97XLT AC not very cool

[brakk]

I've searched all over the site and the internet but haven't found anything specific to the problem I'm having.

I have a 97 XLT 4.0 and when the outside temp gets above 90, the air conditioner just can't keep up. It blows out cool air, but it doesn't get cold enough to help much. When it's below 90 outside, it works pretty good. It's done this for years and I just assumed explorers didn't have good AC, but it has got worse this year and with temps regularly over 100 it's very annoying.

I bought one of those freon cans with the gauge on it for my wife's car and hooked it up to mine first to see what the charge was. With the engine running and AC on max, the gauge was at the bottom of the green/good area (don't remember if it showed the actual pressure). I added a little to move it to the higher end of the green area but it didn't affect much. When in idle, the compressor kicks on and off about every 5 seconds or so, don't know if this means anything.

What can I do to find out what is causing this?

 

[95limited]

My AC stopped being cold about two months ago. I also bought one of the cans with a gauge. My Explorer's AC pressure was about 1/3 into the good range. When I pressed the valve on the can, the pressure shot up to over 80. It took me awhile before I realized I needed to apply pressure to the connection for it to work right. Once I started pressing on the connection, I was able to install the whole can. After that, the gauge was going to the middle of the good range. Now my AC is almost too cold.

 

[brakk]

Hmm, I had to do the same thing on my wife's Neon to get it to work. I assumed it was her car and didn't try it again on my explorer. I'll do that tonight and see if it changes.

 

[brakk]

Looks like that was it. When I held the connection down, I could see the pressure rise and fall when the compressor kicked on and off.

I also have a filler hose that is apparently clogged which is another reason I thought it was full. I picked up a new filler hose and was able to dump a full can into it. The compressor stopped cycling and the air is much cooler now.

Thanks for your help.