My AC is low on freon and I picked up a 10oz can of R-134 at Walmart. The can had it's own hose and when I went to try and refill it, the Diameter of the AC orfice next to the coolant reservoir was the same diameter as the hose orfice. How do I refill my C5 with freon? what went wrong?

 

There are two fittings to the A/C.. One is the high pressure side and the other is the low side.. the two connectors are different sizes and you can/hose will only fit on the correct
size connector.. Look around there's another fitting on the car..

Good luck...

 

Look over by the battery. That's the low side.
You might want to make sure you don't have another issue before adding refrigerant. If you add it and don't need it, it will make the system less efficient and possibly worse (blowing out the compressor seals). Pressure gauges are in order as well as cleaning out the condenser thoroughly.

 

You better read up on the subject of automotive air-conditioning systems. Learn what the components are and how they function within the system. It is easier to find the proper information in this day and age of the computer.

It really is a basically simple system that is easy to understand. HOWEVER, if you’re going to do any servicing of the system you MUST understand what you are doing.

Freon is always introduced into the LOW SIDE of the system. If the system is empty, (air in the system); a vacuum must be applied to the system BEFORE installing the Freon. Moisture is removed in the vacuum process.

Failure to remove all of the moisture will cause massive damage to the system components from corrosion. Moisture mixed with Freon results in a corrosive compound.

First and foremost you MUST wear safety glasses to protect your eyes. Freon spray will freeze the skin (and eyes) upon contact. Blindness is a real possibility if Freon is sprayed into the eye.

A manifold pressure gauge set is also a good idea if you want to do the job right.

 

Come on bro, do a little research before attempting something like this. Have you confirmed the system is working as advertised? At least get a procedure for servicing. Also, they do sell R-134 cans with a gauge on them.

 

Good info and recommendations above!!!!

Over time,, Freon can and will escape the system. If your system is truly LOW and NOT empty, toping it off with the CORRECT amount of R-134 is a proper procedure. Like timemender & BLOWNBLUEZO6 stated, getting that pressure CORRECT is critical. Walmart sells a refill can that has OIL and R-134 in the same can. It also has a pressure gage on the hose. I always add oil with my refrigerant top offs. Oil also escapes as coolant leaks out. Small amounts of extra oil is stored in the receiver dryer canister. Its better to have a "LITTLE extra than NOT ENOUGH!

Your AC System's "CORRECT operating pressure has to be calculated using a chart in the service manual. The procedure for determining that correct pressure consists of setting up the vehicle in the proper AC configuration. HVAC Fan on HIGH in the recirc mode, both doors open, proper engine RPM, and being able to know what the exact outside temp,& humidity are. You will also need to monitor what the evaporator outlet temp is by sampling the air temp in the center vent opening.

Once you have all that correct parameters and know the environmental conditions, the chart will tell you what LOW and HIGH side pressures you should have for a correct charge. Monitoring the LOW and HIGH side pressures is an important step in determining how the system as a whole is functioning. If you have a clogged orfice restrictor, bad compressor, malfunctioning bypass valve etc.... seeing both of those pressures will help determine what is wrong with the system.

When you FILL the system via the LOW side or SUCTION SIDE of the compressor, you MUST have the can in the UP-RIGHT position ONLY to allow the can to emit a GAS R-134.
If you turn it UP-SIDE-DOWN,,,,,,you will inject LIQUID R-134 into the gas side of the compressor and destroy it.
You will fine out that it takes a while for the R-134 in the can to boil off and enter the system. To speed up the process, you can dunk the can in warm water. As the can is adding R-134 in the system, the gage reading is inaccurate. You have to SHUT the valve on the can (stop adding r-134) and then read the LOW side system pressure. If its LOW, them continue to add and check until the pressures are correct.

You also need to PURGE the air out of the hose and shrader valve before you fully connect it to the system. Having air, moisture and non condensables in the system is BAD!!!!!!! Having moisture in the system produces an acid and it will etch tiny pin holes in the evaporator and condenser tubes and that my friend is NOT GOOD. READ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ out of pocket.

Hope this gets you on the right track!

BC

 

I didn't know it was this delicate to add a little 10z can of refrigerant to the AC system.

 

Its really not! Once you understand the system and how it works, its sort of easy. I have NEVER had any professional training in AC & R Service and repair.

When I was young and Poor I had an 84 Chevy Cavalier Station Wagon as our family car. The AC compressor went out and I didn't want to pay an arm and leg for some rip off AC & R shop down in Charleston SC to fix it.
I went to the local library and checked out 5-6 books on theory and repair and studied my *** off. After I had all the theory down, I just put it to practice. Purchased a compressor, new receiver dryer, Flush, O rings, orifice tube, Refrigerant oil and R-12.

I purchased all my special tools second hand and saved a lot of cash.

The repair went flawlessly and when I was done, it would freeze the ***** off a brass monkey!

BC

 

In days gone by, canon ***** were stacked in a tripod on a base called a monkey. The monkey was made of brass. When it got cold the brass contracted faster then the steel canon ***** and the ***** would fall off. Thus the saying, cold enough to freeze the ***** off a brass monkey. I kid you not!

 

 

About that Origin

Some references say that the brass triangles that supported stacks of iron cannon-***** on sailing ships were called monkeys and that in cold weather the metal contracted, causing the ***** to fall off. The derivation of this phrase is difficult enough to determine without such tosh, so let's get that oft-repeated story out of the way first:

Cartoons of pirate ships always come complete with the usual icons - parrots, peg legs and pyramids of cannon-*****. That's artistic license rather than historical fact. The Royal Navy records that, on their ships at least, cannon-***** were stored in planks with circular holes cut into them - not stacked in pyramids. These planks were known as 'shot garlands', not monkeys, and they date back to at least 1769, when they were first referred to in print.

On dry land, the obvious way to store cannon-***** seems to be by stacking them. On board ship it's a different matter. A little geometry shows that a pyramid of ***** will topple over if the base is tilted by more than 30 degrees. This tilting, not to mention any sudden jolting, would have been commonplace on sailing ships. It just isn't plausible that cannon-***** were stacked this way.

For those wanting a bit more detail, here's the science bit. The coefficient of expansion of brass is 0.000019; that of iron is 0.000012. If the base of the stack were one metre long, the drop in temperature needed to make the 'monkey' shrink relative to the ***** by just one millimetre, would be around 100 degrees Celsius. Such a small shrinkage wouldn't have had the slightest effect. In any case, in weather like that, the sailors would probably have better things to think about than coining new phrases.

 

My advice if you are not sure what you are doing pay the extra money and have it checked out by someone who know refrigeration in autos you can get hurt or do more damage to the system than you already have. auto ac run high presures and one needs to be very careful working on them.