Quote:
Originally Posted by Sulawesi
Answers:
- It is a manual, a single dial ranging from "0" to "Max"
- The blower, meaning the fan circulating air through the interior, yes it works.
- Heat works fine.
- The center vents return outside air. If it is cold outside and the heat is on, they return cold air.
- There is a belt on the compressor.
- The clutch does not kick down. The very front of the compressor is unaffected by changes to the A/C or defrost settings.
- All fuses look fine.
- The A/C fittings have threads, there are no stickers or anything denoting R-134, the compressor says R-12 on it, though I realize that is not super informative.
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It sounds like you have the proverbial "it justs needs charged" condition, but that probably means you have some leaks somewhere.
I'd suggest taking it to a shop, have them check for R12 or 134a or "other". If they can, have them do a vacuum test to check for system integrity. This is not conclusive, but will help. They may also be able to pressure check with nitrogen. Yes - you're paying for someone to test your system but hopefully will save your time and effort and give you a baseline for repairs.
Or, if you have a voltmeter with probes, you can test to see if the compressor is getting 12V in order to engage the clutch. If so, and the clutch isn't engaging; then you'll troubleshoot the clutch. If it's not getting 12V, then you'd work upstream.
You may be able to jumper the low-pressure switch and trick the system into engaging. That might tell you the clutch works, but not much more unless there's refrigerant in the system.
If the last record of service was 11 years ago, you will probably have some leaking O-rings, maybe some hose issues, possibly a bad compressor.