Help! A/C system freshly cleaned and charged but not cold
06-12-2016, 12:33 PM
#1
Help! A/C system freshly cleaned and charged but not cold
So i have a new A/C condenser, a new pump, new lines, and new electric dual cooling fans that are wired to the stock PWM controller. A gauge set shows that my system is pressurized correctly, but my A/C is working mildly at very best. It seems to me like the new fans arent coming on when the A/C is turned on and im putting around town in stop and go traffic and the condenser isnt getting the kind of airflow it needs.
Is there a switch or sensor that tells the fans the A/C is on?
Someone please steer me in thre right direction here
Is there a switch or sensor that tells the fans the A/C is on?
Someone please steer me in thre right direction here
06-13-2016, 03:46 PM
#3
Burning Brakes
Sometimes gauges go bad. I've heard Harbor Freight ones do so. You may want to double check. You may want to inspect your evaporator core for debris clogging it up. Air filter? Blend doors not operating properly? Was your system evacuated before you charged it? It could be your PWM controller. There is a YouTube video to check that. Good luck.
06-13-2016, 09:26 PM
#4
Start with the A/C compressor clutch to make sure it working correctly.
Hence car on lift, idling with the A/C on, the AC clutch should be engaging and the inner shaft spinning with the pulley.
If the inner shaft is not spinning with the pulley, unplug the connector on the A/C clutch, and jump the clutch connector with 12 volts while the car is idling. This should engage the clutch and the compressor should be running without the clutch disengaging.
Next, make dam sure that you did not over charge the system. There is a pressure switch in the system and when the system is over charged with Freon, the Freon gets hot and expand to over pressure the system and it will trip the pressure switch to turn the A/C system off (disengage the clutch).
From there, make sure that you don't have the raditor-heat exchanger in front of the radiator air flows blocked.
Laslty, get a Tech II to trouble shoot the system. It will give you the system pressure reading that you can compare against the actual system pressure to make sure that the high pressure switch is not bad, and will tell you when the compressor clutch is being engaged, so you can make sure that the compressor clutch is also being engaged as well. And if the A/C controller is working correctly.
Hence the system is pretty easy, and it just the compressor clutch engaging to cool the coil in the air box, and once the system becomes cool enough, the compressor clutch is disengaged instead (clutch just engages and disengages to control the cooling temp. So you have the heat exchange in the front to cool the Freon back down, the clutch to cycle the compressor on and off, and the pressure switch to make sure that the clutch is disengage long before the Freon pressure builds up the the point that is going to blow the lines/system instead.
From there, then you just have the A/C controller, that is controlling all this. Hence using the cabin temp sensor of when to engage and disengage the clutch to maintain the temp in the car cabin.
One last thing, and shine a light through the dash gauge bezel slots to the left of the start button. You looking for a blue pieces in the cabin temp sensor, to make sure that the sensor did not pop out of the back of the bezel slot, and the cabin readings are coming from the bowels of the dash instead.
Here is the sensor,
And if you look close, you can see it blue piece behind the vents in this photo.
If the button pop out of the back of the bezel socket, her is a quick way to pull the bezel to fish it out of the bowel of the dash it fell, and to reinstall it back in it socket on the back of bezel.
Note, when you snap the bezel the last of the way in the bottom, this is where you can knock the sensor loose out of socket in the bezel.
Hence car on lift, idling with the A/C on, the AC clutch should be engaging and the inner shaft spinning with the pulley.
If the inner shaft is not spinning with the pulley, unplug the connector on the A/C clutch, and jump the clutch connector with 12 volts while the car is idling. This should engage the clutch and the compressor should be running without the clutch disengaging.
Next, make dam sure that you did not over charge the system. There is a pressure switch in the system and when the system is over charged with Freon, the Freon gets hot and expand to over pressure the system and it will trip the pressure switch to turn the A/C system off (disengage the clutch).
From there, make sure that you don't have the raditor-heat exchanger in front of the radiator air flows blocked.
Laslty, get a Tech II to trouble shoot the system. It will give you the system pressure reading that you can compare against the actual system pressure to make sure that the high pressure switch is not bad, and will tell you when the compressor clutch is being engaged, so you can make sure that the compressor clutch is also being engaged as well. And if the A/C controller is working correctly.
Hence the system is pretty easy, and it just the compressor clutch engaging to cool the coil in the air box, and once the system becomes cool enough, the compressor clutch is disengaged instead (clutch just engages and disengages to control the cooling temp. So you have the heat exchange in the front to cool the Freon back down, the clutch to cycle the compressor on and off, and the pressure switch to make sure that the clutch is disengage long before the Freon pressure builds up the the point that is going to blow the lines/system instead.
From there, then you just have the A/C controller, that is controlling all this. Hence using the cabin temp sensor of when to engage and disengage the clutch to maintain the temp in the car cabin.
One last thing, and shine a light through the dash gauge bezel slots to the left of the start button. You looking for a blue pieces in the cabin temp sensor, to make sure that the sensor did not pop out of the back of the bezel slot, and the cabin readings are coming from the bowels of the dash instead.
Here is the sensor,
And if you look close, you can see it blue piece behind the vents in this photo.
If the button pop out of the back of the bezel socket, her is a quick way to pull the bezel to fish it out of the bowel of the dash it fell, and to reinstall it back in it socket on the back of bezel.
Note, when you snap the bezel the last of the way in the bottom, this is where you can knock the sensor loose out of socket in the bezel.
Last edited by Dano523; 06-13-2016 at 09:35 PM.
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Nick_04k (06-13-2016)