AC Recharge

[Parentnoia]

Alright, havent had AC for awhile. I have a family road trip coming up at the end of next month and we are not about the make the 3 hour trip with the windows down, so I decided to drop $35 on that AC PRO stuff you see all over TV and stuff. I've seen a lot of people buy it and never had any of them come back and tell me it was crap.

When I first hooked it up, 0 pressure. Figure it's empty since I didnt know that my AC was constantly running, fan or not.

Followed all the instructions and got the clutch to engage, but it kicked right back off. Dumped the entire can of R134a into it, and the clutch stayed on, until the can was empty. Now it cycles on and off. Decent pressure when it's off, drops when it kicks on, and goes back up when it kicks off. I figure that's because lack of pressure when it kicks on and loses pressure. Now, it is a consistent pressure. It does seem to be losing pressure while on or off. Just from one to the other.

Also, according to vehicle specs, if I was empty on R134a, then having put the full can in put me at around 1/3 capacity. 20oz can of 64oz capacity.

Now, should I buy another can, or take it some where. I honestly dont think it's leaking, just I managed to run it fairly dry.

[justin0943]

what kind of car you have and you need more than one can you can go to walmart $10 for 20oz which is 1lb a car needs 2-3lb in it, it should be under the hood some where that will tell you how many lbs it takes put more in it so itll stay on constant an then you can tell if you have a leak if it takes months to leak out like mine did just buy Interdynamics - A/C Leak Sealer its a 3oz can but you need to buy 3 of the recharge can so you can keep it running and it should seal it if its not a bad leak.but need more info to make sure.

[Jessica]

If it leaks you probably should have put a vacuum pump on it first, fixed the leak, then maybe some oil and then freon. As far as how much freon it takes, like just said, should be on a label under hood or in your manual.

[audiofanaticz]

What duck said,

Also the a/c clutch does not stay on 24/7 when you have the a/c on, it runs for a little while, then turns off, runs for a little while then turns off. Length it says on depends on the vehicle, but it is normal for it to cycle on/off.

[Parentnoia]

Alright, so I left it alone overnight, and when I got into this afternoon and turned the AC on, the clutch didnt kick in... so I guess I have a decent sized leak. I'll check the pressure when I get off work tonight, but I may still take it to a shop tomorrow. About how much am I looking at?

[killallblue]

You know if it was at 0 you have to pull a vacuum on the system before you refill

[justin0943]

You know if it was at 0 you have to pull a vacuum on the system before you refill

take it to the shop you have a major leak and also mine leak out in 2-3 months I bought the leak seal put 2 1/2 can been cold ever since about 1yr now without the vacuum been pull.

[justin0943]

as for the price it depends where its leaking could be a senser leaken or the lines or Condenser those are on the cheaper side, now if its the Evaporator Core look at spending $$$$$ because have to take the dash out to replace that.

[Nico Shull]

Don't use anything you buy off TV. It's usually an inferior product and not genuine r134a refrigerant. Take it to a qualified shop to do proper diagnostics on the a/c system. Costs more, but then it's HOPEFULLY done right.

[Brandonbkd]

Also don't use ANY refrigerant with all those oil and additives in it because when you take it to get a whole system recharge at a shop, they'll ask you if you have used stuff with additives in it and if it's yes, they'll refuse to do it. My brother works at a shop here and he said the additives with ruin their shops recharger.