I have a 2002 Stratus that i got in january. Now that summer has arrived I noticed that the a/c doesn't work. A tried recharging it, and it worked slightly, but I did notice that I could hear the compressor run after I did so. After a couple of weeks or so I decided to try to add more coolant, but it didn't work, I don't even know that the coolant was even going in the car. Plus now I don't hear the compressor run anymore. Any suggestions?

 

try turning the compressor by hand with the engine off. your not trying to turn the pully were the belt is, but the face (clutch)of the pully. if you are able to turn the compress by hand this means your compress SHOULD be ok. if it's lock up you will need a new one.

also try turnning on the defrost with the temp set on cold. this will (should) turn on the a/c circut, it helps dry out the air to keep the windshield free of fog. if the a/c comes onin the def position, start looking at the wires going from the controlls to the a/c parts.

when you put the R134a in to the sys it you have a gauge or just the hose? should be running about 35psi on the low side (bigger line). if you have a thermometer, the air comming out of the main vent should be 25-35 degs cooler than outside air.

if you have a leak in the a/c sys, just replace the gaskets. the kit is pretty cheap, just a bunch of rubber o-rings mostly. last time i did one ('96 neon) the kit cost <$10 and took about a hour to do the eng bay, left everything behinde the firewall alone.

hope this helps.

 

I tried turning it and it does turn ok. And when I put the rerfigerant in I did use a gauge. I'll have to try doing what you said about the defrost. Thanks for your help. Any other suggestions would be great

 

you could receck the press, see if ti's holding.

low press switch, 2 wires going in to the low side. discon the plug and jump it.

fan relay switch (or the fan motor) in the eng fuse box, might be more than one, try swaping them around before replacement, they will work in any spot just make sure the "fan control relay" get back where it started.

big thing is to find out why the compress ain't kicking on. might need a muti-meter and a wire diagram. good luck.

 

The wierdest thing happened today. As I was driving to work, I suddenly noticed that the compressor was running like it normally should be. of course I had let most of the refrigerant out of it, and i didn't have time to mess with it. So then I was excited. Well, after I was done with work, I checked to see if it would run, but it wouldn't, so then I tried the thing you suggested about doing the defrost, and sure enough, it came on. So which wireswould you suggest I check?

 

pull off the trim around the a/c controlls, just grab and pull as its not bolted just held in with spring clips. remove the a/c controll panel and look at the wires going into the back of it. discon the wires from the a/c controls and look at the contact on the wire loom and the control panel. your looking for black spots, that would were your not getting good contact and some arcing is taking place. check for loose wires and all the other things that may be causing a bad connection. check all the screws/bolts to make sure that all is tight and you are getting a good ground. most ground wires are black in auto apps.

i don't have good wire schems for the '02 sedan, i do have one for the '01 and later coupe but it's still vauge. let me know what you find.

 

Hey, I located the problem. It's pretty much what you said. I have a bad connection in the plug where it plugs into the A/C Controls. Now I just have to figure out how to fix it.

 

glad you found the issue. if it's only one or two wires just find an auto electric shop, they will have the tools to remove the wire from the connector, explain the prob and get a quote first! if it's just loose you can try pluging in the connector and pushing on the loose wire(from the back) to try and make good contact, prob just atemp fix.

think about how the batt cover on your tv remote is held on. wires are held in the plastic connectors in the same fashion. prob is you need a slim tool to get in and release the wire from the connector. every make has a diff system for holding them in. thats why i recomend a shop to do it for you. you could prep it and it should be pretty cheap to get it done, <1/2 hr. let us know what up.

 

hey tom i hate to tell u but the ac control head wire issue i doubt will fix his prob. Why i say this is because the control head goes to the bcm and then bussed out to the pcm and then controles the compressor from there .

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granted, it's poss the prob may be more than wires. but, if a loose wire was found (a cheap fix), i'd first make sure the wires that go between the high $$ parts are in good shape. as you notice in the pic's, turning on the def also turns on the a/c compress (it could still be the switch). this lets one know that the main a/c parts are ok, that means it's time to look at the less expensive parts. wires and connectors, at least on the aircraft i work on, are the first thing i always check, as they can cause some real weird things to happen. not saying you don't know a HECK of alot more about a/c's than i, i'm just saying check the cheap stuff first. happy motoring.