When the clutch is engaged the whole end of the pulley turns, not just the
groove where the belt is.
If the pressure is low enough, the safety switch disables the compressor to
prevent it from running without the proper oil circulation.  Do you have a
real gage set so that you can tell what the pressures are?  Usually you can
get enough gas to go in at the low pressure side to get the system to boot
up.  If not, you may be able to use a jumper apply 12V directly to the
compressor temporarily.  Try to be sure that you don't have a problem with
your valve connection that is stopping the gas from going in.

Larry A.

On 8/15/07, Wesley Pegden <wes@cs.uchicago.edu> wrote:
>
> My A/C blows warm.  I checked and it's empty.  I got a freeze-12 kit to
> try filling it up, but it won't take a charge (not even one can).  I
> think the problem is that the clutch isn't engaging?  My questions are:
> how do I tell if it's engaging? What do I have to do to force the clutch
> to engage?  Etc.
>
> Thanks very much,
> Wes
>
> This is on an 83.5 1.9l westy
>