A/C quit working

[98caddydeville]

i have a 1998 cadillac deville... and i ran the car yesterday about 4 hours and the a/c worked great and got in the car today and nothing, then compressor is not ingaging but the a/c fans are running... can someone help me please.? checked fuses...

[Obby]

Check the belt(s). Also, it could be the tension pulley has gone bad if you've got a serpentine belt (I'm not familiar with that car's engine setup, unfortunately). Though, if you do have a serpentine belt and the tension pulley is bad then you'd also lose power steering (if you've got it).

[iChef]

Does your car make any noises when you turn on the A/C? I would suspect if you went right from Great A/C to nothing it's your compressor. Try getting under the car and turning the compressor wheel with your hand after you loosen the belt. If it doesn't turn freely then it is seized and you need a new one. Also check your belts. Some cars have 1 serpentine belt that runs the whole car. Others have a second belt that drive things like A/C and power steering. If the compressor is seized and you don't have the cash to get a new one (they can be expensive for parts alone and it is a good idea to have a mechanic install them because of the refrigerant in the A/C system) you can get a dummy wheel that can be put in place of the compressor that won't do anything but keep the belt tight. It is important to make sure the compressor isn't seized because if it is and you drive around like that it will shred your serpentine belt. You can also try to get a bypass belt that is shorter and will run around all the parts other than the A/C until you can fix it.

Other than that make sure your belts are good, your coolant is charged and you haven't blown any fuses. Also this section is more for computer hardware, but I'm sure with a few modifications we could turn your Caddy into a mechanical analytical engine. I know I would brag if my computer could do 100 mph and weighed over a ton.

[atrain]

A/C systems are quite complicated, and not easy to diagnose without the right tools.

Turning the pulley by hand won't tell you much. Since the belt is always running, there is an electronic clutch that connects the pulley to the compressor. You can sometimes hear it click on and off, as well as hear a difference in engine sound, when it clicks on. The compressor will not engage if there is low pressure in the system.

[rajonmestra]

This is late in time thread but my suggestion is to have a jiffy lube close by. Check if there is a leak with the A/C condenser. But if not, then get a kit and do it yourself. on the other hand it sounds like you need freon. If you are absolutely sure the freon and pressure levels are OK, it could be that the low pressure switch is bad.

[Kromix]

The problem could be one of many. The first thing I would look for is a bad capacitor in the outside unit. It is silver and usually oval shaped. If the top is swollen then it is bad. The next thing could be a bad contactor. Look for burndt contacts in the outside unit. The third thing could be a bad fan motor. Make sure that you turn your power off to the unit before opening the outside unit up.

hehehe a caddi with an outside AC unit