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Climate Control Problems (Air Conditioning, Heat) - All Cars

791 messages,  Last post on Aug 12, 2009 at 12:55 PM

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What is this discussion about? Heating / Cooling

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#51 of 791 Recharging needed? by andys120 Jul 07, 2003 (1:53 pm)
Back in the day it was considered neccessary to recharge the a/c every year with a fresh load of Freon. Does anyone know if a R-134a system needs new refrigerant if everything is working fine?   I just realized that I've never added R-134a to either of my cars, a 5 y/o Audi and a 7 y/o Saab. A/c works perfectly on both.
#52 of 791 loams by swschrad Jul 07, 2003 (3:51 pm)
the drain hole for the evaporator case under the hood is on the bottom of the case... size and location vary. a dentist's mirror and penlight are useful in trying to find it.   very ugly and expensive things happen real fast if you just decide to start drilling some more holes, and happen to punch into the coolant line. so don't go there. use a little chunk of coathanger wire or similar to go up no more than a third or a half inch from that hole and tickle the junk out of the way.   if that doesn't clear it up, I would have an a/c professional take the removeable case half off and clean it up.
#53 of 791 andys120 by swschrad Jul 07, 2003 (3:58 pm)
it was never really OK to recharge each year, that meant you had a system leak that should have been fixed, and wasn't. we are paying the price for it by losing R11 and gaining R134a.   I think the systems are a little better now, and we aren't taking as much damage hitting the same or worse shell holes on the road.   the same result will occur if you leak R134a, no cooling. my sister had to convert her car over when a hose flare cracked and the receiver sludged up. they fixed the receiver and converted, but didn't catch the bad flare nut until leaking put the R134 into the air within a week. a charge with red dye found that, and she hasn't had issues in three years.   no issues year to year is how it's supposed to work. I suspect jiggering the controls around and making the a/c work in defrost so it is going year round has also helped. if the refrigerant is not circulating and carrying oil, seals in the compressor dry out and start leaking within weeks. the manuals have always said run it weekly or monthly, but who did in the 60s and 70s if they didn't have to, right? forcing that has made a few tree-huggers upset, but the a/c systems leak less, and that is a good trade for the environment.
#54 of 791 AC recharge question by hello22 Jul 15, 2003 (8:33 am)
I have and Olds and Cadillac that are both 8 years old. The AC is weak in both of them when the temps are over 90 degrees and the car has been parked outside.   I've never had the AC inspected, and was thinking of having them charged and serviced. Sort of an AC tune-up, if there is such a thing. The compressor cycles on and off, which I don't know if that's OK or not. What is an acceptable price for this service at the dealer, or some other place like Firestone?
#55 of 791 by alcan Jul 15, 2003 (9:49 am)
Standard fee around here is 1.4 hours labour to recover, evacuate and recharge the system, plus the cost of refrigerant required. If repairs are required due to a leak, the cost goes up accordingly.
#56 of 791 by Mr_Shiftright HOST Jul 16, 2003 (7:20 am)
We pay about $125-140 for an AC service in California.
#57 of 791 so by nippononly Jul 16, 2003 (9:27 pm)
if you have a freon-based system, is there any way to still get it recharged around here, or are you forced to convert the system to R134a?   I only ask because all my experience suggests strongly that the freon-based systems blow colder, and I have a buddy staring down the barrel of this very question with his old maxima
#58 of 791 I had a car converted for about $400.... by andys120 Jul 17, 2003 (12:01 pm)
I did not notice any dimunition of effectiveness with the new refrigerant.   The $400 I was charged was only a little more than it would have cost to fix the leak and recharge the freon. It is illegal IIRC to recharge a system if it is leaking w/o fixing the leak (not to mention a waste of hideously expensive Freon).   I hope that helps.
#59 of 791 A/C Problem In 96 Acura 3.5RL by bongotoo Jul 17, 2003 (7:45 pm)
Its hot as heck and my A/C stopped working. I understand that the repair people can really milk the money right out of you when doing A/C repairs. Maybe one of you have seen this before and can help me narrow the problem. My A/C works some in the morning when the car itself is not hot. Same thing is true at night or when the car is in a garage and does not get too hot. The A/C works maybe 70 percent of the time. The air gets warm and at the same time the compressor starts to cycle off and on. Simultaniously, the electric fan also goes off and on. One guy supposedly tried to add freon but it wouldn't take it - at least thats what I was told. When the car sits and bakes in the sun, the A/C does not work at all. I am just wondering if the problem might be electronic temperture control related as opposed to a mechanical problem. Has anybody had this problem or have any ideas about what it might be?
#60 of 791 do the by nippononly Jul 17, 2003 (8:02 pm)
CFC-free systems like in your Acura still have a sight glass, the way the old freon-based ones did? If so, that should be your first stop. You should see it bubbling, or else you may need a recharge.

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