So after 16 years the AC is no longer working. I had weak but passable AC last summer but this summer its hardly any cool air (but cooler than no AC).
Does the system come with dye from the factory to check for leaks? Any other diagnostics I can do myself before taking it to the shop or buying $200 worth of tools to charge it and do a proper check? I don't want to use a quick fix can from the auto parts store with sealant in it.
Thanks for your help.
AC Not Working, Dye in the system from the factory?
-
barnaclebob
- Posts: 249
- Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2015 2:55 pm
- Car: 2001 Pathfinder LE
2011 Altima SR
-
barnaclebob
- Posts: 249
- Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2015 2:55 pm
- Car: 2001 Pathfinder LE
2011 Altima SR
Re: AC Not Working, Dye in the system from the factory?
Actually I found this good article which answers my question. Apparently they do come with dye in the system. Another article said any Nissan after 6/99 has dye from the factory.
http://www.nissantechnicianinfo.mobi/ht ... ssure.html
http://www.nissantechnicianinfo.mobi/ht ... ssure.html
Re: AC Not Working, Dye in the system from the factory?
I think most vehicle HVAC fluid has green dye in it. You should be able to see if it's leaking out of the compressor through seals etc.
OTOH, all seals leak, it's just a matter of how slowly. If I determine that the compressor hasn't emptied its bowels, and the clutch still engages, then I'd consider a cheap bottle of the AC recharge (without the stop-leak stuff).
OTOH, all seals leak, it's just a matter of how slowly. If I determine that the compressor hasn't emptied its bowels, and the clutch still engages, then I'd consider a cheap bottle of the AC recharge (without the stop-leak stuff).
-
barnaclebob
- Posts: 249
- Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2015 2:55 pm
- Car: 2001 Pathfinder LE
2011 Altima SR
Re: AC Not Working, Dye in the system from the factory?
I've got a UV flashlight on the way. How do you make sure the compressor hasn't disintegrated?
Re: AC Not Working, Dye in the system from the factory?
If it disintegrates, you should hear a racket when the clutch engages.
If the clutch engages you should hear a click when you push your A/C button.
On the UV light, I know sometimes UV dyes are used to track leaks like engine oil etc, but this "freon green" was very visible to my naked eye. Looked like neon, luminous coolant at the joints of my compressor.
If the clutch engages you should hear a click when you push your A/C button.
On the UV light, I know sometimes UV dyes are used to track leaks like engine oil etc, but this "freon green" was very visible to my naked eye. Looked like neon, luminous coolant at the joints of my compressor.
Re: AC Not Working, Dye in the system from the factory?
Done a fair bit of AC work myself, and investing in an AC manifold and vacuum pump is totally worth it for those with older cars. Bought mine at Harbour Freight. I found AC repair was one of the places a DIY guy can save a ton as shops like to charge a ton during the middle of the hot summer. Anyways... cheapest thing to do first is to get a can of refrigerant and a hose and put it into the low pressure port. Don't waste your money on the cans they say they are colder or better etc, you just want R-134A refrigerant. I usually get mine in the 12oz cans at Wal-mart as they are the cheapest. So should cost you ~$20 just to figure out the next step.
If you have a bad leak it will leak right out and show you if you have a hole (EX: hole made by a rock in the condenser or tear in an o ring), or if the compressor is shot the clutch won't engage or will sound like crap. Sometimes if the compressor is making a racket the system is low on PAG oil. Most common issue with an older car AC is the refrigerant has leaked out, so that is why I suggest starting there first so you don't spend a bunch of time and money.
Remember that the AC system should be closed so if topping it off with refrigerant fixes your problem it will leak out again. How fast it leaks is determined by the size of the leak. Sometimes it might last all summer or multiple years or maybe just a few days. Please don't try to use the leak stopper that stuff is garbage. At this point, You can choose to just keep topping it up for $20 each time or fix the issue.
Typical sources of leaks are the o rings as they get hard with age, the crimps on the hoses, valves in the low and/or high pressure ports, holes caused by rocks puncturing the condenser(heat exchanger in front of the radiator). New hoses are fairly cheap $20-$60 each and condenser for our car is ~$50 . You can get a set of new o rings for $5 specific to the car. Compressor is ~$200 last time I checked.
Anytime you remove an AC component or open it up to the atmosphere you have to pull a vaccum to get all the air out of the system and you should replace the receiver/drier. Pulling the vaccum and letting it sit will also tell you if you still have a leak using your manifold gauges. Also in the Nissan Service Manual it tells you how much PAG oil you need to put into the system based on which components you replaced. If you are interested in these steps there are tons of awesome resources out there on youtube that will showing you everything you need to do in an easy 10min video. I learned how to do it myself with the awesome use of the internet and youtube videos.
