Auto Air Conditioning & Heater Repair: a.c. wont charge, chevrolet lumina, ounce cans

Question
I am working on a 1993 Chevrolet lumina sedan, my mother has owned this car since 2004, condenser was no good when she bought the car, so this year I thought I would fix the a.c. for her. I have worked on a.c. before but never had this problem. I purchased a retrofit kit which comes with 3, 12 ounce cans of r134a + oil, evacuated the system, now when I start charging with the freon it will take about 6 ounces of freon compressor cycles one time and that is all it will do. any help would be appreciated,    Andy Taylor

Answer
Andy,
Have you tried to jump the low pressure switch while you were doing this? By jumping this switch, it should enable the compressor to remain engaged while you charge it.
The low pressure switch for the 2.2 litre engine is located at the rear of the compressor. On the 3.8L engine it is located on your accumulator.
Using a small insulated wire, jump the terminals in this plug. With your vehicle on and a/c on, it should leave your compressor engaged while you charge it.
From the sounds of it you pulled the system into a vaccuum prior to trying to charge it, correct? That's good. While it is in a vaccuum, withthe vehicle off, if you charge it as a liwuid on the high side of the system, the pressure difference between the cans and the system will "pull" the refrigerant into the system on its own.
Another tip. If you heat up the refrigerant container (hot water-NOT open flame) This will increase the pressure inside the container, making it more willing to transfer itself into the system. (This works on shaving cream and paint cans also to get the last bit out of them)
Thank you for the question, I hope I was of some assistance. If I can do anything further during this process, or in the future, please do not hesitate to ask. If you found this response to be of some assistance, please remember to rate this answer. Thanks again and good luck in everything.