AC Troubles

[Cargirl]

Just on time, the weather warms up and the AC goes out. My 1991 Reatta service AC light came on. I thought I must have a leak so I went to charge it. Checked the charge and it seems to still have a charge but the compressor is not engaged. The fuse was not blown. I did the old disconnect the battery trick to kick start the compressor but when I restarted, it did not engage. Prior to taking it to a mechanic (which I hate to do) are there any tips or tricks to get this thing running again. Summer in Arizona, help!

[Barney Eaton]

With my limited experience,  I would find the relay (in front of the air cleaner) for the clutch.  Pull the relay and jumper the pins in the relay box to send 12 v to the clutch.

That should work and allow you to top off the refrigerant.    After you are satisfied the refrigerant level is correct and it is cooling.    Reinstall the relay and disconnect the battery again.

If the clutch does not kick in then you could have a defective, high or low pressure sw or even a defective ECM that is not grounding the relay.....I had that happen

[Cargirl]

Just a follow up. I pulled the ac relay but the codes needed to be cleared to trick the computer into thinking everything was ok. I charged her up and the ac works at the moment. Time will tell if its leaking. Thanks for the suggestion Barney.

[harry yarnell]

If you jumper the relay to force the compressor on, the computer is out of the circuit.

[Cargirl]

I just pulled the relay, did not jump it. That may explain why it did not work. Bottom line, we got the job done.