Hi there!

Lola and I are bonding nicely, but the pretty lady is not cooling off in the first 90 degree day we had. I added coolant--the gage read past full. I took coolant out. The gage now reads just below full, but the compressor never engages. The lame Chilton's manual I bought says zilch about how to diagnose air conditioning.

I did a forum search but the suggestiuons were for replacing the kilma relay (not sure if I have one), and most were for 240 problems--I've got a 300.

Before I replace the compressor, is there anything else I should check?

thanks--ya'll rule

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84 300D anthracite grey, tan interior "Lola"

Diesel smells like farvegnugen!

Coolant? Guage reading full or below full?

Do you mean refrigerant? Manifold gauges aren't marked with a 'full' level. What are your high side and low side pressures and ambient temperature?

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Bob
'82 300D Petrol B-G Metallic

if your just filling it something is amiss. Its probably leaking somewhere in the system and it might be a fast leak if you have to add..

By jumping the correct pins on the sensors on the AC dryer/receiver (cant rember which) you can test that the aux fan works and if the clutch engages.

Bought a pressure gage for the AC (at least that's what the package says). It's the kind that you plug into the can of r-134 and screw the other hose into the low side. There is a dial on the gauge that reads from low (add coolant) to danger (too much refrigerant). When it first blew warm, I assumed since the compressor never engaged, that it just needed a refill. With the recharge, still no compressor clutch engaging. Took some r-134 out (a neighbor's gauge also read "high", but still no luck. Changed the fuses--one was iffy-looking. So, do I automatically assume I need a compressor, Or check somethggn else?. The fan blows--it's just that the air is HOT (or warm, once it cooled off outside).

The condensor coils never cooled off, but I assumed that once because the condenser was not circulating any r-134. My understanding of how the AC works is really really basic, but lke I said- ther is pressure int eh system (according to the dial), refrigerant (somewhere--nothing leaking visibly or audibly), an no compressor engaging.

Please help, it's hot!

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84 300D anthracite grey, tan interior "Lola"

Diesel smells like farvegnugen!

You need to get at least a basic understanding of the system.

Consult the wiring diagram for the car. See if you're getting power to the compressor clutch. If not, the compressor is likely not at fault.