My 2004 Honda Accord LX will not blow cold air

[Brandy Fowler]

Sometime around last June my Accord stopped giving me the nice cold air that I was used to, and began delivering Mississippi temperatures inside without my having requesting it. I decided to go to a car parts place and have them ponder it, but then I hit a bump aaaaand the AC was back in business. Thus began my dance with the intermittant AC. Every time I'd decide I should take it in, the AC would randomly kick on, sometimes after a bump, sometimes not. Over Christmas it wasn't really an issue and would work whenever I asked it to. Now it's warming up again outside and it's not working again. My dad and I tried adding refridgerant, but the compressor (condenser?) wouldn't kick on and so the refridgerant didn't go in. What can I do now, before taking it to visit my local mechanic? I'm trying to take care of this on my own with some help from dad.