how do I tell if my a/c compressor is engaging?

I guess I am going to wait until the car cools down, so then when I engage the a/c it should kick the clutch on

my PFC shows A/C is on, but i think that's only an indicator of the a/c switch position

am i right?

 

stupid compressor isn't engaging

great

 

Have you checked your freon level? If it gets too low, it disables the compressor from engaging.

 

heh, sure did

i bought a freon level checker, and it says to let the car idle for 5mins- done, and then put the gauge on the low pressure side, so i pulled the blue cap off (the one on the larger diameter hose) and pushed it down, it shot the needle out

am i doing something wrong?

 

Unfortunately, I'm not sure. So, this will at least bump you back up to the top so someone else can chime in.

Also make sure to check the fuses (if you already haven't).

 

i do have the powerFC...so that might be the issue, but i'd like to check out all other possibilities

 

put the stock ecu back in to rule out the PFC.

if it works with stock ecu then search for the AC fix(work around) posted by chuck.

PFC and AC=hot air in some cars.