Hey Everyone,
I just recently heard of a neighbour that had good results from puttin in Redtek R134a cans into his retro-fitted Oldsmobile. My '91 has been retrofitted but lost its charge during the last year. So, I decided to try what he did by 'topping up' with these pressurized cans. I put in a 'Stop Leak' product first and then straight R134a refill. I emptied both and then at the very end with the bottle still attached to the low pressure side, the A/C started cycling on and off.
My questions are:
Have I put in too much?
How cold is your A/C? I measure mine and it only reads about 12 deg. celcius or about 55 fahrenheit on setting '2' on the fan with A/C on.
Can I purge some pressure out of the low pressure side if there's too much, causing the dual pressure switch to come on?
I just don't understand why that would happen after draining all the fluid for about a minute it ran nice and then started cycling, leading me to believe that it may be just barely over the max pressure limit of the sensor. Can I just run it for a while and will it fall back into 'acceptable limits' within the sensor?
Thanks for your help!!
A/C Cycling After Top-Up
The A/C should cycle on and off so that sounds like normal operation. 55 deg. doesnt sound very cold but it depends on the outside temp and if the car is sitting still for a long period of time. These cars dont have a condensor designed for r134 and they will heat up if you sit still for a long period of time. I have retrofitted mine and it cools great but if I sit in traffic long enough it will warm up............. And you actually may still be low on refrigerant if you only put in 1 can. The main cycling switch is on the low side and it cycles the clutch when the pressure gets too low and that is why the compressor wont kick on when you are low on refrigerant. There is a high pressure switch on the car but it is there for extremely high pressures. Your car should hold about 1.8 lbs of r134 and a can typically holds about .8 lbs or so, so if you only put in 1 can of refrigerant you probably only have between 1- 1 1/2 lbs in it depending on how much was left in the system.......
Thanks for your input guys. When the A/C is ON and the temp adjuster full cold, the clutch is only kicking in for 1 second every 5 seconds now. This can't be normal cycling. It has a bit of a squeal to it as well when it's ON..
Maybe I'll try puttin another 6 oz. can in of this stuff otherwise I guess I'll take it to the stealership. I do notice something leaking around the drivers side of the compressor on a hose. Maybe the compressor is low on oil and seizing up?
Thanks for your experiences. The more the merrier!
Nate
Maybe I'll try puttin another 6 oz. can in of this stuff otherwise I guess I'll take it to the stealership. I do notice something leaking around the drivers side of the compressor on a hose. Maybe the compressor is low on oil and seizing up?
Thanks for your experiences. The more the merrier!
Nate
The compressor is probably leaking oil somewhere or the hose is. And it soulds like you are still low on refrigerant. Are you sure your squeal isnt just the belt squealing??? It is definately a possibility that your squeal is coming from your belt especially if you have something leaking oil up front there.