Air conditioner not cold

Hi Rodney,

Unfortunately there can be several reasons why your A/C isn't cold, so we can't just point at something and say, "There's the reason." In general most air conditioning problems are not readily fixable by us backyard mechanics, but there are a couple of things you can easily check for yourself.

First, check the compressor. Make sure the belt driving it is present and tight. Have someone turn the A/C on inside the car while you're watching and verify that the clutch is engaging; you'll usually hear a distinct click when it does, and the pulley will then start driving the input shaft of the compressor instead of freewheeling around it.

Make sure the heater fan is working; turn the fan speed onto the various speeds and verify you're getting good airflow.

You'll want to take a look at the radiator fan(s) and make sure it is or they are running when the A/C is turned on; if not the evaporator may not be getting enough airflow to cool the car, although if that's happening chances are you'd see issues with overheating as well.

Finally, pick up an inexpensive A/C pressure gauge and see what reading you get on the low side of the refrigerant lines. If it's low you may be able to add refrigerant yourself to top it up, but if it's completely empty you'll probably need to figure out where the leak is before it'll stay charged. It's something you can do yourself, but generally a mechanic will be able to do a better diagnosis.

Hopefully that'll give you a place to start; let us know what you find.