AC troubles

CHEVROLET CAVALIER
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FLAME816
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Okay, so I've got a 96' Cavalier with about 113,000 miles on it, and it's a 2.2 L. It's been a cold winter but the first time it got warm I tried out my AC only to find that it was no cooler than my vent air.

So I looked under the hood and noticed the compressor wasn't kicking in when I hit the A/C button. The A/C fuse is good, it is also recieving current. The compressor itself is good too, I ran direct current to it and it kicked in. I thought maybe it could be a problem with the A/C switch, but when I press the button, the indicator light DOES light up. If anybody has some ideas where I should start looking for faulty equipment, i'd really appreciate it.
Mar 28, 2007 at 1:13 PM
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BYMECH
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did you find the problem yet, because I am having the same problem on a 1997....never found the low pressure switch to check compressor directly...was told it does not have one due to the new style variable stroke compressor. As with yours my fuse underhood relay etc all show good
Apr 13, 2007 at 10:58 AM
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FLAME816
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No, it's been so cold here I haven't bothered with it. I'll take it to a repair shop soon, if I find out anything I'll repost.
Apr 15, 2007 at 4:57 AM
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BYMECH
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after not being able to find anything wrong...I realized that there was no pressure left in the system, therefore the compressor couldn't kick on by itself to recieve a 134a charge. I went to the underhood relay, removed it and jumpered the contact side(connectors 3 and 5). The compressor came on and I "force fed" the 134a into the low pressure side. Took a long time to take the freon but finally I got enough in to remove the jumper and reinstall the relay. Nice cold air now. Compressor cycles correctly. Now I will keep an eye out for a slow leak(probably with dye) to find out how I lost all the pressure (i.e. freon) over the winter. Lesson learned: Check low side for pressure before spending good money replacing parts :). Hope yours turns out this simple! bymech
Apr 17, 2007 at 5:05 PM
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TADO9
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bymech - Could you provide the detailed info how to check and try things out as you did or online info, if any?

My 1995 2.2L 113,000 mile Cavalier also has A/C blowing hot air for the first time after the winter. Thx!
Apr 30, 2007 at 2:01 AM
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TADO9
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Also, the fan switch on this 1995 cavalier only works at position 4. If you have an idea how to check and fix it, it would be great. Thx again!
Apr 30, 2007 at 2:36 AM
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