Looking for a little A/C Compressor Insight

[Klug]

Moved to SC from PA. It not even May and its hot as balls. Time to tackle my A/C

The PO said that the belt was never on during their ownership. I bought a belt, R12 Oil and R12 Freon. Checking the compressor and it looks like it is not engaging. and it actually looks like someone has messed with it before hence the wire nut.

I'm following the wires, it looks like it goes into this 3 prong adapter- however I only have one wire going into it (from it looks like ground screw on the compressor) What else should be connected to this?



Also, I noticed this Silicone on top of the dryer- I'm guessing this isn't stock as probably the old freon was leaking out. Or is that an electrical connector?



Thanks. For some reason the only A/C DIY troubleshooting doc is Pellican.

[jlevie]

That is a mess. I'd guess that the silicone on the pressure switch was to replace a failed connector. No telling what the connector was meant to do. The first step would be to get the car back to stock configuration.

Since the PO didn't have working AC, there are probably several more significant problems. Replacement of the compressor is a distinct possibility and all of the soft hoses and o-rings need to be replaced. Additionally you may have leaks in the condenser and evaporator, which means new parts. My approach would be to rip every thing out, replace with new (use a parallel flow condenser) and go from there.