2007 Saturn VUE 2.2 4cyl- AC won't kick in

[datech]

The last couple of winters I have found a spoonful or so of fluid under it and it glowed under UV light. Now the AC won't kick in, just hot air and no sound from the compressor.

Do I have an option to recharge it at home?

 

[fdcg27]

If the fluid came from the compressor, it can only be oil.
If it's leaking oil its also leaking refrigerant and has lost enough that the low pressure switch isn't allowing the compressor clutch to engage.
It might be wise to spend the couple of hundred to have somebody who knows what he's doing evacuate the system and see whether it'll hold vacuum.
If so, it can then be properly refilled with the correct amounts of refrigerant and oil.
If not, the leak can be found and repaired.

 

[Errtt]

Sounds enough got out that the pressure switch from low pressure won't kick the compressor drive..

 

[Chris142]

If its leaving oil on the ground its got a real big leak.

 

[Anduril]

Shine the UV light around the various a/c components and see if you can find where the leak is coming from. You'll need to replace the leaking component, vacuum pump the system, and recharge. Otherwise if you just recharge it without doing anything else, it will leak out again. If you are leaking oil, it's probably best to drain the compressor (if it's not leaking from the compressor itself, in which case it would need to be replaced), flush the system, and add new oil and refrigerant so you ensure you have the correct amount of oil. If you add refrigerant without replacing the lost oil (and it'll be impossible to know how much you lost), you risk compressor damage.

I just went through a compressor replacement on the wife's car and it really isn't fun. But it would have been less fun to pay someone else $$$ to do it for me.