You shouldn’t need to use a jumper to activate the compressor I’m not sure that’s what you’re saying. After you pull the vacuum and start to fill it with r-134 it should kick in and take all the r-134 you need.

Take it slow filling the r-134 you can very easily pump too much r-134 in the system in just half a second. Just use one 12 oz. can to start then very slowly a little r-134 at a time watching your vent temp till she blows cold air then one quick blip of r-134 that’s it done.

Over filling the system with r-134 is extremely easy to do your first few times.

A/C work is kind of a finesse thing filling the r-134 up.

I will say getting cold air at first fill may take time a few seconds it also depends on air flow across the condenser if no air through the condenser it will not pump out cold air at first. I’m not sure about your Dakota but I don’t get cold A/C till my truck is going about 25 to 35 mph especially if you don’t have the efan just the mechanical fan.

 

From time to time when there's no refrigerant in the system the clutch will not engage, so you (I) use jumper wires to supply the clutch with 12v forcing it to engage drawing in the refrigerant.


While my clutch is engaged (via Jumper Wires) my gauge set reads about 10psi on the lowside and about 125psi on the highside. Shut off engine, removed jumper wires, reconnected factory plug & blue side of my gauge set...

Current condition: the lowside climbs to peaks of 55psi & above, the clutch engages, the lowside psi's are drawn down to the 10psi range then the clutch cycles off, and lowside psi's shoot back up to 55psi & above. The highside stays at about 125psi, process repeats.

Is the fill level determined by readings obtained when the compressor clutch is engaged? If so, the lack of cooling at this point may just be a low charge because it was only 6oz of a 18oz can. Being a noob, I do not want to over charge but know 6oz is far from system capacity of about 1.75lbs or 28oz. Should I disregard the gauge readings, and frost/ice i see building on the lowside line until with the clutch consistently engaged I see something in the range of a consistent 55psi on lowside and about 250psi on the highside?

 

Yeah, you want pressure readings while the compressor is actually running. You want to consult the temp chart to have the correct low-side pressure though. It is HIGHLY dependent on ambient temp.

 

Used jumper wires to supply 12v to the clutch, finished adding 2oz of one can and another 12oz can and with the engine running I watched the lowside climb to 35psi and the highside climb to 175psi. Shutoff engine, removed jumper wire, reconnected factory plug, restarted engine, pressures remained, clutch consistently engaged. While still about 8oz shy of a full system charge...

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS (Dancing) We have achieved COLD AC!!!!


I'll post vent temps later, however I can tell the air from vent is crisp and cool

 

Great but you shouldn't need to jumper the clutch I never needed it in the 3 or 4 times I opened my A/C system just vacuum then open the R-134 valve in it goes.

I live in Arizona you want the most efficient A/C you can squeeze out with summer temps hitting 114 and up. I don't like or use the dye its a little detrimental to cooling it degrades the R-134 some.

 

I think what was happening was faulty el-cheap-o DIY can taps, I bought one that has the trigger and it worked like a charm. Also, no matter what can tap I use, when I connect a can of r134a to the Yellow Suction Hose on my gauge set nothing ever appeared in the sight glass, can never got cold. removed the can tap that was on there, slapped on the DIY one with the trigger and boom it was going right in.

I used the jumpers on the clutch because I didn't realize that the cycling would stop once the correct pressure was obtained. I was operating off of the fact the lowside psi was skyrocketing (redzone on the el-cheap-o gauge) and the clutch would drag it down. So I used the jumpers to keep it engaged while I filled to it's current fill level, disconnected the jumpers and connected the factory plug again. Started it back up clutch engaged almost immediately and the cycling part was gone and... I had air so cold it rose goosebumps on my arm!

 

OK sounds like the typical mistakes a first time A/C DIY fix up make it is confusing and complicated the first few times.

If you live were it gets hot in the summer understanding and fixing your car/truck A/C is a good thing and saves money.

YouTube is a great place to learn auto DIY

 

When my AC clutch/idler assembly went bad, I found a good one in a junkyard and replaced it. I did this with the lines still connected, so I lost no freon. Simply disconnected the compressor mounting bolts and propped it up. Vids on YouTube on how.

In the JY, I levered off the clutch assembly using 2 large flathead screwdrivers and a snap ring tool. On my truck, I used a 3 jaw puller. To replace, I remember hammering on with a large socket.