A/C compressor Leak & Bad Clutch?

First off sorry for the long thread.

Hi, i have a 2000 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab 4x4 4.7 Lt V8. I bought it used, and just got around to getting the A/C recharged because it wasn't blowing cold air. I took it to my highschool because they offer a free A/C recharge ( pay for freeon thats all). Well they gave it back to me at the end of the day saying that they recharged it, and to the best of their knowledge it had no leak. They tested the temp. on it and it read 40.8 Degrees F. The next day i turned the A/C on and got warm air. I checked under the hood and the A/C compressor clutch wasn't engaging so I took it back to the highschool shop to see whats up with it. he told me that the compressor wasn't engagin, and that it would have to be looked at tommorow. So me being the dumb A## that i am attempted a test i found on the internet, you guys know as jumping the clutch to test if it was working. I hooked up a positive and negative wire from the battery to the positive and negative hookup on the compressor ( was this bad to do??). The compressor didn't engage, so i figured i'd stop before i wrecked anything. The next day at the shop the teacher discovered their was a leak that had drained almost all the freon in the system within 24 hours. The leak was located up by the radiator area ( they used an electric freeon detector and they belive it's coming from up there). So that takes care of my leak problem, i know that there is a leak up front, and that is probably why the Clutch won't engage. But the Clutch is blowing a fuse when ever it is plugged in now and turned on , this statred from the best of my knowledge when i tried jumping the clutch. It's a 20 amp fuse shared by the horn only.

Did i fry my clutch by jumping the wires? or is it just because there is no freon left in the system? Also is there anyway that i can possibly fix this leak on my own, the shop quotes to have it fixed are rediculous.

Thank you all so much for the help,

-David

And the double post, as well...

Yep. The normal way to "jump the clutch" to check if the clutch still engages when you suspect a low charge (and you don't have a set of gauges to put on the system to really see what's going on) is to remove the low pressure cutoff switch connector, located on top of the accumulator, and short the two pins in the connector. If it was just the low pressure switch preventing the compressor clutch from engaging, this will make the clutch engage. Don't do it for more than a second or so, because the compressor really shouldn't be operated without a charge (and the lube that goes with it).

If it were just the low charge, you wouldn't be blowing fuses. I believe you fried your clutch.

Look... there are some things a DIY'er can handle - and some things best left to the people who know what they're doing and have the tools necessary to do the job. This is one of those situations.