On my 2001 Pathfinder, the previous owner stated he had to top it up a lot and a friend incorrectly told him the compressor was bad so he replaced the compressor which obviously wasn't the issue. Problem was that 2 of the crimps on the hoses were bad and would leak out after a month or so. You could see where it was leaking with the black light. Since I opened up the system, I went ahead and replaced all the O rings, the 2 hoses, and my condenser (only cause ours are super cheap and it also came with the drier). So far after 2 months it is still icy cold, but my entire system is brand new minus the evaporator. I had to put in 3oz of PAG oil based on the components I replaced. Total cost was ~$350 in parts.
Good Luck, feel free to ask more questions as I love doing AC repair.
If you have a bad leak it will leak right out and show you if you have a hole (EX: hole made by a rock in the condenser or tear in an o ring), or if the compressor is shot the clutch won't engage or will sound like crap. Sometimes if the compressor is making a racket the system is low on PAG oil. Most common issue with an older car AC is the refrigerant has leaked out, so that is why I suggest starting there first so you don't spend a bunch of time and money.
Remember that the AC system should be closed so if topping it off with refrigerant fixes your problem it will leak out again. How fast it leaks is determined by the size of the leak. Sometimes it might last all summer or multiple years or maybe just a few days. Please don't try to use the leak stopper that stuff is garbage. At this point, You can choose to just keep topping it up for $20 each time or fix the issue.
Typical sources of leaks are the o rings as they get hard with age, the crimps on the hoses, valves in the low and/or high pressure ports, holes caused by rocks puncturing the condenser(heat exchanger in front of the radiator). New hoses are fairly cheap $20-$60 each and condenser for our car is ~$50 . You can get a set of new o rings for $5 specific to the car. Compressor is ~$200 last time I checked.
Anytime you remove an AC component or open it up to the atmosphere you have to pull a vaccum to get all the air out of the system and you should replace the receiver/drier. Pulling the vaccum and letting it sit will also tell you if you still have a leak using your manifold gauges. Also in the Nissan Service Manual it tells you how much PAG oil you need to put into the system based on which components you replaced. If you are interested in these steps there are tons of awesome resources out there on youtube that will showing you everything you need to do in an easy 10min video. I learned how to do it myself with the awesome use of the internet and youtube videos.
On my 2001 Pathfinder, the previous owner stated he had to top it up a lot and a friend incorrectly told him the compressor was bad so he replaced the compressor which obviously wasn't the issue. Problem was that 2 of the crimps on the hoses were bad and would leak out after a month or so. You could see where it was leaking with the black light. Since I opened up the system, I went ahead and replaced all the O rings, the 2 hoses, and my condenser (only cause ours are super cheap and it also came with the drier). So far after 2 months it is still icy cold, but my entire system is brand new minus the evaporator. I had to put in 3oz of PAG oil based on the components I replaced. Total cost was ~$350 in parts.
Good Luck, feel free to ask more questions as I love doing AC repair.
-
barnaclebob
- Posts: 249
- Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2015 2:55 pm
- Car: 2001 Pathfinder LE
2011 Altima SR
Re: AC Not Working, Dye in the system from the factory?
Ok I verified that the clutch does engage and the compressor wasn't making any noise that I could hear differently from the engine so I assume that's all good. I did check for leaks with the UV flashlight and there was some dye, oil, and dirt at the low pressure hose fittings where it is crimped to the metal tubes. The dye was more just some splotches/splatter patterns and not really a drip pattern. The low pressure port cap also made a very very slight hiss when I removed it but no dye was seen around that area.
I guess the next step is to see if it holds a vacuum?
Should I replace the hose before trying to recharge? Could this type of dye pattern and oil buildup be normal due to the age of the car? I guess I should take some pics and post them.
Since the AC isn't working right now I'm guessing there isn't much refrigerant in the system so I wouldn't be putting too much of a hole in the ozone layer by not having whats left reclaimed.
I guess the next step is to see if it holds a vacuum?
Should I replace the hose before trying to recharge? Could this type of dye pattern and oil buildup be normal due to the age of the car? I guess I should take some pics and post them.
Since the AC isn't working right now I'm guessing there isn't much refrigerant in the system so I wouldn't be putting too much of a hole in the ozone layer by not having whats left reclaimed.
