Alright, been awhile since I've been on, but I need the help of those of you who know this stuff. Here's the deal: truck was "supposedly" recharged and "supposedly" had dye put in with the freon. The compressor will NOT stay engaged... it does this in A/C or defrost (not sure if that says anything). I've looked all over everything with a black light and couldn't see any leaks that would cause the compressor to stop staying engaged in less than a week. If it was leaking that bad, seems to me the leak would be pretty obvious. Everything in the system was replaced! The thing is, when I bypassed the low pressure switch it cooled down pretty good. So, here's my thinking: would it cool down to the 40's and 50's if it had a low charge? What about shimming the clutch? I've heard of that... I have access to gauges, vacuum pump, freon, whatever I need to do the job. Can I get enough info from watching the gauges to know if I still have plenty of charge and my switch is bad? Am I just gonna have to break the system and start from square one again? I mean, it's only $20 of freon!

So yeah, if any of y'all know something about A/C, I'd be interested in giving you a holler... I'd like to get this fixed before the summer sets in because I have a LONG trip in August that I really don't wanna have screwy A/C when I take it.

 

a/c leaks are almost always impossible to find. had one develop last summer and completely replaced the ENTIRE system- still leaked.

because of this, some products have produced some great results (was never a fan of this option, but desperate times called for desperate measures. freon is just too $$$$ these days):

Amazon.com: Cliplight Manufacturing 946KIT Super Seal Pro A/C Leak Repair Kit: Automotive

this one is not carried by local stores, but these came highly recommended:

USA Sealants 00222 - A/C Stop Leak | O'Reilly Auto Parts

Interdynamics MRL3 - AC Super Seal | O'Reilly Auto Parts

 

Hook up the gauges with truck off and see what the static charge is. If its 90 in VA like it is in GA right now, it should be around 100 or slightly higher on both gauges. Crank the truck and see what they pull down to. Should be about 30 on the low side and roughly 150-200 on high side, maybe as high as 250.

It kind of sounds like a bad low psi switch but... Here is the question?
Does it cool for a little and then when the clutch cycles off, it does not come back on? If so, try tapping the clutch with the handle of a screwdriver. If it pulls back in, u need to pull the shim out of the clutch to adjust the air gap. I had to do mine last summer. Fairly easy and quick to do.

 

Jon,

See this LINK It's SpringerPop's A/C clutch air gap setting.

 

Really sounds like a bad low pressure switch. If you are jumping it and the a/c stays on, then it is the switch.

 

Only if it's not low on freon again. If it is low on freon you could have a leak in the condensor coils which would be impossible to detect without a sniffer. Hopefully it just a bad low pressure switch!

 

Alright guys, I appreciate the responses. I'm beginning to think it's a combo of things... here's what I've done and noticed today: when I started the truck and turned everything up all the way, I noticed the clutch would catch, let go, catch, let go, etc. for about 5 seconds. Then it held like it should! Well, I bypassed the switch and hit the road. It's about 50* sitting still and then warms up to the upper 50's while moving... why? I don't know. I always thought it was the other way around. Anyways, when I plugged the switch back in, it was pretty much the same. Slower to cool, but still pretty close, maybe just a little warmer. I'm thinking the clutch needs to be shimmed and the system needs a good vacuum pulled to check for leaks, then recharge it with a new switch and then see what it does. As for the data y'all are giving me, that's great stuff! I can't gaurantee the dude that "recharged" it for me even did it right... he was a bit of a smart*** to begin with. I'll shim the clutch first to rule that out and then watch it with gauges and see what I get. Again, I appreciate the responses! Keep them up, alright?

 

good luck and let us know what you find.

 

FWIW, I would not run around with the switch jumpered out becuase if the switch is not bad and its low on freon you will be replacing the entire system soon.

 

Me neither... it was only for 10 minutes, otherwise I wouldn't have done it. Right now it's all back together and since I parked 45 minutes ago, it's dropped down to 45*. My Dad says that getting warmer when I hit the road and have RPM's is a sign of a low charge. Any thoughts?

 

Yes, that is true. Check your air gap first, then try to get a hold of some gauges.