coolant temp sensor breaks AC?

[Brian Powell <brian@owlscreech.com>]

Greetings,

The AC in my 90Q 20V stopped working (noticed it today) and it had been
working 2 weeks ago.  The fan seems to blow (not very strongly); however,
cold air does not come out.  I should mention that 1.5 years ago, I
had it recharged: refilled with freon, etc.  My mechanic told me then that
there weren't any leaks and everything looked great.  I ran the diagnostics
and it told me that the "Coolant Temp Sensor has an open circuit."  Okay,
so, this has come unconnected or is broken.  Would this prevent it from
cooling?  The compressor DOES cycle (according to the diags).

I did two things to the car after the last known time it was working and
before this: 1) Install a K&N Air Filter  2) Hose down the engine area
because there was a lot of crap built up over the winter...

In performing either of these, could I have loosened (or broken) the temp
sensor?  Is the temp sensor the reason for my troubles?  If so, where would 
I begin to look for the piece?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Sincerely,
Brian

'90 90Q 20V
'96 A4 2.8Q