I bought my MINI about a year ago and the AC worked perfectly. As the summer went on, it seemed to be working not nearly as well (not blowing as cold) and last fall it just stopped blowing cold air. I checked all the fuses and nothing was blown so I figured I would wait until the spring to fix it. It got really hot really fast here and now I've done some more research into the problem. The first time I popped the hood, I checked the pressure. It was at about 85psi. This was in the red warning zone on my pressure gauge that sits on top of my can. If I turn the AC on the inside fan comes on with it but the compressor never engages. It just sits there and the belt spins freely as if it weren't on. I released the Freon to the open atmosphere (I dont care) and hooked my gauge back up. It then said zero. As I have done before, on a different car that had 0 Freon, I turned the AC on and filled the Freon up until 45 psi. When i did that on my previous car, the compressor kicked on and the ac worked properly after finishing filling. However, this time nothing happened. I emptied it again which only took about 1.5 seconds and refilled it with the car off and the AC off and started the car and nothing happened any different. Basically, the system has Freon but when i asked someone who worked on AC units they said it was most likely a switch problem and i am trying to see if that is the case but i can't find any switches. I would appreciate any help in locating the switches and any suggestions as to what the problem may be. Thanks