A/C Question

[GRSHOPR]

OK, so this may be a rather silly question, but where is the reset button on my compressor? I swapped out the entire motor last summer, so I refilled the oil, vacuumed the system and recharged the freon, but I'm assuming that it isn't working due to the safety shut off. This is my first crack at A/C ever, so I'm not sure where the push button that I've heard about is located, same for the indicator light. Anyone point me in the right direction?

[speedy25]

I have not heard of any reset button and have not seen one in the circuit diagrams I have been recently studying.

-SP

[GRSHOPR]

I have not heard of any reset button and have not seen one in the circuit diagrams I have been recently studying.

-SP

I saw mention of them in several posts, it confused me too. I guess the compressor clutch releases when the RPM sensor isn't in sync, and it shuts itself off as a safety mechanism? There was mentioned a red/green indicator, to let you know that if the clutch is engaged or not, but I have no idea where.

[green-lantern]

Check the wiring to the compressor. Also did you mess with the evaporator? There is a box above the glove box that needs to be plugged in. The compressor will not turn on until there is enough Freon in the system. How did you fill it without the compressor on? If you haven’t already, start the car turn on the AC and start filling then. It will kick on after a few minutes and start filling a bit quicker then. I think it took over an hour to fill mine last time. If you did this last summer and it worked at the time but doesn’t work this year I’d say you have a leak and it’s all leaked out.

[GRSHOPR]

Check the wiring to the compressor. Also did you mess with the evaporator? There is a box above the glove box that needs to be plugged in. The compressor will not turn on until there is enough Freon in the system. How did you fill it without the compressor on? If you haven’t already, start the car turn on the AC and start filling then. It will kick on after a few minutes and start filling a bit quicker then. I think it took over an hour to fill mine last time. If you did this last summer and it worked at the time but doesn’t work this year I’d say you have a leak and it’s all leaked out.

Oh, no, I didn't recharge the system last summer, I ripped the system apart and reassembled it. I'm just now getting around to recharging it. I did a TT SWAP, not upgrade, so yes, I had to temporarily pull the evaporator for the radiator and oil cooler, but I did reinstall it. I took the hard lines off the compressor, refilled it with oil, replaced the O-rings, reattached them, ran a vacuum for 20 minutes, then attached the freon, opened the valve, and turned on the car and A/C to max. It took only a couple minutes to reach optimum pressure. I'm thinking that because there was no freon, the compressor clutch disengaged, as a safety measure, but I'm not sure how to reset it now that there is freon in the system.

[james92tsi]

There is no reset switch for that. There is a low/high pressure sensor that will disengage the compressor clutch if refrigerant pressure is out of range (low or high).

[GRSHOPR]

OK, so why then, is the compressor not engaging? The pressure reads nominal, so I'm out of ideas?

[green-lantern]

Dryer might be bad or you are just holding the can upside down.

[GRSHOPR]

Dryer might be bad or you are just holding the can upside down.

No, rotating it 90 degrees from right side up every few seconds, but that was it. But I don't even hear the compressor kicking in. Can they go bad on our cars?

[green-lantern]

So it never kicked on? I can't see you getting enough Freon in the system without the compressor being on. I bet you didn't let it fill long enough to start pumping.

Are you monitoring the low and high side? The system takes 26oz so if you didn’t put about two 14oz cans in then you don’t have enough. They recommend that you replace the dryer when you do something like this so yours could be plugged up. That would make sense because you are building pressure so fast. The Freon goes straight to the dryer when you are filling.

I would go buy a dryer, some of the O rings and get the loan a tool gauges from auto zone. Replace the dryer, pull another vacuum on it with the gauges hooked to low and high side for at least 30 minutes. Start filling and leave the can up for a while and see if the compressor will kick on after a few minutes.