Nelson21

Ok, so as you may or may not know I live in California and the heat is now just starting to hit really bad, 106 earlier and still about 95 right now.
The other day I had my A/C on Max and boy did it feel good, and now this morning I'm leaving for work and my A/C isn't working. I try to turn it on and the RPM's start fluctuating constantly, not stopping until I turn it off. And nothing but hot air is coming through the vents. So I'm trying to diagnose what exactly the problem is. Any thought's?

Pitt

Do your rpms start fluctuating imediately or does it take a while, like 2 or 3 minutes? If it does it imidiately its probably your A/C compressor clutch cutting on and off due to low refrigerant that is probably due to a leak. If it takes a while then its probably high pressure in your high side of the A/C system due to possibly a bad fan but since we only have 1 fan and you didnt say anything about the car overheating then its probably not your fan. So basically take it to an A/C shop and let them find the leak or you can buy some R134 refrigerant in your local autoparts and fill up the A/C system. Then if the next day your A/C does not work, you know you have a pretty big leak and is probably easy for a shop to find. Most of the time it is a very small leak that will take over a month for you A/C to stop cooling again. Well I hope I didnt confuse you and Good luck.

Mustang99

My A/C dont work at all, when I turn it on nothing but hot air and the rpms jump up and down??

Pitt

With your engine running and your A/C on (at MAX). Open your hood, look for your A/C compressor (bottom passenger side) Look at the front of the A/C compressor, you will see it is not turning along with the belt and most of the time due to low refrigerant. How it normally works is just like your house A/C....you turn on A/C, compressor starts turning, condensor fan turns on (same as radiator fan). It starts to compress the refrigerant removing the heat from inside the car. There is a low pressure switch on your low side A/C lines that will cut off the A/C compressor clutch when low on refrigerant....your idling up and down is your A/C clutch coming on and off. Just stand infront of your car with hood open, find A/C compressor and look at it while A/C is on, you will see what I mean.

Nelson21

Please don't hijack my thread Mustang99.

To Pitt:
Yes, it happens immediately. The dealership wanted to look at it for $106 and I said no thanks lol. So there could be a leak or is it possible the coolant is out all together? About how much does this coolant cost?

Mustang99

Sorry about that (nelson21)

97targa

Well if your compressor is bad I have one with 20kmi for sale?..lol If it worked one day and not another sounds like either the condenser or the compressor is bad. I don't believe leaking refrigerant would be freezing cold one day and hot another. It usually tends to gradually get warmer not all the sudden!

Pitt

Im not exactly sure on the cost of the "Refrigerant" But Im sure its under $25, you can buy it with the hose and everything you just have to hook it up to your low side line and open the valve. The tricky part is knowing how much refrigerant to put in, I dont know if our cars have a site glass on the A/C lines.