Hey all, my A/C hasn't worked since I got the car and was told it had a leak in the condenser. I put a new condenser in and tried to charge the system, the compressor wouldn't kick on when I hooked a bottle up to the system so I jumped the wires on the compressor to get it to kick in and charge. I put a couple of bottles in and I have a little over 30 lbs of 134a in it now but the compressor still won't kick on. My climate control is still flashing trouble code 09 still even though it should have enough coolant in it. Is there a sensor somewhere that tells the system when it's low on coolant so as to not click on the compressor clutch?

 

suscribing. I'm having a similar problem.

 

i'm hoping you meant 3lbs of 134 because 30 is a rediculous amount

 

Well, I put in 2 cans of 134a but on the gauge I have it's reading close to 30lbs of pressure to clarify things.

 

You need to get rid of the code 09. Disconnect the negative battery cable. Wait a couple of seconds and reconnect it.

 

This is a nice write up on the procedure.

Depends on the gas - the fill is listed on the Blower Motor Housing - most R12 Vettes are 2.25 lbs (3 12 ounce cans) which should be reduced by about 20% if you're switching to R134 - so 2 cans of R134 and a tad of another should be about right. www.ackits.com has a chart where you can get the factory fill specs.

The oil charge is 8 ozs. Add it separately if you want long life. Drain whatever came in the new compressor and dump in 4 ozs. Turn the shaft a dozen or so times in one direction and then in the other. Drain and repeat; then put in 4 ozs. of fresh oil. Put the other 4 ozs in a new accumulator. That will ensure a good supply of oil when you start it up. (Start it up without any oil and your new compressor will immediately seize.) Pull a vacuum and let that vacuum pull in the 1st can (or as much as it will suck out of it). Jump the low pressure switch harness with a paperclip, start the engine and prop the throttle so that it's running at about 1500 rpms, get the main fan running (which on the '84 I believe it does once a/c is commanded) and turn the a/c controls to max. Let the system pull in the balance of the charge monitoring the high side until the pressure is about 2.2 to 2.5 times the temperature of the air across the condensor (so if it's 80 degrees at the condensor, you want to think about stopping once you see 175 to 200 psi on your high side gage. And with a bottom feeder like the Vette, even with main fan running - condensor air temp is usually about 10 degrees hotter than ambient).

When you're done filling it up, plug in the low pressure switch harness and with the a/c still on max, disconnect the blower motor. The low side will drop and the low pressure switch should open cutting power to the compressor clutch. Note that pressure. For R12, it should be 25 psi; for R134 22.5 psi. There is an adjustment screw between the low pressure switch terminals. Turning it clockwise will raise the cutoff threshold; counterclockwise will reduce it. Most need no more than 1/2to a full turn in one direction or the other to get it right, but you may have to unplug the harness, turn the screw a bit and then plug it back in a couple of times to get it right.

 

Well, this was strange. I disconnected the negative battery cable for a few minutes and then hooked it back up, got in and started it and air was working right away. After about 30 seconds though it went warm again. Shut the car off and waited a few seconds, started it again, same thing but lasted a little longer before it went warm again. Did this a few more times and each time the air would last a little longer until cutting out, now it is fully working and blowing ice cold air. Anyone have any ideas why it would've taken that to get it going?

 

When you disconnected and reconnected the battery cable, the AC programmer went through a calibration process that takes about a minute. It moves the blend door fully open and closed to learn it's position. It appears when the blower motor comes on, the calibration is done.

If you would of just turned the ignition key on, and not started the engine, after about 15 seconds you would of heard the blend door motor running for about 15 seconds then after another 15 seconds the blower motor comes on.

 

mine did something similar. After replacing the battery because it was dead, the air blew cold for a bit and then quit.

next time I started the car then it wasn't working again.

 

man, I disconnected the battery, and then switched it to the ignition position once I reconnected the power after a few minutes. It went cold and then went warm again. The driver side tube of the ac compressor was cold and the tube going into it was warm.

I did this 3 or 4 times and got the same result. What are common things to cause this to error out? Maybe I have a short somewhere. I have my manual with the wiring scematic, but I don't know where all the wires run, so it may be a pain. Is there a central place to test for a short?