Let me know if this sounds familiar

186k miles
AC used to work fine
slowly got warmer, now just hot air on max ac
recharged, meter was reading empty
now that its recharged, still no cool air
when I run the AC with car on, the refridgerant meter drops at the same time that a clicking noise comes from the fan clutch area, then goes back to reading full, then clicks and drops , etc

need help, im in austin and its 107 degrees!

 

maybe a plugged line

 

what do I do? check? Im in the garage now, and sweating my azz off, any help is appreciated

 

well in one of your lines there is a thing thats supposed to catch any trash.....you might just wanna take it to a shop and see what they say because even if that were the problem its "supposed" to get a new a canister thingy and be vacuumed down when a line is changed....

 

The clicking could be the clutch, it's on the front of the compressor ...
Way to tell, looking at the compressor pulley...
If the whole thing is turning, it's engaged.
But if the part in front of the pulley (towards the radiator) is steady and not turning, then it's not engaged.
It should stay fully engaged the entire time until the interior is cool, then it might start cycling.

If it's not fully engaging I can't help you any further, you say you've filled the system,
this is normally the sign of a low charge but it could also be the accumulator so I won't
tell you to add more because that can get dangerous.

It might also need oil, you have to be careful here because it could be either Esther or PAG.
There's a sticker under the hood tells you which one, mine's PAG so I'm assuming yours is, but...
Do NOT mix the two!!!
You can NOT use Esther in a PAG system or vice versa, the oils do not mix and your a/c won't work.
So don't just add any air conditioning oil, it's one or the other and before adding any oil, check that out.

Oh, and let me know how it goes.

 

if the compressor is working at the time that you hear the clicking noise and the air gets warm then i'm betting on a plugged line somewhere too.

when you get a system charged that is bone dry it is better if you put a vacuum on the system before adding refrigerant. when i filled my dads truck after he changed his compressor i put a vacuum on it and now that thing will about freeze you out of the truck.

 

I have been wondering when the system gets pumped out, does the oil get sucked out of the compressor? When you recharge the system, do you just add refrigerant, or do you need to add oil also?

 

Oil too, and make sure you use the right oil.

 

If you're going to DIY, you need to do it right.

The compressor has a relatively large reserve of oil, but you MUST pour out the oil to know how much was actually in there AND you must know if the oil was PAG 20, 50, 100 etc. Then you can refill it to the correct specification for the system in the FSM. You should also replace the dryer when the system has been exposed to air and it's a good idea to replace the orifice tube and the green o rings throughout the system. You must then reconnect the entire system and draw a vacuum on it for about 30 minutes to evaporate the water in the system before refilling with R-134a. make sure you buy the rigt stuff, I don't recommend leak stoppers that come in the can, as the a/c shops will charge you etra if you have o take it to them as the leak stopper clogs the machine they use. The only leak stopper I know that won't clog it is this stuff called Red Devil, but you need a dye injector to put it in.

If the compressor itself is bad, then expect the job to cost you $500 DIY. Compressors are the most expensive part by far.

It's not a hard job, but it does take some time and require some special tools to accomplish, which is why A/C shops get away with charging what they do to repair them.

 

My situation is like this: My system seems to be working fine, but it has some problems. If I run the system on LOW I get plenty of cold air. If on a hot day I crank it up to MAX it will start off cold, and slowly tappers of to give less and less cold air. The compressor is cycling on and off as it should. I have checked the freon level with the low end low side gauge system that you can buy (independent of the can). I don't have the high & low side pro gauges yet. A couple of years back I though the system was low and fearing a leak I added some freon with the stop leak in it. I wasn't aware at the time what a POS those things are. So now I check the system (on the low side) and when I am running it on LOW the system is within the proper pressure level. When I set it to HIGH the pressure level rises as if its too full. Not to the RED stage, but slightly into the yellow. By numbers the numbers, I think normal fill is 25-45psi. So the system climbs up to about 50-55psi. I have checked my vents and they all work correctly, the system is doing what it's supposed to do. I am thinking the sealer may have clogged up the orifice tube. So my plan was to open up that line (next to the condenser), replace the orifice tube, close it back, vacuum and recharge. I don't seem to be loosing any freon, so I don't seem to have any leaks. I really don't want to take the dash apart to replace all the seals if I don't have to. If the dryer/accumulator is not too big a deal I guess I could do that also (if it doesn't entail taking the dash apart). Is this doable or would this be incomplete or lead to other problems? If I don't touch the compressor like I asked before, do I need to worry about the oil or is that not an issue in this situation? Should I live with it until it gets worse? Any suggestions, ideas or pointing out potential pitfalls are appreciated.