Re: AC Not Working, Dye in the system from the factory?
So you have 2 choices:
1) Just top it up with refrigerant and see how long it takes to leak down again (cost ~$20). Might be years or days. No need to buy vacuum pump or manifold Gage.
2). Pull vaccum and verify it leak occurs:
2a) if leak: Change out the hose. While you are at it I would also change out both hoses and the other couple o rings. Cost ~ $140 plus vacuum and manifold gauge set. Then pull vaccum to confirm leak is repaired.
2b) if no leak: fill with refrigerant.
Option 2 requires a vaccum pump (~$75) and manifold Gage (~50) and can punched ($5-$10).
If I didn't own the pump and Gage I would start with option 1 as the cost is only $20. And if that leaks out too fast then go to option 2. I am also pretty sure the hoses are leaking because that is exactly where mine leaked.
Enjoy!!
1) Just top it up with refrigerant and see how long it takes to leak down again (cost ~$20). Might be years or days. No need to buy vacuum pump or manifold Gage.
2). Pull vaccum and verify it leak occurs:
2a) if leak: Change out the hose. While you are at it I would also change out both hoses and the other couple o rings. Cost ~ $140 plus vacuum and manifold gauge set. Then pull vaccum to confirm leak is repaired.
2b) if no leak: fill with refrigerant.
Option 2 requires a vaccum pump (~$75) and manifold Gage (~50) and can punched ($5-$10).
If I didn't own the pump and Gage I would start with option 1 as the cost is only $20. And if that leaks out too fast then go to option 2. I am also pretty sure the hoses are leaking because that is exactly where mine leaked.
Enjoy!!
-
barnaclebob
- Posts: 249
- Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2015 2:55 pm
- Car: 2001 Pathfinder LE
2011 Altima SR
Re: AC Not Working, Dye in the system from the factory?
Ok so I finally got around to working on this issue. Since autozone awesomely has the vacuum pump and manifold in their tool loaner program I just picked that up along with and can puncher valve thing and two cans of r-134a (gives me flashbacks to my thermodynamics class every time i read that). One of the cans had dye in it already. Be sure to avoid the cans with stop leak in it too.
There was some pressure in the system still and when i turned the ac on the low pressure side went down and the high pressure side up as it should. The pressure in the system was a good sign since it means i might not have a leak and it just slowly bled down over the past 16 years. I decided to just let the rest of the refrigerant out and there wasn't much, probably very little actual liquid refrigerant. At first it looked like i wasnt holding a vacuum but tried a few more times and it started holding a vacuum. I attribute this to a small amount of liquid refrigerant boiling off. Once it held stead I cleared any moisture out by running the vacuum pump for a while. From there it was just filling as many youtube videos instruct.
The AC blows really cold now and hopefully that last more than a year or two.
There was some pressure in the system still and when i turned the ac on the low pressure side went down and the high pressure side up as it should. The pressure in the system was a good sign since it means i might not have a leak and it just slowly bled down over the past 16 years. I decided to just let the rest of the refrigerant out and there wasn't much, probably very little actual liquid refrigerant. At first it looked like i wasnt holding a vacuum but tried a few more times and it started holding a vacuum. I attribute this to a small amount of liquid refrigerant boiling off. Once it held stead I cleared any moisture out by running the vacuum pump for a while. From there it was just filling as many youtube videos instruct.
The AC blows really cold now and hopefully that last more than a year or two.
-
barnaclebob
- Posts: 249
- Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2015 2:55 pm
- Car: 2001 Pathfinder LE
2011 Altima SR
Re: AC Not Working, Dye in the system from the factory?
I looked under the hood yesterday to check my fluid levels and saw quite a bit of dye on the low pressure hose swages so it looks like that's leaking. I cleaned it off and I'll check it again soon when I change my oil. At least that will be a pretty easy fix and hopefully permanently fix the leaky AC. Really glad I didn't use a quick fix can.
Re: AC Not Working, Dye in the system from the factory?
My wife's 2001 QX4 had leaks on that hose (obvious dye). At first, topped off every Spring. Then it got where it wouldn't last the Summer. Replaced the hose, and all has been good for the past 5 years. It might be possible to replace the o-rings instead of the hose, but I just replaced the hose to be sure.
Re: AC Not Working, Dye in the system from the factory?
Based on my forum research the crimps on the hoses are the common failure point of the AC leaking on the Pathfinder. Mine personally failed as well but it was tough to see it was leaking. Since the AC system was open, I took the time to replace all the O rings as well as they are just a couple bucks for an entire set.