A/C Wont engage

[gcline]

I just bought a 94 Ford Escort, its an alright car, good on gas though. The A/C clutch/compressor wont engage. I've checked the fuse, and all the wires and they are fine. When you press the A/C button, nothing happens, and you dont hear the A/C click or feel the engine bog down, and theres no cold air coming out. I checked the freon. I pressed down the knob where you refill it, and there seems to be alot of pressure on it, because it was hard to press down checking the freon. If it was low on Freon, would the compressor just not engage, or has their been something I overlooked? The blower motor resistor on my car needs replaced, but the blower motor works, sometimes you just have to jiggle the wire. Would the blower motor resistor be a problem too?

[cbeck]

If it was low on freon, you would not hear/feel or otherwise be able to notice the compressor trying to come on. You really need a gague to check the pressure. That's most likely your problem... it's my guess anyway.

[frafreg]

If you are low on freon, the clutch on the compressor may not engage. When mine was empty it took almost half a can to get the clutch on the compressor to stay on constantly. One way to check to see if the clutch is working would be to jump out the low pressure switch temporarily with a piece of wire or a paper clip to see if the clutch kicks on. If it does, your clutch is probably o.k. Holding down on the schrader valve to see if you have enough freon is not a valid test because you may not have enough of a charge to kick on the pressure switch. Its best to check it with a guage in my opinion. They are relatively cheap and can be purchased at Autozone or your own favorite local auto parts store. On my 1990 when I push the A/C button without turning the blower fan on, the cooling fan turns on. If I turn the blower fan on at any speed inside the car, then the clutch kicks on. I converted my R12 system to an R134A system a few years ago. It took two cans of 134A freon to fill it up. The guage comes with a chart to tell you how much freon to put in according to the temperature outside. Hope this helps.
Frank

Originally Posted by gcline

I just bought a 94 Ford Escort, its an alright car, good on gas though. The A/C clutch/compressor wont engage. I've checked the fuse, and all the wires and they are fine. When you press the A/C button, nothing happens, and you dont hear the A/C click or feel the engine bog down, and theres no cold air coming out. I checked the freon. I pressed down the knob where you refill it, and there seems to be alot of pressure on it, because it was hard to press down checking the freon. If it was low on Freon, would the compressor just not engage, or has their been something I overlooked? The blower motor resistor on my car needs replaced, but the blower motor works, sometimes you just have to jiggle the wire. Would the blower motor resistor be a problem too?

[mightymoose_22]

Follow the A/C lines to the firewall... where they come together you should find the A/C cycling switch (I wish I knew my A/C parts better... this is the top of the accumulator? condensor?). It should be easy to pick out... unplug the switch and jumper the ends of the plug together to bypass the switch. Start up the car and turn on your A/C. If your compressor comes on, replace the switch.