A/C trouble in 1997 Explorer

[strat4me]

I have a 97 Explorer 4WD. A couple weeks ago my A/C needed charging. It blowing out cool air and the compressor/clutch kept engaging on and off quite frequently. I bought one of those charging kits from Autozone and charged the unit. The A/C worked great after that. Yesterday morning I got in and turned the A/C on and there was no cool air. I popped the hood and looked at the unit and noticed that the compressor/clutch is not engaging anymore. I put the gage on, from the kit, and it reads a full charge.

Any suggestions???

Thanks in advance.

John

 

[Xplorer12686]

possibly a leak somewhere?

 

[Glacier991]

Trying to assess the charge state on a non running system with a gauge is a worthless exercise. Refrigerant pressures are NOT dependent completely on the volume of charge. So a low system in a non operating mode could read the same as a full system. HOWEVER, that said, if your pressure is more than 40 or so psi, the clutch SHOULD kick in, even if but briefly before cutting out. You may have a bad low side switch. I really prefer to see gauge sets and get meaningful readings, but I realize not everyone wants to spend the $50 to do that. [Not a fan of the bicycle tire gauges]

 

[strat4me]

Well, after reading up on this and talking to people, I was told it could be the low pressure switch. I got one at NAPA for $12.00 and it still didnt fix it.