1992 Ninety-Eight AC Flashing

[awdavis01]

1992 with 50K just given to me by grandpa. Drives/rides like a dream. AC was not operating when I got it. When you start the car, the outside temp flashes at you for 10 seconds, no snowflake appears when you put the auto temp to 60 (or any other temp), and no compressor enagagement.

I then had the R12 purged and retro'd the system to R134, but after 3/4 can had 35psi on the low side and stopped. The compressor did engage twice (1-2 seconds each) during the R134 fill.

After looking at the potential DTC codes for this car, I don't expect the onboard systems to tell me much. I've worked in motorsports for 15 years, but AC systems are not my specialty.

The shop manual is on order, but I though posting something here might also be a good start.

Question 1: What might be causing the quick build up of pressure when refilling the system with R134? Valve stuck?

Question 2: Why might the outside temp flash at me on startup? Is it signalling an AC issue it has detected?

Question 3: Should I bail and just take it up the road to the local shop? Good guy and he could fix it, but I rely on my own skill first and then pay the extra money to fix the problem(s) once I thoroughly mess it up worse than it was.

Thanks for any responses...

[N3NAA]

I had the same problem with the outside temp flashing on my 92/98. The easy fix for me was to disconnect to power from the bat for about 2 minutes. This seems to fix the problem for me if the unless the out side temp crosses 50 degrees everytime it crosses I have to do it again. I don't know why it works and I can't remember how I figured it out but it works every time. Good luck! You could also pull the MAXI-FUSE but the bat is easy to get to, pulling the fuse keeps you from resetting the clock and the radio, if you have an electronc dash its a pain in the xxx.