hey all,hope im on right forum. just got my first dodge ever and love it, trying to find out why ac compressor wont run. someone told me if freon is low it will not run, but dont i need comp. to run to add freon. swapped relays and fusses good. any sugs. thanx in advance

 

I will move this to the 2nd generation Dakota sub-forum.

 

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Yes on both counts. The compressor won't run with low pressure and you need it running to charge.

You can jump the low pressure switch, on the accumulator, to get the compressor to run. IF you do this, make sure you have a gauge set hooked up to check both high and low pressures as soon as you can. You don't want it running very long with incorrect pressures.

Use a real gauge set, not the gauge on a refill can. You need BOTH pressures to properly diagnose your a/c.

 

I read some replies to my problem, I cant locate set of gauges. compressor was running off on off on cycle, I added 1 can Freon with leak detector die. didn't see any leaks and ran cold air for 20 or so min. just went out again and comp. wont run at all, still looking for gauges, cant afford to buy them, any sugs. thanx

 

Harbor Freight might have an inexpensive set. Otherwise, try AutoZone or Advance and see if they'll rent you a set.

It might just be cheaper and easier to take it in.

 

Look to see if any local auto stores like AutoZone has them as a rental its usually just a deposit that you get back so its free.

 

A great way to learn about auto air-conditioning

LINK to a PDF

Take note at one point the PDF will ask if you want to load Chines just click no

Look on page 72 for diagnostic on what you see on the gages