Rep Power: 0

Hey guys, I suspect that I have a leak in my A/C system.

I have a 2005 Special Edition with approximately 107,000 miles on it.

It has worked well for the past few months since I purchased the vehicle. On Friday, the A/C system abruptly stopped working on my way home from work.

When I got home I confirmed that the compressor was turning on/off with the A/C button. I happened to have a can of R134 handy, so I recharged the system and it started to work again. Flash forward to this afternoon, I decided to see if it still worked. I started the car, and the compressor would not turn on, nor would the fans.

To rule out the pressure switch, I unplugged it and jumped the terminals. The compressor and fans came right on. I let it run for a few minutes with the jumper in place, and the car blew nothing but hot air.

I suspect that there is a leak somewhere in the system, hence they reason why my compressor and fans fail to turn on via the pressure switch.

What is the best way to self-diagnose where the leak could be coming from? Are there any common components that go bad with a car of my mileage?

 
Rep Power: 191

Do you have a real set of manifold gauges, or just the dinky can tap hose gauge, or no gauge at all and just a filler tube for your can?

To check for a leak, you could charge it with dye and hit it with a UV light (yellow tinted UV goggles help, for contrast sake).

 
Rep Power: 0

I don't have a set of manifold gauges, I used a kit that included an in-line gauge.

 
Rep Power: 191

Was the compressor on and running when you checked and charged it?

 
Rep Power: 0

Yes, motor was running and compressor was spinning.

As I said, during the recharge process it started to blow cold air again.