06 PT AC not working

[johnnyb]

hey all, my wife has a 2006 pt touring model with about 37000mi on it, all of a sudden her ac stopped cooling, the little light next to the snowflake button still comes on when you press it but the air is not cold at all, at the same time the compresser stopped coming on when you have the defroster on....which is bad when you live in the humid southeast...i have checked and the belt seems to be fine but the compressor is just not kicking on....it seems to have plenty of coolant and wouldnt you know this happened less than 1000 miles after the warrenty ran out the only other thing i can think of that would cause this is either a fuse or the low pressure switch on the condenser....i am not sure if the low pressure switch would affect it coming on for the defroster or not tho....any and all ideas would be appreciated. thanks in advance

[CREWZIN]

Welcome to the forum,

You say it "seems" to have plenty of coolant", but how can you tell. Just a little low will make the sensor ("low pressure switch") shut down the compressor. There are plenty of air-conditioning places that will check you system for free ( thinking they can sell you coolant or parts if you need them). Yes, the low pressure switch will stop the compressor for full air or the defroster.

You say yo know about the fuse, so I take it you checked that. The LPS sits on top of the round silver canister in the back of the engine on the left side (see photo below). To see if the switch is working, pull off the electrical connection and make a jumper (paperclip) on the switch between the contacts. Start the car, turn the air on and if the compressor turn on, the switch is bad.

[bados]

I had to replace my A/C at 38,000, miles. About 2 grand.

[BABYbluePT]

interesting...2 differnet people right about 37000-38000 miles.... I guess I will see in about 20000 if i have the same problem

[johnnyb]

Originally Posted by bados

I had to replace my A/C at 38,000, miles. About 2 grand.

ouch i was wondering if it was just me or not, what did they tell you was wrong with it?

mine is working now, i took the suggestion and checked the low pressure switch like i was told how to and the compressor kicked on, i think, ok cool, just replace the switch and all done hopefully not too expensive....dont think anything else about it for a few days till I can get to the parts store, said something to my wife about going to get the part to fix her ac tomorrow and she says its working now, she said it went to working after i worked on it that day ( when i checked the lps) so the only thing i can figure was that it was either somethin electrical hung up or the switch wasn't making good contact...thanks for all of the responses tho guys

[R_I_PT]

my a/c went out at 43K on an 05, which I bought new. They ended up fixing it for free (since the dinged and scratched my car in the process.)
It would have been 800$ for them to find the leak, refill, put in dye, etc.

[Chantal]

I need to replace my high side AC switch but unsure of how to do that unless I take off my compressor as well. Is there an easier way?

[CREWZIN]

Originally Posted by Chantal

I need to replace my high side AC switch but unsure of how to do that unless I take off my compressor as well. Is there an easier way?

I don't think you'll have to take off the compressor BUT, You will have to jack up the PT, take the passenger front wheel off and take off the inner fender to get access to the compressor itself. The High Pressure switch (#4) is located on the back side. (it's different on a turbo model).

[Chantal]

Found out that Federal Law states that the unused refridgerant left in the system when you replace the switch must be vacuumed out. On top of that, if it's not and there is moisture in the line it will cause the compressor to blow and cost me even more money. But it's okay, I have an uncle that has the equipment and will take care of it for me.