[soobydoobydoo]

Long story short I've been messing with my climate control unit trying to get the lights to work and its been hit or miss with shotty light bulbs resulting in me removing and reinstalling the unit multiple times in the last few days... I thought this may be the reason why I had no cold air today (First decently warm day in months; 69 degrees Fahrenheit)

I thought I may have shorted something out but the 15A fuse under the dash is intact.

I came looking through threads to for some ideas and realized I had not checked the refrigerant level... I'm not sure the proper way of checking but I've got this hose left over from filling up my girl's outback. Does this have to be attached to a can of refrigerant for an accurate reading? I've got the bottom part in the locked position. Same low reading whether the car is running or not.

I suspect it is either an electrical issue from my fumbling with the lights in Climate control unit or it just needs refrigerant.

Does refrigerant dissipate over time or is it more likely I have a leak?

or Perhaps 'm just not getting a proper reading with no can attached?

Thoughts!?

Thanks!

 

[soobydoobydoo]

Thanks for the input y'all. @donkpow The temp controls look like this, it has a button for Auto.

@bman400 I appreciate your strong suggestion but paying a professional I'd imagine would cost me way more than a single hundred dollars, at least 200 or more I would guess. I'm no where near bringing in a comfortable income type of life style. The car industry seems to make a lot of money overcharging technically non savvy rich people, that's just not me. This is a high mileage 2003 XS with 242k and I just spent $10 on a can of refrigerant that did the trick.

As soon as I put the refrigerant in, the AC compressor kicked on. I'm sure exact pressure to ambient temperature is important and all but this isn't anywhere near a brand new car to justify paying a "professional" to hook up a hose and add refrigerant for me.

AC works! Time will tell if there is a leak. it's been since last year that I've ran the AC so it was coincidental that I was working the climate control unit when this happened.

I emptied the can... and per the gauge it seems to cycle between 30 and 50 PSI in between clicks of the compressor. I have no idea how an AC compressor works but seems to be doing alright and not over filled. If the AC runs out in the next month or so I'll opt for the refrigerant with the leak stuff next time and see how it does.

Thanks for chiming in everyone!

 

[soobydoobydoo]

a well-designed a/c system will not engage the compressor if completely empty of refrigerant, because that would be destructive

And now I know!!! and I'll remember for next time. Thanks friend!!!! As soon as it gotta little refrigerant she engaged right away.

 

[soobydoobydoo]

I got em all right here!

Being able to read them on the other hand is another skill to develop entirely.

I often feel like the manual is speaking another language lol