My AC will not turn on, AC clutch will not engage so I bypassed the circuit with a paper clip and the clutch engages but I do not get cold air and the gauge on the AC refiller drops to zero but when I disconnect the paper clip from where the fuse is and the AC clutch disengages the gauge on the AC refiller goes back to full?? I have a video showing what is happening but it is to big to post on here, I tested the fuse by swapping it with the horn fuse and the horn works with both fuses so I know the fuse is not the problem I am not knowledgeable with AC so any advice would help a ton!

 

You can get the compressor going by jumping the switch but it won't pull the coolant from the can?

 

It sounds to me like you didn't get the coolant can open with the piercing pin. With the AC refill kit connected to the fill port, are you sure you tightened the pin to pierce the can enough, and then unscrewed it to open the valve and allow the coolant to flow? You do have to turn the handle fairly firm to pierce the can, and then back it off to allow the coolant to flow.

 

Sounds like pressure may be low from low Freon . Could be other causes but that’s most common . You really need to monitor the low AND high pressure in order to correctly and safely fill system . But it is normal for the low side gauge to drop while compressor is running ( compressor is suction side and slowly drawing in Freon) .And gauge in low side will read the can pressure or system pressure whichever is higher when compressor stops (can is about 25-40psi but depends on temp ) . Compressor will not run, without jumping pressure switch , if it senses too low or too high pressure , this is to protect the compressor from burning up since the oil is carried in the Freon as it circulates .
System pressure on low and high side are very dependent on amount of refrigerant in system and temperature .
Usually the can will produce enough pressure in system to overcome the low pressure switch if just a little low. So if it is that low you have a leak somewhere in the system that may need fixed .

 

As stated, when the system starts, the low side pressure drops and the high side pressure increases. There are plenty of charts on the interwebs to show you this. At 85F ambient then the low side should be 45-66 psi and the high side should be 225-250 depending on the humidity, cabin temp, condensor condition, etc. When the system turns off, the pressures start equalizing across the metering device until the entire system is the same pressure appropraite for that ambient temperature. At 85F thats 95 psi. Normally if you have low refrigerant the compressor will start and run until the low side drops below around 30psi and then it starts cycling. If it wont start at all then either the refrigerant is catastrophically low and/or something else is wrong.

George