Yeah, they're all broken. A/C is the toughest system on a car to keep working at an advanced age. Hopefully the system has not totally failed on one of the major components. Potentially you could need a new compressor or a condensor- that's the radiator like thing in front of the main radiator. About equal odds for either to fail. Recommend if you find you need one or the other that you mail order it and have a local shop do the work. They'll charge you $400 for the compressor- it's $110 or so from FCP. Anyway, servicing it at all requires special equipment. It's not legal for you to recharge A/C yourself anymore. The R12 (Freon) your car came with is heavily restricted now- it's over $50 per pound and your car takes 2.5 or so. The conversion to R134 can be done pretty cheaply (you don't need Volvo's $300 kit) and that stuff is $10 per pound or less. Here's a couple of things to check:
1) Open the hood, start the engine, turn off the air. Turn it on after a minute, and listen for a significant click and then the sound of something running under the hood. This will test the compressor clutch. If NOTHING happens under the hood as you move the switch, then the system is probably completely discharged.
2) If it does start to run the compressor (that's the unit under the power steering pump, on the driver's side of the engine), then go to the right front of the car and look for the sight glass. There's a cylindrical thing, right next to the radiator with a big black hose going to it. It has a little glass eye in the top. Wipe it off and see if you see any bubbles or fluid moving through it. This would be a good sign, since it means the system still has *something* in it. It can probably be emptied, tested, converted, and recharged.
Good luck with it!
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 88 744GLE, 91 244: 808K total