Scooter,
I always recommend that if you are low on refrigerant, AC not cooling, and the compressor is going off and on, you probably have a leak. I also do not recommend that you use a cheap recharging kit...that can do more harm than good.
If refrigerant leaked out, air leaked in, and that means there is moisture in your AC system. Also, you not only lost refrigerant, you also lost compressor oil.
The key to having a professional AC guy work on your system is that he will locate the leak, remove all the remaining refrigerant, compressor oil, repair the leak, vacuum the system of all contaminants, and recharge your system with proper amount of refrigerant and compressor oil
Those quick refrigerant recharge kits do not replace the compressor oil and do not remove any contaminates like moisture in your AC system. Moisture in the AC can create Ice and block the Orifice valve or H-valve and lead to more damage. The lack of compressor oil can destroy the compressor and take out other components of the AC system including the Evaporator and Condenser cores...(very expensive labor costs)
Your $20 fix can end up costing you thousands of $$$ because the job was not done right.
....Rich
