Kind of need some help, lol. I don't really know anything beyond how to change oil and refill windshield fluid when it comes to cars but I thought maybe I could get some good info/help from this site.

I'm miserable, it's been over 100 degrees and of course my ac isn't working. My heater works amazingly, but when it comes to the ac it only blows hot air. I had to have my rear bumper fixed after getting rear-ended and the guy said he would check the ac for me for free. He told me there was nothing wrong with it and said he recharged the system for me and it's fine now.

After about a week it went from cold to warm again which is making me think maybe there is a leak or something? But I really don't have $120 to have a leak test done. Even though i'm told I'm crazy and that freon doesn't have a smell, I could swear I smelled something when I had the ac on after the guy charged my system. I bought a can of R-134a with uv and thought maybe I can give that a try and save some money in the process. If after this I don't see any stuff glowing does that mean it's my evaporator coil or whatever? Are there other signs that your evaporator is bad since it's in the dash and I won't be able to see it? Or does anyone have any idea what might actually be going on besides all my uneducated guessing, lol?

Thank you anyone for any help or advice you can give!!

~Sarah

 

Start with leak testing. Worry about the other possibilities if you fail to find a leak. You should also find someone to test the pressure.

 

Go ahead and put the r134a with the dye, just one can is enough. Then let the a/c run for a while in the driveway. If the evaporator leaks, you will see the dye coming out of the condensate drain from under the car. If you have a green dye, the condensate will stain your driveway with green dye.
Then if the evaporator is leaking, it can get very expensive to replace but at least you found the leak and the shop will not rip you off for something that does not need replacing.