A/C Issues

[Exploer_Zimmy]

I have an 03' I have had it for over two years now and last year I had an issue with the A?C. I troubleshot it and recharged the system. The A/C system worked fine. This year my A/C only blows hot air. I have noticed that the compresser did not kick on but once I tried to use one of those cheap recharge kits with the guage. Once I pluged it in the guage said it was full and the compresser started to work. once the gluch enguaged the guage from the bottle jumped to 0 back to 45. Any ideas of what it could be, I want to try to advoid the mechanic as much as possable.

 

[jrford]

sounds like you have a leak . .to help find it use a recharge with the UV dye in it.
When i fill mine i'll put A/C on the coldest setting, Fan on high, hot inside the truck. If its full the compressor should come one and stay on for a while. If its low it will cycle on/off right away. I know its near full when the clutch engages and stays on. The needle on the gauge should fluctuate during clutch cycle but with it constant on the pressure should stabilize 45-65psi.

It might last for a while but if you need to do it again in a month. i'd find that leak imo.
As a tip get you UV light and shine it on all the lines or anything A/C related. You should hopefully find the green dye; it helps to do it in the dark as it helps the dye to stand out a little better. It might take a couple of passes to 'see' it, as it can be real faint and hard to see.