Ac charging
01-31-2015, 02:24 AM
#1
Ac charging
Hey guyz have a 92 C4 and am needing to recharge the AC, Ive seen DIY product called "ARCTIC FREEZE" also seen the video , question is
is their anything I need to know before starting the process? thanx
is their anything I need to know before starting the process? thanx
01-31-2015, 09:05 AM
#2
Team Owner
IMHO, if you are not familiar with A/C systems and the procedures to evacuate the system and install new refrigerant, then consider having a shop do the work. Most shops can easily do either an R12 replacement or upgrade your system to R134a.
Off the shelf refrigerants may work but have you diagnosed why the system lost the charge in the first place? Are there any other problems with the system? Bad compressor, bad clutch, leaking lines, seals, etc? Is the system completely empty now? R12 oil and R132a oil are different. Same with the valves; the two valves (high pressure and low pressure) are different so that the wrong charge hoses can't be used.
Knowing what little I do about A/C systems, I don't think I would take a chance in simply filling a system with this stuff.
Off the shelf refrigerants may work but have you diagnosed why the system lost the charge in the first place? Are there any other problems with the system? Bad compressor, bad clutch, leaking lines, seals, etc? Is the system completely empty now? R12 oil and R132a oil are different. Same with the valves; the two valves (high pressure and low pressure) are different so that the wrong charge hoses can't be used.
Knowing what little I do about A/C systems, I don't think I would take a chance in simply filling a system with this stuff.
01-31-2015, 09:30 AM
#3
The first problem you're going to have is how to connect it to a '92. Once you get it connected and find pressure what do you do? add this stuff to the r12 thats already in it? No pressure? well that might work because they put so many chemicals in that can, like chemical driers to get rid of moisture, acid neutralizer to get rid of acid that moisture will cause, etc, etc.
It'll work. I'm assuming it blows warm air now?
The proper procedure to fix an ac system thats blowing warm air is to verify why. Low charge is common so we'll assume thats the problem.
The proper fix at this point is flush the entire system, replace all o-rings and seals, orifice tube, accumulator/drier, recharge with oil, evacuate (run a vacuum pump on it), add new refrigerant by weight (not pressure as shown in the video).
So you can add this stuff and see what happens, if it doesn't work the proper fix is going to be the same so the only money/time wasted is what you put into it with this stuff.
I do ac and refrigeration for a living, whenever I tell a customer their refrigerant is low I cringe when the say 'oh thats great, at least it's an easy fix' (or something similiar).
It's not an easy fix. I often tell them that the refrigerant is not a consumable thing, it only goes low when theres a leak. Sometimes I use the analogy of a tire going flat.
Say you're driving down the road and you get a flat tire, NO ONE looks at that and says well we just need to put air in it and we're good to go.
But for some odd reason people think thats how refrigerant in a/c systems work.
It'll work. I'm assuming it blows warm air now?
The proper procedure to fix an ac system thats blowing warm air is to verify why. Low charge is common so we'll assume thats the problem.
The proper fix at this point is flush the entire system, replace all o-rings and seals, orifice tube, accumulator/drier, recharge with oil, evacuate (run a vacuum pump on it), add new refrigerant by weight (not pressure as shown in the video).
So you can add this stuff and see what happens, if it doesn't work the proper fix is going to be the same so the only money/time wasted is what you put into it with this stuff.
I do ac and refrigeration for a living, whenever I tell a customer their refrigerant is low I cringe when the say 'oh thats great, at least it's an easy fix' (or something similiar).
It's not an easy fix. I often tell them that the refrigerant is not a consumable thing, it only goes low when theres a leak. Sometimes I use the analogy of a tire going flat.
Say you're driving down the road and you get a flat tire, NO ONE looks at that and says well we just need to put air in it and we're good to go.
But for some odd reason people think thats how refrigerant in a/c systems work.
