My AC stopped working???

[mark0101]

Ok My mech. said that there is a leak and he needs to replace the compressor. I think thats BS because he was working on my car a week ago and My AC worked perfectly. when I got it back, my AC wasn't working. I went back to him and he somehow fixed it and then a week later its not working anymore.
before it went out, the compressor clicked in sometimes but now its not working at all.

 

[Frogman]

Go to another mechanic, and have them test the system. See what the refrigerant pressure is. If the pressure is good, then you might have a bad hi/low pressure switch. If the system is empty, then have them run some dye through it, and see where exactly it's leaking at. You may also have too much refrigerant in there as well. It's hard to determine said things without doing these tests first.

How does he know it's the compressor that's bad?

 

[bradyelich]

Did you find out what was wrong, Mark0101?

My AC is blowing warm air after 15 minutes of running. Starts out cold, then turns warm. I do not know if I am low on freon or if some temperature sensor is shot. First time I used the AC this year. My windows were foggy this February, too. On the defrost setting, AC is not supposed to kick in until 50F or 10C, or so I read and it was colder than that for sure.

Regards,
Brad.
1997 Continental

 

[mark0101]

Ok, so what i am going to do is give the car back to the mech. that caused the problem. I went to another car place, and they said that it has a leak but they needed to run the dye like frogman said. The whole thing was gonna take about 100, JUST FOR CHECKING WHERE THE LEAK WAS.
24.95 for AC check
freon 15.00 per ounce (times that by 3)
dye 10.00
not worth for just checking the leak. I have known my mech for about 4 years and I think I am going to go back, even though he might had messed up my AC.

 

[bradyelich]

I bought a Red Tek a/c kit but the hose connector was too small for the car's connector. I returned it. The freon in the kit was compatable with either r12 or r134. It had a can of stop leak but no oil. Is the oil in the freon or how does one get oil into the a/c system?

My a/c is cold for the first 15 minutes then starts blowing warm air. There is pressure in the system - I pushed the valve and gas came out.

Regards,
Brad.

 

[Frogman]

You add the oil prior to filling the system with freon. You dont want too much oil, and you don't want too little oil. there's a fine balance there.

 

[bradyelich]

I had my A/c repaired at the shop.

I got out of the stealership for only $220. The pressure cycle switch was bad. The part was $30 ...

All is well again.

Regards,
Brad.

 

[mark0101]

Well I had my compressor replaced for $600, does that sound right? 405 for the compressor and $150 labor.

 

[bradyelich]

I see reman/aftermarket compressors on the web for $169-$220US. Labour would be about 3-4 hours at shop rate. Seems reasonable to me what you paid.

Regards,
Brad.