Man only had car for 1 month and the AC system is going wacky, thought a general vac and recharge was going to fix the problem so I just took it to the local auto-shop, they aren't having any luck getting the ac to kick back on. They recharged it and checked the compressor, but the computer is still showing ac refridge low and won't kick the ac on....any suggestions to tell them before I have to spend more $$ and take it to the caddy dealer?

Thanks - Nick

When the refrigerant gets low, it sets a DTC and disables the compressor. In order to enable the compressor and charge it, you must clear the DTC. See the sticky at the top of the page regarding codes.

thanks ranger, I will call them first thing to give them this info so hopefully I am all good. I have been a caddy fan since a lil kid, but first time owning one and wow, everything is a little tricky when it comes to a lac it seems. Gracias

As a last resort, if they can't figure out how to clear the codes, pulling battery power will do it.

are there any adverse affects to pulling the battery power? I think I can figure how to tell them to get the codes by the sticky, but to be honest once they have a code should they know how to clear it? Is this something I might be able to do myself (with help from the board if I get the code) and just get the car back from them knowing if I cant figure it out I can pull the power myself. Again I appreciate the advice. I have a decent car knowledge, but man I feel like an idiot when it comes to this cadillac....

Pulling battery power will just add some "U" codes. Won't hurt anything. If you clear the codes and turn on the A/C again, it will simply reset and disable the compressor again. They must be cleared JUST before charging the system.

I found this in this board and so I think I am on the right track of what I need to do to clear the ACM codes to see if the vac/recharge fixed the problem. If I am understanding correctly after the below procedure is done if the codes pop back up there is still a problem to be addressed such as a bad sensor or something else...

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Cadillacs are built with their own on-board diagnostics system. You don't need a scan tool for your car to access or clear trouble codes. You can access and clear the trouble codes using the on-board computer equipped with your car. You access the system by pressing buttons on your climate control display.
To get into the system to access and clear codes, do this: With the key in the on position (engine does not have to be running), press the "Off" and "Passenger Warmer" buttons at the same time on your climate control for about 4 seconds until all the displays light up. The trouble codes will display in the Driver Information Center. Write down all the codes exactly as they appear. Please inform us what they are. After the codes are displayed, you should get a prompt that says PCM? In my car, the upper fan button = yes and the lower fan button = no. You will now cycle through the different computer systems until you get to the ACM? Prompt (Air Conditioning Module).
Do this by pressing the lower fan button until you get to ACM? Now press the upper fan button which will put you into Air Conditioning Module section. Press the low fan button until you see "Clear ACM Codes?". Now hold the upper fan button until you get the message "ACM Codes Cleared". That will clear the ACM codes and your compressor will engage. Turn key off. Please remember that if your system detects an a/c problem again, the code will be reset and the compressor will disengage again.

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