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I was amazed to hit the yellow pages to find so few AC technicians for troubleshooting AC problems. Tried the new trigger mechanism recharge system and found that it leaked out.

Because the refrigerant was so low the compressor kicked off and stayed off so I bypassed the shutoff switch by jumping it ( cut the wires and twisted them together ) worked like a charm.

Took the vehicle to a few locations and got wild estimates and diagnosis, so I realized I had to take the job on myself. Purchassed a 10 dollar can of DYE and gave the system a couple of shots. At first I noticed nothing but when I crawled under the Van I saw a puddle near the Condenser at the lower tube. First I thought it was the Hi and Low pressure valves so I replaced those. Took the front grille off ( very easy ) and carefully unscrewed the large Grille condenser( very little gas escaped ) since there already was a leak. Replaced the condenser and retightened it down.

Readded the refrigerant and boy did it go in slow it took the better part of an hour but watched the air duct temp and it dropped to 55 degrees at idle. Brought the low side pressure up to around 35 psi and crossed fingers for no more leaks and found none. Tried running the vehicle and the vent temps dropped to 45 degrees while driving. EXCELLENT was the thoughts. Heard many a complaint of an inferior AC system design only to find those thoughts bunk. Just in time its hitting 95 degrees F here lately but not with any worries NOW. hehe.

oldchevy

Congratulations. You were brave enough to try and saved a lot of money in the process.

hsboatwright

Hello ,
I haven't been on this forum for very long but i was a mechanic for several years and i have my certification in A/C repair and refrigeration. and spent many summers fixing A/C systems.

i hope when you refilled your system you purged it of air and made sure to put oil back into it. could cause your compressor to come apart if there is not enough lubrication.

generally speaking it should never take more than about 20 min to fill the system with refrigerant. (R134a)

Prior to working on the system every bit of freon should be evacuated. and tested with an A/C gauge to make sure it will hold a vacuum. if not you have to find the leak. (which you did)

when you open the system to replace what ever parts you had to the system will lose its vacuum that you put on it and moisture will contaminate the system.

once the new parts are on and you are ready to refill the system with 134a you should put a 30 min vacuum on the system to purge it of air. when you put the the 134a canister of freon the system will automatically pull the freon into it.

we used to have a competetion in out shop to see who could get the coldest system. the coldest i ever got a car down to was 25-30 degrees.

sorry for the book...

RacerX

I agree with some of this.

He didnt need to add oil if he didnt remove any oil. The gas was evacuated when he opened the system up. The problem is when he opened the system and didnt vacuum purge the air out of it. Now the air is part of the system. And compressed air has water in it. So I d expect your compressor to seize up sometime in the future because the water cannot lubricate as well as the oil can and the water will rest in there and start to rust.

And I dont see how you can get a car below 40 degrees without the evaporator icing up. 50 degrees(anything below 60) is what I strike for when I do AC.

But you re right, charging up the system shouldnt take more than 20 minutes, if you are using a charging station or simple cans on the low side of the system.

Got Options?

Oil is stored in the compressor and the added refrigerant contains a small amount of oil therefore you should be ok.

Vacuum purge of the system would be recommended OK I can agree with that but your accumulator canister is designed to capture any water that falls out of the air from the refrigerant and compression. The car has been working fine for weeks now. If I was to get scientific about it I would repurge and check and see how much water came out of the air but I shall skip that part hehe.

You may want to recheck the facts on the temperatures cause the vents are now at lower blower speeds down to as low as 35 degrees. There is no icing or freezing of anything going on and the thermometer works.

The technicians would have won my business if they hadnt overestimated the system repair and called it toast when it only needed a condenser. They also explained more leak locations than actually existed so just because you have the technical license doesnt mean that your not joshing folks.

I have plenty of those tech licenses myself and have seen alot so I know.

RacerX

I have to disagree with some of this. Oil isnt stored in the compressor. The oil is in the entire system. It is USED solely by the compressor. The dye is added to the oil to detect leaks throughout the system. And in this case the OP says he saw a leak at the condensor. This is where the oil escaped the continuity of the system(the leak).

No doubt there is water in this system. That is why it took so long to charge. If he put a gauge on it it would read too high because the air is being compressed with the refrigerant. Compressing the air will undoubtedly introduce water to the system. The water will circulate under pressure throughout the entire system just as the refrigerant would. And when the system is turned off the water will pool where it is at that time and corrosion will set in.

Accumulators do fail. And when it does the dessicant will move through the system transported in tiny particles of sand within the refrigerant causing abrasions internally in the only moving part in the system, the compressor; Or the dessicant, if the OP is fortunate, will clog the fixed orifice tube and shut the system down(I had this happen to me on my 1987 Grand Marquis).

If he were to evacuate and purge this system now I guarantee that you would see water come out of this thing.

I didnt under the blower speed comment. I have never seen any air from the vent coming out at 35 degrees. The lowest I have seen is 55 degrees.

Evaporator icing is defined here: Air conditioner repair for Coil Icing & Frost: Air Conditioning Cooling Coil or Evaporator Coil Ice-up, Icing Causes, Problems &amp: Repair Guide
In my experiences it comes from overcharging the system, using a fixed orifice tube or capillary valve that is too small for your system or a weak blower motor.

Additionally, I think too many people who do AC dont know anything about it because they always recommend the compressor because it is the most expensive item in the system and it MUST be the problem.

Got Options?

Yup I havent dissected the compressor and system relationship so "storing" oil was the wrong terminology there.

As far as how long it took to charge goes, you might have a small point there but it seemed to charge quicker with the can held upside down. Could have been an odd valve and can relationship.

The reason for the lower temperature was that I had bypassed the compressor shutoff switch but since have re enabled it so it wont get too cold or too highly charged. It is true that it got colder at lower blower speeds though.

Not getting icing anywhere on the evaporator coil, and if the lowest you have seen is 55 degrees I would have to show you mine .

I show no signs of a failed accumulator whatsoever. So read into what you want and diagnose what you want what I see is a system performing beyond expectations. Lets see what happens over the long haul. If it fails you can tell me "I told ya so" haha.

RacerX

It doesnt matter. If you can get the air chilled below 60 degrees then your AC works fine.

I said accumulators CAN fail not that it did or would. Everything in the system can fail.

It charges quicker with the can upside down because you are pouring the refrigerant into the low side as a liquid. The can is under pressure also. Inverting the can pours the refrigerant into the system as a liquid and keeping it right side up permits the low side to suck off the refrigerant as a gas.

Another thing is this car takes 3lbs if you have rear AC and like 2.5 if you dont. The cans come in 12 oz sizes. That is about 4 cans. And if your system has 35psi after you charged it up you still have a leak. At less than 40psi the compressor shouldnt even come on.

RacerX

It doesnt matter. If you can get the air chilled below 60 degrees then your AC works fine.

I said accumulators CAN fail not that it did or would. Everything in the system can fail.

It charges quicker with the can upside down because you are pouring the refrigerant into the low side as a liquid. The can is under pressure also. Inverting the can pours the refrigerant into the system as a liquid and keeping it right side up permits the low side to suck off the refrigerant as a gas.

Another thing is this car takes 3lbs if you have rear AC and like 2.5 if you dont. The cans come in 12 oz sizes. That is about 4 cans. And if your system has 35psi after you charged it up you still have a leak. At less than 40psi the compressor shouldnt even come on.

kevinkpk

Replace the drier, and evacuate the system IMO. Pulling a vacuum on the system does two things, first it removes everything including air, it also if you leave it on for a short period of time you can see if the system has any leaks. Then put the freon and oil into it.