the ac is not clicking on. the temp outside is(was) 61f. the ECC was set to auto w/ the ac on and the fans going max. no cold air. checked fuses under the hood, looked fine.

when i checked the pressure before i recharged the ac, the gauge read around 100 psi. i haven't knowingly released any of the pressure since i have had the car(over 14 months now). could this have damaged the ac?

what do i do?

this is where i have been recharging. i thought it would be best to post a photo just incase it happened to be something else i was recharging other than the ac.

i have contacted a few garages. midas said it might be because the old stuff was not vacuumed out completely so there might not be enough of the new recharge stuff(i bought from schucks). they will charge $89 for vacuuming and recharging plus the amount of refrigerant used.

is this necessary?

btw..after trying to work on the car and checking fuses, i have managed to get the "clicking" back. so now i hear the click, like the ac is about to turn on, but it never comes on, just clicks. just no cold air.

Where are you seeing 100 psi, at the fitting shown? Man, that'* way too high if the compressor is running! The low side should be 45 PSI with the compressor running and the outside temp around 80-90 degrees.

Here'* a little A/C 101: The compressor compresses the refrigerant and sends it to the evaporator as a liquid, the evaporator is likened to the heater core of the A/C system. When it reaches the evaporator it is allowed to expand which then absorbs heat. It then takes that heat to the condensor where the fan sucks it out, the condensor likened to the radiator. If your refrigerant level is too high it will squirt liquid thru the evaporator instead of allowing it to expand into a gas. Getting your pressure correct is basically getting just enough refrigerant so that it will remain in liquid until it reaches the evaporator to flash into a gas. Too much gas keeps liquid in the evaporator, too little causes freezeups because it is flashing before it reaches the evaporator.

When charging an A/C system your system will get colder and colder as it reaches design pressure. Once you exceed that it will get warmer and warmer!

1st step: is your compressor running? If so and you have 100 PSI, someone overcharged your system. Too much refrigerant will cause liquid to slug thru the valves and cause damage to them. In this case, and sounds like your too, you shoot liquid from the compressor and you get liquid back....not good and no cooling!

i was trying to point out that just before i released all the pressure, i took a reading and it showed 100psi.

could this have damaged the a/c if the psi was around 100 for almost a year?

when i took the first gauge reading before i released all the pressure it read 100psi, now that i have recharged it, after releasing the pressure it reads, "in the blue(45 psi)" on the recharge gauge. still no cold air. i hear a click, like the compressor is about to come on but all i hear is the click. back when the a/c used to work, i would hear a click, then i would hear something else come on. now all i hear is the click.


also i have had the water pump replaced, prior, the car did overheat one time. does this have something to do with it?

anyone?

Did you have the ECC set on 60*? You may need to test it on a hotter day. Was it 61* when you tried to recharge it? It needs to be a warm day to recharge, or else you need to heat the refrigerant canister.

The garage that wants to vacuum the system just wants your money. The system only needs vac'ed out when it has been completely discharged or opened to the atmosphere.

temp around 80F, certainly hot enough.

completely discharged? like releasing all of the pressure? i might have already done that by accident/clumsiness

opened to the atmosphere? how so?

You have to keep all air and moisture out of the lines. If anything happens that could allow air or moisture into the lines, then the system needs vacuumed out before charging. This would include having all the gas escape through a leak, or if you disconnect one of the lines.

That said, there may be another issure which is keeping the compressor from kicking on. Has it worked at all since you charged it?

nada, nope, the a/c has not put any cold air out at all since charged(numerous attempts in hot weather).

sound like it needs to be vacuumed at a garage w/ an hvac system, then recharged. darnet, its gonna cost almost $200 after the refrigerant.