Lesabre A/C Compressor

[Mutant]

All this relatively balmy weather in Pennsylvania (they are call for SIXTY next week!) has me thinking about my air condioning in my 95 Lesabre. It has been spotty last summer and according to the previous owner it was off and on for him also. Fooling around with it I noticed that the clutch on the compressor was engaging briefly then disengaging. In fact, it stayed disengaged more than engaged and thus not a whole lot of cooling. The solution of the past owner was to always throw another bottle of coolant in the system. It's possible that at one time it was overpressurized but I think it is in range now. Any suggestions how I can figure out what is going on? I believe the compressor itself is working as when it engages I feel cold air. Can the clutch go in these units? I think there are under/over pressure sensors that can shut down the compressor. Could they have been damaged or faulty and need replacement?

Thanks for any suggestions.

[93buicklesabrelmtd]

It could be under charged. Does the temp light flash when engine is first turned on? Un hook the battery for a minute, and let the system restart. If system is overcharged, the temp light will flash, also if its undercharged the temp light will flash. This is assumiing that you have the climiate control feature. With the hood open and AC on full blast. Do you observe the AC Clutch clicking while looking at the drivebelt? If you do get some Freon in there sooon. You could have a leak.....

[auto trainy]

On my 95 Olds 88 the compressor cycling switch (located on the accumulator) corrected a simiular problem assuming the charge was ok.I would have the charge checked first.If the previous owner kept putting freon in and it corrected the problem you probably have a leak.

[Mutant]

I don't think the sytem is undercharges, if anything it is overcharged at the moment. The previous owner 'assumed' that the system needed gas when it quit working (ie didnt get cool in the car anymore) and kept adding multiple cans. I was told that they release a bunch of gas later when they realized it was overcharged. I'm sorry I wasnt clear before: I ran the A/C at full with the hood open and observed the clutch on the compressor engaging and disengaging fairly rapidly. I observed that the A/C would briefly pump cold air into the car when the compressor was engaged. Using a pressure gage that came with a kit I think the pressure in the A/C is roughly in the region for operation and not underfilled, tho it may be overfilled. When I run the A/C at full and observe the pressure, the somewhat rapid engage/disengage of the compressor causes the pressure to yo-yo and am not sure of the exact pressure of the system. Maybe I will try to replace the cycling switch (didnt realize there was one, no manual atm.) Thanks for the suggestions! I dont think it is the compressor itself as it SEEMS to work, thought it might be the clutch but a switch seems like a possibily. Thanks!

[93buicklesabrelmtd]

You can use a wire to jump the switch. So it becomes a closed loop. Not a switcth.... Run the A/C then see how things look after that. If it works. Then you can replace the switch.