Re-inherited my Disco II from my brother recently, air conditioning does not work.

He claims he took it to "his guy", who claimed compressor is shot needs a new one a few hundred yadda yadda.

I popped the hood, found no caps on the low-side or high-side ports. I had an olllld can of recharge, stuck it in, couldn't get the gauge into the blue.

Popped of the protective cover where the belt spins on the compressor, saw it once not running (while AC was on max), then saw it run once I restarted the car.

I do not have refrigerant gauges, don't have any interest in getting them. Engine is too hot to tell if compressor runs, I work in restaurant industry so I have a little experience know when one of these goes.

What other ways can we tell if the compressor is shot, how hard of a job is it replacing? They run on the cheap used.

 

You can run 12 volts directly to the compressor and see if the center assembly engages.

Also, an AC guy told me if there is not enough refrigerant the compressor won't kick in.

 

take it to a shop you don't have the tools or training, bring it to one of those $69 check and charge places and see what they tell you.

 

My Disco's A/C has given me trouble last summer and this summer. Both times it was a leaking hose, which are apparently very common on Disco's as they age.

Agree with Drowssap......Get it leak tested at a local garage.

 

You can also buy a AC recharge kit with a gauge. ACP-100 A/C Pro Professional Formula R-134a Refrigerant Car AC Recharge

This will allow you to check the pressure in the low (edited form high) pressure side of the system and recharge it if its is low.

When I got my DII the AC didn't work. I had the gauge/hose from the AC pro. I bought a can of R-134a, hooked up the can and hose to the DII and I had low pressure. I recharged the system and the compressor turned on and the AC blows cold. It is still working well over 1 year.

 

That is essentially what I had, has the gauge on the top. I threw it away as it was empty, but believe i has color zones, green for low, blue for normal, orange for high, red for too high.

I couldn't get it out of the green, the can was also 3-4 years old.

How could you tell when your compressor was running?

 

Never try to adapt any of these refrigerant bottles to the "high" pressure side of the system. They wont fit anyway. You use the LOW pressure side of the system for recharging.

[QUOTE]How could you tell when your compressor was running? [/QUOTE]

Look at the front of your compressor when the engine is running, AC on, you will see your serpentine belt going round round on it's pulley, the front of your compressor has a clutch (inside that pulley), the clutch will be turning with the serpentine belt if your compressor is running (you can hear them "click" when they turn on) It will not run if your system is low on refrigerant. You will have to either use a jump wire at the AC relay, or a jump wire at your low pressure switch. When you manually power up your system, you charge it with your bottle on the low pressure side for a SHORT amount of time (like a couple 3 second sqeezes of the trigger) then pull your jumper wire out of the system and see if your compressor will run on it's own, if it does, reefer back to your bottle gauge and see how much more the system needs till full. Never hot wire your compressor and empty a refrigerant can into the system!!! If your not confident on doing ANY of this, or what I say makes no sense to you,TAKE IT TO A PROFESSIONAL...

 

Also, if I remember correctly...

When your system has a leak and has lost enough refrigerant, then you will need the system vacuumed so that it makes room for more refrigerant to be able to go in. That is done with a special VERY expensive piece of equipment. I'd take it to an AC shop. Look for deals/coupons in your local deals paper floating around at convenience stores, etc...

If you've only lost a bit of coolant, then those cans work perfectly well, but if you are too low, you need help getting vacuum.

 

When your AC system is charged it is under a vacuum, which is what allows the system to hold the amount of refrigerate that it does.
On a rear occasion you can add a little refrigerant to bring the charge up to snuff, but where did the original refrigerant go? it leaked out! usually thru the front seal on the compressor; sometimes a fitting.
Now if the leak is on the suction side it is going to suck air into the system, if there is air in the system it will not work.
what you need to do is pull a vacuum and see if it will hold 28 lbs. of vacuum for an unlimited time, if it does you can then charge it. it not then its time to look for a leak.
That is why I suggest one of those check and charge places, I'm pretty sure you don't have gauges, a vacuum pump or a scale the weigh the refrigerant, if you do pm me and I will tell you how to evacuate and charge the system.

 

Corrected my original post to reflect low pressure.

WHen I used the AC pro kit, I did not have to jump the compressor. The kit filled up the low pressure side to satisfy the low pressure cutoff for the compressor. From the kit instructions " If the compressor is not cycling on, add ½ can of refrigerant. If the compressor still does not engage, repairs may be necessary."
In my case the compressor did engage.