To the OP, do not attempt to refill yourself. Despite the fact that parts stores sell DIY kits and cans, AC is not a DIYer task unless you already have the proper tools and knowledge, and it is a myth that you can save a lot of money doing it yourself. If all you need is a top off or recharge, very often is costs about the same or less than a recharge. But if your system has become damaged or contaminated, recharging it yourself can actually cause a lot of damage very quickly, costing you much more to do it yourself.

It is obvious from your posts that you have not had a lot of experience servicing AC, so I would recommend that you do yourself a favor, and take it to a professional to have the system checked and diagnosed. The more you attempt to fix this yourself, the more its gonna cost you in the long run.

 

khan i understand what yore saying but at this point im kinda knee deep in it already.Honestly if my truck was a nicer truck and i cared more about the ac i would just take it in for this.I am so use to doing everything myself its kinda hard and also my truck is probably worth 1000-1500 with or without ac.Its a 95 with over 200k(odometer not working--next on list) on it and if i never get the ac to work i will still be ok.If it was a nicer/newer truck/car the possibility of me taking it in would be much greater.
Now-----i crossed the wires and kicked on the compressor then waited til the pressure dropped,then emptied a can.Now i am in the green at 35% which was about a third way up on the green area/good area.I hooked the wires back up like normal and the compressor will not kick on still.-----------questions
1.at what point does the compressor kick on?---will 35% into the safe area do it?
2.if that switch on the low side is bad will taking it off deplete the system or is their some sort of valve there?

i didnt want to just add more to see if it works only to find out it does not still and that i need to replace that low side switch which will deplete the system----that is my concern..didnt know if it was valid or not.

 

update---i replaced the low side switch and it is working.I guess my switch went out and since i dont use the ac much i never worried about and over time the freon leaked out..........hopefully it was so slow it wont matter.
I learned alot doing this and i am thinking about opening my own ac shop.Calm down im just kidding.----one thing i want to add is that r13a or whatever is some dangerous stuff.I dont know why such a big deal was made over the old freon when its replaced with something that the warning label on it said "if inhaled may cause death with no warning"-----theres not really anyway to make that sound fun.

and a VERY BIG THANK YALL to all the people that helped me.This is one more thing i THINK i can cross off my ranger maintenance list.

 

Congrats F28 ... Fixing A/C is new to me as well, even though I consider myself pretty handy around the rest of the engine.

I have a dilemma of my own: 1999 Ford Ranger 2.5. Just got back from visiting my family (gone about a month and a half) and my A/C won't kick on. Jumpered the low side switch and the compressor kicked on, so I emptied some r134a into her and removed the jumper. The compressor now kicks on and off about every 5 seconds, and still no cold air in the cab. When I put the pressure gauge up to it, for the 5 or so seconds that the compressor is on, it shows in the green (yes, I have one of those Walmart cheepies, too) which indicated that I need to add refrigerant, even though I had added plenty. When the compressor kicks off (5 seconds), the gauge moves to the red, which means "warning" in Walmart terms. I'm thinking this is the result of the pressure from the condenser not running.

Well, the compressor is at least turning on and off on its own now, so it's a start, but I'm not sure what to do next ... Is it possible that my system has a leak that I'm not detecting? Could it be a bad low side switch?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Bob

 

hey bob- obviously i am not an expert....BUT... i think it could be your low side switch.The question would be if they either are bad or good? if there is an in between then yes i think it could be your switch.I think i have read that there is an in between.I think my switch was $15 bucks at parts house.----mne also clicked on and off for a little while and then it just stoppped....i dunno why.

If i were you i would start another post all over again because some people who could help you wont be back to look at this again.Also i think there is another post fairly recent about the exact same problem.I dont know what the final outcome was.Just scroll through the older posts and you should see it.

 

Thanks for the reply ... I started a new thread so we'll see what people have to say. A/C is new to me so I'm pretty eager to learn. I'm thinking I have a leak somewhere, but we'll see ...


Thanks again, man !

 

Hey guys,

I'm also having problems with my AC not starting, but I have measured that there is no voltage going to the compressor. I hooked the compressor up to a power source with the truck powered off and the clutch clicks on, so the compressor is fine, but I am measuring no voltage at the compressor connector with the A/c engaged. I have tried swapping relays with ones from other circuits with no luck. Can anyone tell me the part numbers for the wiring harnesses that run from the compressor back to the relay box on a 1996 Ranger V6 4.0L? I have been searching for hours, but can't seem to find any PN's for that set of wires. Thanks!

-Jimmy

 

you really need to start another post on this.The people you want to see it probably wont.start a new post using "ac problems on 96 4.0".---- i am no expert but i think you are not to the point of replacing a wire harness.Did you read the problems i had?---the low side switch does not allow juice to continue to the compressor.Maybe your switch is bad or maybe youre low on freon and the switch is doing its job and cut the juice off to the compressor like its suppose to.