98 neon ac prob...again

Long story short. Took car in to shop to have freon added. They checked it out and added freon. Claimed no leaks. 1month later it blows warm air. Took it to a different shop and here is where it gets weird. This mechanic said the computer wasnt telling the compressor to kick on. He pulled the (relay switch??) and jumped it with a wire. The ac started blowing cold air. He says the car has to go to a dealership to have the computer reset and then he can fix the leak and recharge. I asked him how the computer could get messed up and he said he didnt know ..it just happens sometimes. He says there was a couple of service bullitens about the computer being reset.

Does this make sense to anyone?? My thinking was that if he pulled the relay and was able to jump it shouldnt it just be a bad relay? Any thoughts would be appreciated before more money is spent on this car. I am being cautous about this because I feel I got ripped off at the first place. They should have found the leak instead of just refilling it. Lesson learned there.

The relay switch I am refering to is located in the engine compartment and is about 1 in square (black) and plugs in just like a fuse.

 

I don't have a wiring diagram in front of me, but I'm pretty sure that the relay is energized by the computer. So, no it doesn't necessarily mean that the relay is bad. Check with the dealer on the TSB's, and go from there.

 

Yes, the computer is responsible for energizing the relay, but only after it is satisfied with all the other inputs for A/C. The computer shuts the compressor off for a reason. It could be low freon, pressure too high, pressure too low, any number of reasons. It's obvious that neither mechanic understands how that system works. Jumping out the relay is overriding all the safety mechanisms built unto the system. It needs to be diagnosed properly following a schematic to find the real problem. The system also has a leak which could actually be the whole problem. Just remember, refrigerant doesn't dissappear. If the system needs refrigerant added, it has a leak. It's just a question of whether the tech is sharp enough to find it without guessing. The evaporater is the biggest suspect on that vehicle. They are a frequent problem.

 

Thanks for the replys. I will take it into the dealership to have it checked and post what they found.

 

I took the car to the dealership and just told them the ac wasnt working and there was dye in it. I picked it up a couple of hours later and they found 2 o-rings that were leaking. I asked them if they had to do anything to the computer and they said no..why? I explained about the other place I took it to and they said there was no reason to do anything to the computer. Total cost..$167.49. That was for finding the problem, changing o-rings and recharging system. The relay was not bad.
I have always had extremely good service from this dealership so I should have just taken it to them in the first place and not tried to save a couple of bucks by going to someplace I didnt know anything about. I will chalk it up to a lesson learned.

 

I'm glad to hear you've got cold air again. I'm not entirely confident they found all the leaks though. Although "O" rings can have some seepage, I have never found them to be the sole cause of refrigerant loss (unless someone previously damaged them). There is usually another, harder to find but larger leak. I'd monitor the situation closely and watch for temp changes in the future. Hopefully, I'm wrong.