. If it's working fine, try (do this with the a/c turned on) shorting the plug on the low pressure cutout switch on the accumulator ( big ass shiny beer can shaped thing under the hood) with a paperclip and if the compressor kicks on, either the switch is bad or you have a big leak in the system.(both of these will need to be fixed by a professional because they require opening up the system and later pulling it into a vacuum to recharge) If it doesn't, you have a wiring problem somewhere.

* R134 wasn't used in automotive A/C until the mid 90's, all Fieros use R12 unless they were later retrofitted.Regardless of what the local parts store tells you, R134a will not work well, if at all, in an R12 system. To use R134a a complete retrofit kit must be professionally installed, and they aren't cheap.
Should you find out you have a leak and decide to have your system fixed instead of retrofitted (I'm assuming it never was), you should know R12 by federal law can no longer be manufactured in the US. All R12 sold today is recycled from older systems. Naturally this it's a lot harder to recycle it then it is to make new stuff, so the price is insane... over $100 per pound. Either way, if your problem isn't a minor electrical glitch, prepare to spend as much as $2000 fixing it.

***WARNING*** If someone tries to sell you refrigerant claiming it's a direct replacement for R12 or R134a, it's probably PROPANE or BUTANE!!! Amazing as it is, both work (very well, too) in A/C systems, but they also turn your car into a rolling molotov cocktail waiting to happen.