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Ranger (2003) A/C not cooling

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 9:19 am
by noobie dave
Hi people, new to this forum and hoping someone can point me in the direction of the next step for troubleshooting problems with my old-but-faithful Ranger. I have a lot of layman's experience working on cars and motorcycles and turning wrenches in general, but climate systems are pushing my limits.

The A/C system started failing some time this spring. At first the compressor would click on and off after I started it up. Over time, the amount of time I needed to drive would get longer and longer, before the compressor would even attempt to engage, and then it would click on and off, though it would cool. So, like, at first I only had to drive 5 minutes before clicking on and off, then 15, then 35.

When I finally got some time and headspace to troubleshoot it, I went to recharge the system and bought a bottle of coolant. I hooked just the gauge up, and saw that the pressure was way into the red, but the compressor wouldn't engage. The guy at Advance Auto told me to vent the line some to "let air out", which in retrospect doesn't look like sound advice given the environmental risk...but I did it, vented the pressure until it was very low (I apologize if this was stupid).

And now the A/C won't kick in at all, won't even click on and off, etc.

So I'm guessing that I vented the system too much for the compressor to engage. I'm wondering if it's worth trying to charge the system (I never connected the bottle to the hose) of if I should further troubleshoot problems with the compressor, electrical, etc.

Any advice you can give me would be appreciated. I love that forums like these exist.

Re: Ranger (2003) A/C not cooling

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 10:16 pm
by Cusser
Have system evacuated and filled by weight to specification by a pro; with UV dye added, can look for leaks. If you've never had the AC serviced, might just be low due to expected loss over time through compressor seal.

Re: Ranger (2003) A/C not cooling

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2018 12:17 pm
by noobie dave
Ok, thanks!