I took my car to a shop to have the ac system evacuated and recharged. The shop told me the compressor was shot so I took my car back home and tried to recharge it myself. The compressor wouldn't click on so I jumped the ac relay and it clicked on smoothly and the radiator fans also kicked on high. I tried for twenty minutes to empty the freon can but the compressor wouldn't suck in any r134a and I shaked it alot. A friend told me as long as the compressor spins and the clutch isn't noisy it should still be good. How long does it take to empty the freon can start to blow cold air? or is there a way to tell if my compressor is really shot? I must have got some freon in the system as now the compressor will click on without jumpering the relay. Any input would be appreciated.

 

I had to put in 2 cans of r134.
I got the dispenser with the guage at Autozone for 15.00.
I think you need about 35-40 psi of freon for it to work well.
Emptying the can can take a few minutes and there will be some left that will come out of the can when you unhook it because if your system has 30 psi in it then so will the can and it will spray some out that it couldn't force into the system.

 

My compressor spins but it won't suck in any r134a and blows warm air still. The high side is 82 psi and the low side is 78 psi, the accumalator is warm instead of sweating like most working ac systems. Looks like its time to get a new compressor unless I'm missing something.