Air compressor not working?

[beancountertx]

While replacing a belt in my 2005 Baja Turbo I was told by shop that my compressor was not turing on? I noticed that my AC was not cooling a week ago. They said "it could be a number of reasons why the compressor was not turing on". Any suggestions as to where to start? I had AC freon added last summer and although the air was not very cold, and I had to turn the dial to max to get some bearable cool air blowing, at least it was working.

[theluckyone17]

Someone else feel free to chime in if I'm mistaken, but doesn't the compressor shut off if the pressure drops below a certain level? I'd check that first.

[beancountertx]

Someone else feel free to chime in if I'm mistaken, but doesn't the compressor shut off if the pressure drops below a certain level? I'd check that first.

Thanks for the suggestion. Should this be a pressure issue then how would i repair it?

[Hawk296]

It sounds like you have a leak. The compressor will not turn on if the pressure drops due to the refrigerant leaking out. The shop should be able to find the leak.

I had one of the A/C lines crack at the metal crimp and know of a few others that have cracked in the same place. Might be a place to start. A shop can either use a R134A sniffer or they can put a UV dye in the system to find the leak.

[theluckyone17]

I'm no A/C guy... I only know the above since I diagnosed an A/C compressor that wouldn't start in my old '97 OBW. I never pursued it, since I didn't need A/C that badly.

I'd imagine that you'd need to check the system for leaks. There is refrigerant available with dye added, which I believe shows up under UV light, leading to where the leak is. You're not supposed to recharge a system that's got a known leak, though... not sure how that works out .

A/C is one of those few things that I'd take to a shop. If it's been fully discharged, air may have been introduced to the system, which means the A/C system should be evacuated and recharged.

[beancountertx]

Thanks Hawk296 and theluckyone17 for your input.

[beancountertx]

So I took the Baja to shop and dye was added and freon was added as well. Repair guy found a leak in an O ring and fixed the problem. YAY. It now blows cold air at lowest setting

[theluckyone17]

Good to hear good news