Its the fault of some misinformed scientist that your air conditioner has stopped putting out cold air into your auto's interior cabin. CFC and ozone hole depletion in the antarctic. What has that got to do with you cooked to the gills while driving in Florida or even Edmonton Alberta ?

Looking at the sight glass - overall nothing should be visible. It should appear "empty". If it does and cold air is circulating in the passenger compartment , then you can bet the system is more than sufficiently charged. Step one can be checked off. Perhaps it's the challenge to the backyard mechanic, perhaps it's the cost, or perhaps it's just that its summertime and you are hot, hot, and hot and the repair shop is backed up with work till next month.

In years gone by it was only luxury cars that had the luxury of auto air conditioning and cooling.
An air conditioned car in the summer heat was a luxury had by only a very privileged few reports auto industry analyst M.A. Labovitch. Today we take such luxuries almost for granted. It is not only cars that have factory air systems installed
Trucks and even semi trailer tractors now have air conditioning cooling systems as a matter of routine and course. Never ever overcharge an air conditioner - be it a stand alone outdoor unit , a window unit or a car mobile auto cooling system. Adding too much refrigerant can damage the compressor and thus reduce system performance and reliability and integrity. Checking the clutch . Start the engine with the parking brake set and the transmission in park mode. Set the air conditioning controls to maximum cooling and fan levels. Open the hood and be sure that the entire compressor-clutch assembly is being turned by the air conditioner belt. Put on your safety goggles and work gloves. Open the hood of your car, truck, S.U.V. or bus. Never try to fix an air conditioner propellant coolant leak yourself. You risk injury and worse.
The system is under great atmospheric pressure and must be discharged before any hose connections are loosened or opened. The system must be evacuated with a vacuum pump after repairs are made to remove all traces of air and moisture that can cause corrosion and interfere with cooling performance. If the system is an older one - and still contains genuine Freon rather than the newer replacement - this must be removed and disposed of by a highly trained professional in a legal specified manner. Stiff fines and penalties await those who think that they can simply dissipate the exhaust freon into the air and "no one will know". Some people and mechanics will refer to this simply as the "fan belt". It does look like a fan belt, but if you look carefully there will be a belt lower front of the engine that may or may not go around the fan pulley and on to the air conditioning system compressor. Have a helper in the garage switch the air conditioning control to the Off position and then alternatively to the "On" setting. Meantime look , inspect and listen for the typical sounds of the clutch assembly both engaging and disengaging. Some sight glasses of mobile air conditioners have a protective cover made of cardboard or stiff paper. Remove the cover on the air conditioning unit sight glass - if there is one. On some cars and trucks , the sight glass is not on the receiver-drier, but on the line between the condenser and expansion valve.

A professional mechanic can find the leak for you by using an electronic leak detector - now available to home users at some big box retail stores. Alternatively an older - yet very effective low cost method can be used - that is using soapy water and watching for the bubbles. Bubbles indicate leaks. Alternatively if the sight glass is clear and there is no cold air circulating in the passenger compartment , then the system may be empty of refrigerant and coolant. Take your vehicle - be it truck , S.U.V. or standard car to a competent air conditioning specialist , shop or dealer service center. Experts note that if the sight glass show bubbles that look like moving water bubbles , then you can bet that without changing and replacing the refrigerant you are going to be driving in the depths of heat and humidity. If the clutch is not engaging - then check the whole system. There are really no quick or easy fixes for diagnosing and repairing auto air conditioning systems in a pinch. On top of that it can be downright dangerous. It is best to seek out a pro at your local air conditioning shop or service department of your local or regional auto or truck dealership. This pulley rotates while the car or auto's engine is running. It is also important to remember , that if your air conditioner is low , it most likely reinforces the call by your mechanic or refrigeration technician that there is a leak somewhere else. Recharging the system temporarily restores cooling - which is good in mid July, but the coolant fluid and gas will eventually leak out unless the leak is properly and fully repaired.

If you have now solved your basic problem with your air conditioning system you should now be driving in a cool, comfortable cabin in your vehicle. Pleasant summer driving.