jrdjrd7 Posted July 6, 2004 Report Share Posted July 6, 2004 On the way to work this morning my dash display advised me that the A/C was turned off due to VERY LOW REFRIGERANT. Took it to an auto air conditioning repairman who I believe to be honest. He looked at it and told me he thought the compressor would have to be replaced, however, he did not add the dye to see where the leak is. Said he has never used the dye process to locate a leak. My question is whether I should take it to another mechanic who uses a more sophisticated testing process? Also, how much should it cost to replace the compressor? He quoted me $850. My car is a 95 STS with almost 58,000 miles. Seems a little early to be replacing the compressor (or does it?). Thanks for the help, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAUL T Posted July 7, 2004 Report Share Posted July 7, 2004 If the A/C compressor was not making a lot of noise and there were no problems with the system before the message, I would have it retested for a leak. A 10 year old system might just need a fresh charge. Check the archives there are plenty of posts on adding it yourself. Just remember to reset your codes so it will suck the new R134a in. My advice is to go to another shop and have them check for a leak. If no leaks, reset your codes and just recharge the system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrdjrd7 Posted July 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2004 How do I reset the code? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAUL T Posted July 7, 2004 Report Share Posted July 7, 2004 Unhook the battery for a minute or two, or with key on, engine off, press the "off" and "warmer" buttons on the climate control and watch the codes appear in the message center. After codes are displayed a message will appear like "PCM?", press the fan up button for "yes", then press the fan down for "no" until you see "clear PCM codes?". Then press fan up "yes". Then turn off key to get out of diagnostics. If you start the car up and have the A/C on, the code and "low refrigerant" message will more than likely come up again. The compressor is shut down to keep it from being destroyed for having no refrigerant. The codes must be cleared for it to kick on again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrdjrd7 Posted July 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2004 After reading your message I'm wondering if the mechanic hasn't already reset the code. He added 1 lb of freon and the low refrigerant message went away and now the car blows very cold air. I believe he did something with the battery but he did not reset the codes from the inside of the car. Knowing this, do I still need to reset the code? Thanks for your help. By the way, the air conditioner worked great berfore the low refrigerant message appeared and the compressor has never made any noise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAUL T Posted July 7, 2004 Report Share Posted July 7, 2004 No, if the mechanic recharged the system and the air conditioner is working now, there is no need to worry about it again unless the message comes up. I would say your A/C is fixed and there was never anything wrong with the compressor. You could have the pressure checked to make sure you have a full charge and not just enough to keep the message off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrdjrd7 Posted July 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2004 The mechanic told me it was fully charged so I'll wait and see if the message comes up again. Hopefully you are right. Thanks again for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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