Well I have turned the Air Conditioning on in my 2009 for the first time in almost two years yesterday when I got caught in a downpour...the AC light turned on at the dash and the normal "hiss" would sound but the air would not cool at all. The hiss would also not stop and continued until I turned the AC off (not normal - normally the hiss would sound at the activation of the AC but the hiss would soon die off and the air would cool).

I know the easy fix would be to just not turn the AC and take the doors off but with an upcoming roadtrip the AC would be nice...

Any suggestions? tried searching but couldn't find anything

 

Take it to the dealership or another qualified repair shop and get it diagnosed you might have leak. Gauges need to be attached to the lines to see how much refrigerant is in the system, after that it the electrical components need to be checked ie compressor, control head, fuses...

The only 2 things u could do is check the fuses and see if the compressor is kicking on when u press the A/c button. Chek those before you take it anywhere, now if the fuses are good but the oppressor is not kicking on then it would still need to go to a shop to see why.

Hope this helps u out.

 

Fuses are all good. Thanks for response. Looking to stay away from the dealership as much as I can...

Anyone have something similar to this?

 

Yeah, the a/c went to hell on my 2000 and that's how I ended up in a 2010.


You need to check your refrigerant level which can be done for pretty cheap by buying a guage and testing the low pressure side. If it's low then add some refrigerant for $20. My issue was a faulty orifice and o-rings were toast at the condenser.

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X2 start by checking refrigerant level being that you haven't used it in so long.

 

is it normal for the refrigerant levels to drop? or is there a leak/certain cause for the level to drop?

 

I don't have an answer for that one but it goes somewhere because it isn't in the system. Some of the "kits" you can buy have a nominal amount of sealant and UV dye in them to help seal the leak but also show you where it is.....provided you have one.

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Only drops when there is a leak, sometimes small sometimes large. I hand a car that had such a small leak I would re charge it and wouldn't have to charge it again until the end the following summer.

If u want to stay away from the dealership that's cool but take it somewhere else, the A/C system is essentially a big compressed BOMB, if serviced incorrectly you could severely hurt yourself. Plus why throw parts at it hoping you fix it the first or second or third time when you could spend some money and have a warranty on the parts & labor from a reputable local shop. Trust me I'm a GM mechanic and I see it every summer where people try to fix they're A/C themselves and they end up breaking something that was working before or they throw parts at it that people recommended on Forums (not bashing the forum just stating the facts) and waste more money in the long run then they would have if they just took it to a REPUTABLE SHOP.

 

Thanks for the reply is it worth it to try to get the do it yourself reboost kit from say pepboys?

 

I did this to my 2002 mercury mountaineer: bought a very cheap vacuum kit from harbor freight. This lets you pull a vacuum on the system. I then used the all in one sealer, oil, refrigerant from autozone. Worked like a charm. That was at least 3 yrs ago and it is still working fine. Note: it may not be legal to pull a vacuum on the system with the harbor freight setup. Just sayin.