A/C help!

I live up in northern california and the temperatures are hovering around 100 and driving a half hour to work each way is miserable!

About two years ago I bought a can of A/C Pro and my stupid ass put it in the high pressure side as I remember and not too long after that my compressor stopped running when i switched on my ac, which at the time I didn't realize my mistake.

Now I am trying to get it working again since I'm tired of not having ac. I jumped the compressor straight from the battery and it turned on without a problem but no cold air. Then i removed the ac relay and used a paper clip to bridge the pins so the compressor would come on and let it run for about 15 minutes but the air coming from the vents was just as hot outside.

So I wanted to rack some peoples brains about a solution to my problem since I know quite a bit about how to fix everything else on my truck but the ac. Could it be my high or low pressure switch? Could it be that I'm low on R-134? Any info helps!

Thanks everyone!

I am no pro...but

If you used the connector on the can then I do not think that you can get it on the high side port.

Ray

13kidd said:

I live up in northern california and the temperatures are hovering around 100 and driving a half hour to work each way is miserable!

About two years ago I bought a can of A/C Pro and my stupid ass put it in the high pressure side as I remember and not too long after that my compressor stopped running when i switched on my ac, which at the time I didn't realize my mistake.

Now I am trying to get it working again since I'm tired of not having ac. I jumped the compressor straight from the battery and it turned on without a problem but no cold air. Then i removed the ac relay and used a paper clip to bridge the pins so the compressor would come on and let it run for about 15 minutes but the air coming from the vents was just as hot outside.

So I wanted to rack some peoples brains about a solution to my problem since I know quite a bit about how to fix everything else on my truck but the ac. Could it be my high or low pressure switch? Could it be that I'm low on R-134? Any info helps!

Thanks everyone!

Click to expand...

if it is low on r134 you have a leak .... common places for leaks are the charging port valves , any place that has an o ring, condenser, compressor front seal or compressor body. you need a set of a/c gauges, an a/c vacuum pump/recovery machine and special tools to decouple some fittings...


not trying to discourage you but you would be better off taking it to a shop... or take it to a shop for recovery and diagnosis then replace the needed parts and take it back for them to vacuum and charge it..

either way it can get expensive...

You bypassed the electrical stuff, including the pressure switch, and that indicates there's a problem in the refrigeration side. R-134 leaks out through the smallest holes, so the most likely problem is that you've lost your refrigerant. If that's the case, you need to find and fix the leak(s) before refilling it, or it won't stay filled. Another possibility is a bad compressor.

To get your leaks treated and fixed, an AC shop is probably the best choice. They have tracer dye and leak sniffer equipment, and they know what they're looking for and how to fix it well, without introducing new leaks. Once the leaks are fixed they can refill your system with the correct amount of refrigerant.

The pressures and tolerances and chemicals in an AC system make it difficult for a home mechanic to do anything with.

Spott said:

You bypassed the electrical stuff, including the pressure switch, and that indicates there's a problem in the refrigeration side. R-134 leaks out through the smallest holes, so the most likely problem is that you've lost your refrigerant. If that's the case, you need to find and fix the leak(s) before refilling it, or it won't stay filled. Another possibility is a bad compressor.

To get your leaks treated and fixed, an AC shop is probably the best choice. They have tracer dye and leak sniffer equipment, and they know what they're looking for and how to fix it well, without introducing new leaks. Once the leaks are fixed they can refill your system with the correct amount of refrigerant.

The pressures and tolerances and chemicals in an AC system make it difficult for a home mechanic to do anything with.

Click to expand...

yes what he said

Some good advice here. in the original "fix" you shouldn't be able to hook up a bomb can of 134 to anything but the low side... if you had hooked it up to the high side it probably would have blew the bottom of the can out. the ports are two different sizes for that reason.

Running the compressor without refrigerant (and the oil that the refrigerant carries) will trash the compressor. this is why it does not kick on. it is ok to jump it for diagnostic purposes to see if it works (testing the coil or pressure switches) but running it for 15 min is no bueno.

If you *do* want to fix it yourself, you need to take some time and understand exactly how the A/C system works and know why you are doing what you are doing. I did a write up on how to rebuild the entire A/C a few years ago. I spent ~600 or more dollars in parts and tools to do it.

Check it out: this will give you a good overview of what you need to do for each component and what is involved in charging or pulling a vacuum on the system to charge it.

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=144688

First off the leak, and almost every system has one, should have an oily area around where the Freon comes out. Might be easy to find.
BUT I'd start by installing another can of Freon.
Go buy a can or tewo and get one with one of those idiot gauges on it. The ones with the red, yellow and green marks on it.
Then fill it till the compressor stays on and the gauge in in the green. NOW you should have a/c
Next run it till it doesn't work again. That will indicate how bad your leak is. If it lasts all summer that isn't too bad of a leak. If it lasts a few days then you need to take it to a shop.
NEVER try to take Freon parts off and install new ones yourself. When off a small amount of air gets into the system. That air has humidity in it that will freeze in the orfice and stop the system form working. After installing ANY parts a vac needs to be run for a few hours to take out any air.
Big Jim

Also, since the refrigerant is what moves the oil that lubes the compressor through the system if your compressor wasn't bad before it probably is now that you ran it dry for 15 minutes.

I'd plan on needing a compressor, a drier, and orifice, and the lines and cores flushed out.

As a technician. I would advise people to stay away from the refrigerant that has leak seal. This stuff can cause all sorts of problems from plugged orifice tube or damage to an actual re over machine. It is s stop gap measure.
With that said you could try to locate the leak using a black light and glasses. It will show up a bright green under a black light.

Thanks for all the advise guys I pulled the trigger on a can of A/C Pro since I get a great discount being an employee at O'Reilly auto parts and as soon as I started charging the system the compressor kicked on and I now have cold air! It blows pretty cold but I still need to put some more in so I'm buying another can to top it off. Again, thanks for all the help everyone!