AC problem

[wiwalsh]

My AC has stopped blowing cold air. While the most liklet culprit would be a lack of freon, what else can I look at? S-14 (96), green ac light inside comes on, engine revs pick up, but the clutch doesnt turn on. In fact Im not getting voltage at the compressor.

Any ideas? I looked at the s-14 FSM from australia available online, but I dont have one for the usdm.

[wiwalsh]

Update.... I remember last night when i had stepped out of the car I saw a quick drip of water near the passenger side firewall. I took a look thinking the worst, that it was transmission fluid, and found it to be water.

Today, this makes more sence. The freon was leaking out of one of the tubes there causing it to get cold, and causing lots of condensate... hence the water drip...

Any ideas on fixing this? Is the leak stopper from walmart worth a try??

help....... Im in Fl without AC, this week is going to be painful....

[C-Kwik]

Freon will turn into a gas as it is released. Condensation is normal when the A/C is on as the condensor(it's no coincidence that is is called this) causes moisture in the air to condense and then it drips out of the vent system under the car. Sounds like the A/C might be working. You don't have the temp knob over on hot do you?

[wiwalsh]

No... I understand how the AC works (your talking to a mechanical engineer here, so ya dont have to dumb it down for me)..... This condensation was much more than normal. Also, since this was the last time I remember the AC working properly it could have been a leak in the system where the gas was being expelled quickly, hence the very cold tubes causing condensation from the humid air around it.

The freon was low, as I have filled it, added leak stopper, and now the compressor works again. This must have been a pressure sensitive safety feature of the compressor to not run dry.

I was just wondering if anybody has had any success/problems with the leak fix stuff...

[C-Kwik]

If it leaked out quick enough to cause that kind of temperature drop, it wouldn't be holding a charge at all right now. IT might have been a good idea to use a dye that is made to detect leaks in the A/C system. In case it is leaking, it will show itself.

[DAEDALUS]

I would think the profuse oil trail would be enough to trace the source of the leak.

[wiwalsh]

Very good point I will keep an eye out for oil splatter etc....

BTW, the sealant/charge/oil I used did have a dye in it, and a few spots did show up. I am just guessing that most of those have been fixed by the sealant, since it is holding a charge now (Ill know more after my drive to work...

Thanks

[yellow_jacket]

The car does have a low pressure switch. I have not had any luck with leak stoppers for a/c. If you got that low that quickly you will know in the next couple of days whats up.

[wiwalsh]

No joy.... I just got told my compressor is shot to he((. Going to try to get the dealer to take care of it... we shall see!!!!!!!! Cross your fingers

[wiwalsh]

AC update..... after a $45 5 min diagnostic. The culprit, a blown compressor seal.

I have had the car less than 2 weeks... here is the long winded story.

Three weeks ago I was looking at this car, had an AC that wasnt working. Dealer said that it would be "working" soon. So I decided to go ahead and purchace the car.... 5spd, 60k miles, excellent body and interior.

Ac was working okay when I picked it up. but it got very bad the second week, and was barely doing it.

As I said earlier in this post, the compressor stopped working. I decided to do a wal-mart freon fill to see if it was just low (with the proper ammount of oil of course). Sure enough the compressor came on. It ran for about a day, then crapped out again.

Monday I got it looked at by an AC pro, and he said he detected a big leak around the compressor. Hence, a bad compressor seal/compressor ... and quoted me a mere $766 to do the fix..... uggggg

So I called up the dealer, since he was the one who did the service on the AC last. I told him what was up, and told him his sales person had said it would be working when I picked it up.

The cheap mother *****er then said "well was it working when you picked it up?" I told him that a reputable shop would stand by their work, and basically that he was a lying cheap as$hole (in nice words of course).

He said that all they do is check to see if it needs freon, and if it does, they fill it up.... repeatedly apparantly....

Well, finally he said I should bring it in. So I took it in last night (knowing whats wrong with it....) He doesnt call me up all day, so I call him at 4.

Speak to someone else who says that theve been working on it... and are trying to figure out what is wrong with it....

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I stuck with the 240 because I am comfortable with it, like its styling, have a familiarity with the engine layout and electronics layout.... about the only complete hole in my knowledge is air conditioning.......and ironically thats where I got fuc|(ed...

BTW... there was no warranty on this vehicle, it was purchaced in FL (any help from those part time lawyers???)

HELP.... advice????

[yellow_jacket]

Well, never trust a used car salesman. He did exactly what he said he would: Get it to work. He didn't say he'd fix it. Since you bought the car as is you are probably just out of luck. You're only hope is if he told you that the a/c had no leaks.

As for repairing it yourself. I can usually do it for about 350 for a compressor, 30 for the filter drier, and of course oil(??$5??). Then you can just get a shop to evac and charge it. That way you should be able to do it for about $400.