Air Conditioning?

[Frog2Spider]

Has anyone had the problem of the air conditioning not turning on the compressor with the control knob? It worked fine, then the next time I went to use it. Nothing. I've got power to and thru the power control switch, and I can make the fan run. The compressor is 'free' and not frozen.
Is there some kind of safety switch on the dryer, that protects the compressor? I had it serviced last summer, changing to the 134a refrigerant. I got differing opinions about changing the receiver dryer, but the service shop said it was not necessary.
Any and all suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks Dave.

[vandor]

There should be a safety switch somewhere, usually in the drier. You can jump it and see if the compressor comes on. But don't run it long, if the switch is tripped then the pressure is too low for the system to run.

[Frog2Spider]

Thanks Vandor, this confirms an earlier thought.

Am I correct in thinking:
If jumping the switch, turns on the compressor, the system needs to be re-charged.
If the switch itself is bad, the dryer needs to be replaced?
If the compressor doesn't turn on, the compressor is bad?

Thanks,
Dave

[vandor]

>Am I correct in thinking:
> If jumping the switch, turns on the compressor, the system needs to be re-charged.

Yes.

> If the switch itself is bad, the dryer needs to be replaced?

Yes, along with the switch. The drier has to be replaced any time the system gets opened.

>If the compressor doesn't turn on, the compressor is bad?

No necessarily, it could be ana electrical problem somewhere else. You'd need to check to see if the compressor actually gets power or not.

[So Cal Mark]

if the compressor is getting power, it could be that the field coil is bad, not the entire compressor. Your shop gave you some bad advice about not changing the drier when you converted to r134. And if your condenser was original to the car, that should be changed when converting to 134 also. The 134 condensors are more efficient than the r12 condensors and are necessary to get adequate cooling. The first step is to see if the system has pressure in it

[Frog2Spider]

Thanks Mark.
Any suggestions for purchasing a receiver dryer for a 134a system in a Spider? Are they generic or specific?

Dave.

[So Cal Mark]

they will be generic for your application, size pretty much dictated by the mounting space available

[Frog2Spider]

Thanks again, Mark!

Dave