AC clutch won't engage

With summer around the corner i'm hopin to work this out. if i short the wire the clutch will engage but not thru the heater control system... i used to have a leak which i pinpointed and fixed. any suggestions?

My compressor was cutting in and out and I replaced the positive battery cable that was corroded and it has never done it again. Something to check. You could put a voltage tester in the wire that goes over the top of the compressor the check the voltage. There is a pull apart connection that you could use to get into the line just behind the compressor. If you don’t get good voltage it won’t work.

While you indicate that you "used to have a leak which i pinpointed and fixed", have you verified the state of charge in your system?

A first step would be to ensure that your system has adequate charge, then to verify the operation of the pressure switch (on the dryer) -- you can short across the switch to see if the A/C Clutch engages when called by the controls...

If the clutch does engage with the swith bypassed, then suspect either a failed switch or a dischagred system....

You could always pull out everything but the compressor and work on an OBA setup . I have to agree that either the switch is bad or the system isn't holding a charge (that's why mine is now OBA). Have you converted it to R134-A? Does it blow cold when you do directly connect it to the battery?