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Mine just started blowing hot this week so I assume I need to look at it. If it's low is it ok to leave it that way for the winter and deal with it next spring?
I'm fairly new here and new to Corvette ownership. Your post here and several of BillCurlee's have made owning a vette so much easier and affordable. When in my teens and first married, I turned wrenches out of neccessity to keep the cars running. Though the vette is not my only means of transport, if I had to pay some one to fix every little thing that goes south on the vette or my Harleys, I would not be able to afford them. Over the years I have aquired most all the tools and what I don't have I buy. This post was outstanding! Its funny how people behind the parts counter are so quick to dazzle you with the knowledge they DON'T HAVE. I have the manifold gauge set and was told, "you don't need those any more......you don't need to know what the pressure is on the high side, just screw this can on to the low side and fill it until it reads 35lbs and your done, AC will be working fine." Ah......but I knew better then that!
Thanks again for a great post.
There's nothing I like more than instructions how to do a job with PIX to explain. Makes it easy for us who were not born with wrenches for fingers. Thanks
How do tell if my AC is short on refrigerant? This question keeps coming back so I thought I would offer up my way of checking and correcting AC charge problems. First we need to determine what the correct charge looks like because the pressures vary a great deal depending on engine speed, humidity, ambient temp and some other things. Shown below is a chart I’ve used for years with some success.
Notice that humidity has a strong effect and that all readings are taken at 2000 rpm.
For reference, here is the C5 chart from the shop manual.
Never saw a CLAMP to puncture the side of the can - mine screws onto the top
My can tapper just screws onto the top of a R134a can not puncturing it from the side. Would think that is safer then possibly getting an explosion from poor mating surface in the side. My tapper has a wing nut piercer that punctures the metal after first screwing it onto the top of the can. Where in the world did you get that one?
What's the meaning of the different zones in the first chart? How do we use it?
I mainly posted the temperature and pressure chart at the bottom for comparison to the general chart at the beginning of this thread.
The top chart just tells you which troubleshooting procedure to use to repair a system, depending on which "zone" the high and low side pressures fall...
By the way, the outlet temperatures are with the blower on high, temp. at lowest setting, and inlet air on recirculate. I did not see that mentioned above.
Last edited by TEXHAWK0; Jul 21, 2013 at 12:38 PM.
I mainly posted the temperature and pressure chart at the bottom for comparison to the general chart at the beginning of this thread.
The top chart just tells you which troubleshooting procedure to use to repair a system, depending on which "zone" the high and low side pressures fall...
By the way, the outlet temperatures are with the blower on high, temp. at lowest setting, and inlet air on recirculate. I did not see that mentioned above.
Subscribing. Will come in handy but need to get the gauges first. Thanks for posting.
I'm in the same situation. I've been doing some research trying to find a set of gauges that's neither over the top nor garbage, but not having hands on experience in this field doesn't make the process an easy task
another a/c question... probably again. Lost power to A/C, radio, cigarette lighter. No fuses blown in console panel (passengers door) Heard under hood fuses/relays were near battery but can't find anything. Help please.
Resurrecting this thread again: if you hook up the manifold and get zero pressure on the gauges and no compressor activity--engine off or running--is it a fair assumption that the system is devoid of refrigerant?