'02 Sportage - no AC in South FL - PLEASE help

[02sportage1975]

Hello all. Really glad I found this site. I hope toget a little advice about a problem with my mother's AC.

My mom (60 yearls old this year) is driving around in this lovely South FL summer heat, without AC. As if that wasn't bad enough, her windows have all stopped working in the up position. The AC is my main focus.

A few days ago, I noticed the fan up front not spinning - the condensor fan motor. So, I ordered the new fan motor assembly and replaced it this afternoon. It is now operating perfectly. But, the compressor didin't start up for about 5 minutes. When it kicked on, the air was cold and we took it for a spin around the neighborhood.

I parked and shut the car off. I wanted to see if the compressor would start back up. Unfortunately, the compressor did not come back on.

....UNTIL, I shut the door. I'm guessing the jolt of shutting the door somehow caused the compressor to kick on. Cold air once again. However, when I shut the car off again and restarted it - no compressor, no cold air.

We don't have the money to take it to a mechanic. If there's any advice any of you can give me, I would greatly appreciate it. My mother is suffocating in that heat trap. Please help.

Is there a capacitor, relay, contactor, switch, or something that I might be able to try to replace or test? I am good with my hands, I have tools, and I know quite a bit about residential air conditioning.

Thanks,
Robert

[PLP]

Robert,
that's good you are familiar with A/C systems.
Yes, there is a relay for A/C, located in the engine compartment. Swap this relay with some other from the car.
If you got cold air - good sign. Pressure should be good.
I would check all connections for any loose. Look for a pressure switch. It should be located on high pressure side. Test it.
Another thing that could happen is worn clutch. It is an electromagnet clutch. Provide direct power (either short relay or take direct power to compressor) and see if it jumps everytime you give current.

One more thing.
Try to register on KIA tech info (link below). This is a great help. It does not work with Mozilla, but works fine with IE.

[alldonein]

I'm glad i read this thread...............i've been having problems with the kiatech site.......i recently changed to mozzila. I never gave it a second thought why it wasn't working..guess i need to change back to IE