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Dfbonnet has posted the main reasons, if i can add my two cents to it, i'd start with the basics, easy stuff first. Check the belt, maybe it is slipping badly or loose. If the belt is ok and the pulley is turning, look at your a/c switch, does it light up when you try to turn it on? If it doesn't, pop the switch for the a/c out of the dash and discconnect the contacts an connect them; in other words bypass the switch and see if you hear your a/c compressor go "click" and blow cool now. If bypassing the switch works, you know what to replace now.
If none of this makes any difference, put the switch back and assume it works for now. String a hot wire from the battery (splice in a fuse of the same amps) and run it to the compressor. You could use alligator clips or just crimp on a connector. Run the wire for the ground. If your compressor, refrigerant and pulleys ok, but there's some short in between the switch, you would now be blowing cold air.
Remember the A/C pulley is actually two pulleys, the outer one driven by the belt spins all the time the engine runs. The inner one only turns when you turn on the air - turning on the a/c switch on the dashboard engages its internal clutch so it too is driven by the belt - The inner one is what actually drives the a/c compressor. So if you crawl under and look, and have some one turn the air off and on, you ought to see the inner pulley engage and disengage with the action of the dashboard switch.
If the switch doesnt make the pulleys engage, and the inner pulley simply doesnt turn when it gets power, its possible that only the pulley is bad. You could change this on the car, without removing any a/c hoses - if clearance is too tight to get a puller in there, you could just remove all its bolts and pull it out from the engine for more room.
If everything above works, you probably have lost some refrigerant from a leak and you could try recharging it, before you bring it to the shop. You may have a bad compressor or a refrigerant leak that requires changing parts. And by the way - refrigerant doesnt wear out, (i'm a certified type 2 refrigerant holder) it leaks away from worn or broken parts.
Last edited by marc780; 07-04-2007 at 11:55 AM.
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