Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting FORD SAYS - Condensor has slow leak in seam for AC

unfortunately i have the min. liability coverage on the car . and it has 106k miles .

i did notice that i didnt see the AC compressor spinning so that wouldbe a good indication as to why the air not being cooled.

maybe the clutch for the compressor is not functioning or relays to turn it on are not getting the proper signal.(with ac on max and full air blow i didnt see the comressor spin or hear any load for several minutes).

Are you sure it's not a leak in one of the hoses.
If it blew cold air out for 5 days and then got warmer, then it sounds like you may have a slow leak like I do. The hoses Ford uses are p.o.s..
I put some dye in with the coolant and noticed a bunch of pin size holes on the top a/c hose.

i'm a genius!!! I took my brain and my hand and my stupid trouble light and i looked at the compressor when the engine was on and the ac on max and the fan on highest level .. and its not turning the compressor.. im a genius.. theres no reason to buy $11 maxi seal or $25 recharge kit .. none of that crap will do any damn good without the compressor turning over !!!! withouth the gas circulating in the system, your not getting any cooling power no matter how much crap you stick in it !

SO THE QUESTION IS:

Why isn't the compressor clutch engaging every so often so the compressor can pump the gas ?

i wonder if putting in that maxi seal stuff when i only had the ac on low fan like seazed up the compressor or something ... because it seemed it was cycling and then after i did that seal crap .. it wasnt cycling anymore...

logical, captain. so maybe i should put a wrench to the compressor clutch bolt (with engine off of course) to verify that it actually CAN turn and it's not just an electrical switch/solenoid problem - u know , avoid the noid.

i put the dial pressure indicator on and its low... my 'friend' that sold me the car said that the compressor isnt engaging because the pressure is low...
(im only talking about the low pressure side of the system where you can add r134a).

so i go get another can .. put the ac on max with max air flow and procede with the new can installation.
after 10 min.. i dont see the compressor kicking on , the ambient inside the vehicle is not reduced and i think my friend is no ac expert.

my haynes manual is about as useful as a box of dirt.

well i just turned the car off and let it sit with the can filling apparatus attached . the dial said 70+ lbs. on the low side.. after about 10 or 15 min i went and started it up.. i also kind of wiggled the low pressure cycling switch before starting.. but then i heard glory. .. the compressor kicking on and off... and seeing my thermometer temp gradually drop inside ... so it took the 12 oz can .

i dont think the damn dial is worth a tinkers damn in several instances on the low side.. because of the ambient and humidity and all that crap that affects it...

i just wonder at what temp the interior should get down to ?

it got down to about 60 inside the car ... this is after it had been at about 79 inside of it.

well later in the day i was trying the ac and it was blowing warm air . i think it needs another can of r134.
the compressor cycles 3 seconds on and about 5 seconds off (frequency is too fast).

think i'll get the dye penetrant into the system and get a ultraviolet (black light) source to check around the system and hopefully see something -- better to have the equipment than go drop $70 at Ford dealer.. Better to go to a small shop that has a reputation for good AC work than to go to Ford dealer with an expensive bill.

so i bought my can of r134UV from wallie super and it wis laike $5.88 and then i put it in the car and then like .. when it got dark i then clased tho cagraged door and then i used my cheap light bulb with coated purple UV simulation and i didnt see a damnt thing not oeven at the low side schraeder valve where the uv crap was added.

conclusion:
You must have a real UV source not a cheap incandescent limitation imitation from BigLots. (also can be purchased from HomeDepot for more than 99cents)

so for $12.99 i bought an LED penlight UV light itcame with batteries and goggles (yellow) and it is not returnable from autozone.. os for i havent seen s... . i guess ill look after dark. it is a bright little mother for AAA bats.

well the condensor is pretty well situated ..ints a real b.... to get at and look at well .. i wonder if the uvr134a is of the proper frequency spectrum of light emmision for the 200nm? LED UV penlight I bought.. i mean will the UV in the canister glow when excited from the photons produced by my new UV penlight ? i dont think ID mfg. co and teh chinese or tiawanese mfg of the penlight consulted prior to making their products .. and hence hte probablity of a standard frequency domain for them to mutually utilize is partial and leaves me in a non-chalant demeaner... I just knew i would be not happy with the light when i brought it home , though it is bright, i am not even seeing the low port schraeder glow (where i input the r134A-UV)

I made \a new post for this but it really is a continuation of this problem as well.

The 4 8mm bolt heads holding the bracket for the radiator bottem in which the condensor is also heald are just rusted to hell ...
i am going to drill and screw extract because thats the last ditch effort.