97 SC2 - A/C not working

It was a nice warm day today, so I thought I would turn on the A/C in
my 97 SC2. The A/C light on the control panel came on (and so did the
recirc light), I turned the fan on, but all that I got was hot air. It
wasn't even a little bit cooler.

A couple of years ago, I had the A/C recharged, and it had been
working wonderfully. Now NOTHING.

I didn't even detect a drop in RPMs when I activated the A/C, so it
sounds to me like the compressor isn't even running.

My Chilton's manual won't tell me a thing about the A/C, probably to
keep me from ruining the environment by venting the refrigerant. Can
anyone tell me anything about the A/C compressor? Does it have an
electrically operated clutch mechanism? Can I measure voltages at
certain points to see if the current is getting to it? Are there any
fuses that I need to check? If the fuse were blown, would the A/C
indicator on the control panel still light up anyway?

Thanks for any advice you can give.

Thanks.


Remove the BALONEY from my email address.

 

Well you had it charged once so it does have a leak and when the
charge gets low engough there is a low pressure switch that will
prevent it from running at all (the compressor)