Chrysler Repair: 96 Cirrus A/C only works for a while, heater coils, refrigerant charge

Question
When I run the a/c the unit comes on fine but about 1o-15 minutes through the cycle it turns warm or even hot, just as much as the outside temp.  I recharged the system last summer and it worked flawlessly...what now?

Answer
Hi Ryan,
My first thought would be to have the charge level of the refrigerant measured. That is the most common reason for marginal performance. Does the compressor stop working when the system begins to loose cool air performance, or does it keep on working as if nothing is wrong? If the compressor decouples (via the opening up of the clutch) that would suggest that the pressure is too low in the system (meaning the charge of refrigerant is below what is needed). If the compressor keeps working on the other hand, then the problem might be that the blend door, which mixes the outside air that is cooled with that which is run by the heater coils and thus produces the mix you would like, is not well controlled. In your system, however, the door is controlled by a cable not by an electic actuator motor, so it is doubtful that door is the explanation. So its back to the refrigerant charge level determination. You may have a leak that is causing a loss over a year which is too great.
Roland