2001 986 "Snowflake" won't come on display, no ac, help?

[thenavarro]

The Texas heat is brutal and I wanted to see if anyone might know what the problem is with my AC. I've got a 2001 986 and I've had the car since 2005 and I've added refrigerant over the years a couple of times. However, I can't seem to get the compressor to come on and don't know if it's the climate control unit or the actual compressor and don't know how to figure it out. First, I opened the fuse panel and checked all the fuses that indicated they had any thing to do with the AC. They were all good, and from the fuse panel diagram, I believe I saw 3 of them so I checked all 3. The control unit buttons, all seem to work fan, IE, the auto (the word auto pops up like usual when pressed), the fan speed up/down, all the ones that control where the air comes out etc., however, the one for the compressor, the snowflake, doesn't cause the snowflake to illuminate on the display but causes the "auto" to appear/disappear when pressed. Air comes out, but it's not cool, and I don't believe the compressor is engaging. The heater works just fine.

Do I have a blown compressor or a bad control unit? Or something else?

Thanks for any help. I think I've read there's a relay somewhere for the compressor clutch, if that might be the problem can someone post where it's at and perhaps a picture. I'm not mechanically inclined or electrically inclined but I've managed to stumble through several 986 fixes over the years due to youtube videos LOL

[Cbonilla]

See my question yesterday. My AC problem was due to a bad ignition switch

CB

[thenavarro]

Originally Posted by Cbonilla

See my question yesterday. My AC problem was due to a bad ignition switch

CB

CB, I had the ignition switch replaced about 6 months ago. My other accessories including the wipers still work. Might it still be the ignition switch even in that case?

[Cbonilla]

I was just mentioning the ignition switch as a possibility to be aware of, but anything (including a second failed switch) is possible.

FYI, on mine I could run the fan control up and down, display would change but the fan would never turn on. I was able to diagnose it as I turned the key off with the fan control on high and the fan came on momentarily. I could hear it. I turned the car back on a played with the key and discovered that when I turned the key ever so slightly counter clockwise the fan would turn on and then I could hit the snowflake and the compressor would kick in.

I recommend jiggling the key to see what happens