01-31-2015, 01:13 PM
#4
The first problem you're going to have is how to connect it to a '92. Once you get it connected and find pressure what do you do? add this stuff to the r12 thats already in it? No pressure? well that might work because they put so many chemicals in that can, like chemical driers to get rid of moisture, acid neutralizer to get rid of acid that moisture will cause, etc, etc.
It'll work. I'm assuming it blows warm air now?
The proper procedure to fix an ac system thats blowing warm air is to verify why. Low charge is common so we'll assume thats the problem.
The proper fix at this point is flush the entire system, replace all o-rings and seals, orifice tube, accumulator/drier, recharge with oil, evacuate (run a vacuum pump on it), add new refrigerant by weight (not pressure as shown in the video).
So you can add this stuff and see what happens, if it doesn't work the proper fix is going to be the same so the only money/time wasted is what you put into it with this stuff.
I do ac and refrigeration for a living, whenever I tell a customer their refrigerant is low I cringe when the say 'oh thats great, at least it's an easy fix' (or something similiar).
It's not an easy fix. I often tell them that the refrigerant is not a consumable thing, it only goes low when theres a leak. Sometimes I use the analogy of a tire going flat.
Say you're driving down the road and you get a flat tire, NO ONE looks at that and says well we just need to put air in it and we're good to go.
But for some odd reason people think thats how refrigerant in a/c systems work.
It'll work. I'm assuming it blows warm air now?
The proper procedure to fix an ac system thats blowing warm air is to verify why. Low charge is common so we'll assume thats the problem.
The proper fix at this point is flush the entire system, replace all o-rings and seals, orifice tube, accumulator/drier, recharge with oil, evacuate (run a vacuum pump on it), add new refrigerant by weight (not pressure as shown in the video).
So you can add this stuff and see what happens, if it doesn't work the proper fix is going to be the same so the only money/time wasted is what you put into it with this stuff.
I do ac and refrigeration for a living, whenever I tell a customer their refrigerant is low I cringe when the say 'oh thats great, at least it's an easy fix' (or something similiar).
It's not an easy fix. I often tell them that the refrigerant is not a consumable thing, it only goes low when theres a leak. Sometimes I use the analogy of a tire going flat.
Say you're driving down the road and you get a flat tire, NO ONE looks at that and says well we just need to put air in it and we're good to go.
But for some odd reason people think thats how refrigerant in a/c systems work.
good advice and thanx, so if it does only need a charge how much are they getting for that these days?
01-31-2015, 03:46 PM
#5
I would recommend letting someone get their hands on it for a proper repair, but like I said before that stuff in a can might work. If it leaks out the proper repair didn't change. It's a gamble.
I don't always listen to my own advice. My '93 was 100% empty when I got it. I pulled a vacuum in on it and put straight r12 in it. It's been 2 months and it still works, but the last time I was under the car I did see some oil drips on the bottom of the compressor, thats a sign that it's leaking refrigerant.
01-31-2015, 11:59 PM
#6
Burning Brakes
It's always a tradeoff - personally if I could get can of refrigerant for $25 (or whatever) that would run my AC for a summer at a time, I'd probably go for it. The cost of getting someone to fix (or replace) the compressor or something of that nature would likely be astronomical...
02-01-2015, 01:44 AM
#7
It's always a tradeoff - personally if I could get can of refrigerant for $25 (or whatever) that would run my AC for a summer at a time, I'd probably go for it. The cost of getting someone to fix (or replace) the compressor or something of that nature would likely be astronomical...
went to a local autovalue, they had this stuff that came in a kit with a pressure guage. the kit says it's supposed to be compatible with anything. so in it went. was $40 and lasted for 6 months so far. easy.
02-01-2015, 01:39 PM
#8
So my 87 was not blowing cold. i could hear the compressor cycling.
went to a local autovalue, they had this stuff that came in a kit with a pressure guage. the kit says it's supposed to be compatible with anything. so in it went. was $40 and lasted for 6 months so far. easy.
went to a local autovalue, they had this stuff that came in a kit with a pressure guage. the kit says it's supposed to be compatible with anything. so in it went. was $40 and lasted for 6 months so far. easy.