Help! No a/c where to start!

[Kevin Doyle]

My 96 after years of no problems a/c goes down I refilled system ran but is back to compressor kicking in and out where do I start looking for leaks? Thanks Kevin.

 

[Black Bart]

My 96 after years of no problems a/c goes down I refilled system ran but is back to compressor kicking in and out where do I start looking for leaks? Thanks Kevin.

I would take it to someone who has a sniffer that is the best way to find a leak.

If you don't want to do that try filling it with a can with the red dye and look for the red stain if you see red you have found your leak.

Very well could be a pump seal best bet is the sniffer.

 

[John Robinson]

Fan

When you start the car do you have air being blown out of the vents?

The reason I ask is that last week when I started my car after it had sat for a few days I did not have A/C. Like you my compressor was kicking in and out.

Check the fuses in the fuse center and also the 30 Amp fuse in the fuse holder next to the battery. In my case they were all OK so I removed the fan motor. I then used some jumpers to connect it directly to the battery. The fan would run but it was not running freely. I shot some silicone lubricant on the fan shaft and turned it by hand until it freed up and would spin. I put it back into the car and started the car and miracle of miracles I had A/C.

I hope this is what your problem is. If you do not have air from the vents you might want to have a new fan motor on hand when you take the old one out. I priced one at Advance Auto for about $30.00

 

[Kevin Doyle]

Fans are working compressor kicking in and out I think I am going to have to track down a leak and hope its not the evaporator,Kevin.

 

[toptechx6]

As Black Bart pointed out an electronic sniffer is your best bet to find a leak, but I will toss out a couple of "back yard" methods that have worked for me. Fill a spray bottle with a solution of dish detergent and water, it only takes a small amount of detergent! With engine off spray suspect areas and connections with the solution, you should see bubbles at the leak as long as the system is not completely empty.
Another one that works on occasion is a length of hose two or three feet long, hold one end to your ear and listen carefully at the same locations with the opposite end, you can sometimes hear the leak, good luck.

 

[Kevin Doyle]

I am armed and ready to tackle this task.Thanks for the input,Kevin.

 

[WillC4]

Or you can do what i do and delete your a/c (more of joke then anything, i never use a/c and mine was old to begin with, i ride with windows at least 90% of the time). Good luck with the repair on it.

 

[Rex S]

Look for oil/dirt traces at all joints and around the compressor as Orings dry out and crack. The soapy water spray work on leaks large enough to leak down fairly quickly. GM low pressure switches also have a bad habit of going bad. Our 93 had a bolt stuck between the radiator and condenser from the factory, went for years with no leak but it eventually went through the radiator.

 

[BADDUCK]

Or you can do what i do and delete your a/c (more of joke then anything, i never use a/c and mine was old to begin with, i ride with windows at least 90% of the time). Good luck with the repair on it.

You wouldn't like doing that in Arkansas.

 

[WillC4]

You wouldn't like doing that in Arkansas.

Spent most of my life in Southern Louisiana, and for the years i was driving there, i didnt use A/C. Everyone is different, i do agree that in traffic, its a drag, but most of my driving is consistent flow of air.

 

[Full Bull]

You're a better man than me. Here in San Antonio, when it's 100+ and 60-70% humidity ... riding with the windows down is like being in a blast furnace. Too much stop and go for there to be a whole lot of natural cooling time.