AC Problem

SANTOS

MEMBER
1985 CHEVROLET EL CAMINO
V8
2WD
AUTOMATIC
250 MILES

I own a 1985 El Camino that had been parked for about 6 or 7 years do to transmission problems. Now that I got it running, the AC pump would not turn on. I put in a 12oz. Can of freon, the pump started to work but it turned on and off constantly. No cool air was coming out of the vents. I figured it was still low. So the following day, I bought an other can of freon. As I was ready to fill the AC again I turned the AC switch to max and fan on high, the pump no longer was engaging. My question is would it be possible that the AC pump messed up or can it simply still be low?
RE: 1985 El Camino
305cu. In. Engine

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,871 POSTS

Could still be low, but if it was running previously and it isn't now, there's most likely a leak. There's a sticker under the hood listing how many ounces the system holds, but when you start out with a partially filled system, there's no way to know how much is already in it without drawing the remaining refrigerant out and starting from zero.

To get the compressor started, you may need to bypass the low-pressure cutout switch. That should be a two-wire switch on the accumulator.