Ideas on possible A/C problem Options

[PaukST]

Whenever I'm driving while using the A/C, I'm used to it taking a fair amount of my engine power and acceleration (that mighty 7afe ) . Lately, the A/C will frequently stop compressing for a few seconds, giving me a puff of damp, smelly air (it's generally fairly humid here in SC), and removing the A/C load from the engine. Then a few seconds later it'll kick back in.
Anybody have any ideas on this? I picked up an A/C recharge kit from Autozone, but when I hooked the gauge up to the low-pressure port while running the A/C at full blast, the pressure would fluctuate between 25 and 40 psi. I decided not to add any refrigerant, since that wasn't the behavior I was expecting. Is it possible my evap core is all gunked up, or that the system might be over-charged (like if the previous owner added too much refrigerant)?

[trdproven]

do me a favor, if you charged it, feel the low side tube, if its not cold like decently hot, its your expansion valve stuck. another thing is the smell, can be caused by a bad evaporator - but if you are always charging the leak can be anywhere including the evaporator. maybe you can provide more detail later. good sign of a leak or low Freon is your drier glass is bubbling pretty good. its best to always use a gauge when doing A/C work. Always nice to have a vacuum and gauge kit as part of the tool kit.

This post has been edited by trdproven: Jun 25, 2013 - 7:01 AM

[PaukST]

I haven't added any refrigerant, I'm going to clean the evap core soon and see how it behaves.