Caravan EC 2002 2.4L A/C system wont take more R134A: No cold A/C. Compressor does not cycle. Turned on the AC to max with fan on too. Fuse and relay are good. I tried adding more R134A however the gas is not going through the system. line from recharge kit is secure, no leaks from can - after trying a few times can remains full. Any suggestions? Also when I remove the relay or fuse and put it back the compressor cycles for a second and then nothing and I can see the needle move from the A/C recharge line so I know it is connected properly. Thank you JR

 

what is the static pressure of the system and at what ambient temp.

 

It probably doesn’t have sufficient charge for the compressor to run. The recharge cans off the shelf are not charged with enough pressure to force flow into a static system - the compressor must be running and create suction to allow refrigerant to be pulled from the can.

Your options are:

1) Jumper the low side pressure switch to force the compressor to run and draw refrigerant from the can. I don’t recommend this as there’s a chance you could cause the compressor to lock up as the oil that lubricates it is also circulated by the refrigerant - a low charge generally means it’s not going to get enough oil.

2) Go to a shop for an AC recover and recharge. This service is about $150 depending where you go, but this way you know the system is properly charged and they might also either find the leak or add dye to help locate it in the future. You can specify you only want a recharge and no repairs are to be made without first contacting you.