so my car is a 1999 with 145k on it. the a/c blows pretty well but it comes out hot or if the weather is cold it blows colder. I need to diagnose my problem. Ive been looking but i cant find a write on this. its either replace the condenser or uneven air flow through the different vents but my blows even and it blows pretty good its just hot. I wanna say its just needs a recharge but how do i determind it?

 

Go HERE and pull the codes from your car. Then clear them all. Especially the HVAC section because that will do a reset on your A/C system. See what codes re-appear, and go from there.

If all it does is blow air from outside, it's a good chance you have work to do on the blend doors.

 

so update i recharged the system. it blew cold for a bit but i go up under the car and i could hear it leak so i guess i have to diagnose the leak at first it sounded like it was coming from the middle of the radiator or the fans. i dont think it was coming from the radiator.

I pulled the codes the other day the only code i had was a tire sensors cause i dont have them on there.

as far as finding the leak what do i do!?

 

Sure sounds like you have a leak in your condensor.If you can hear it,it shouldnt be very hard to find.

 

All you need to do is spray down EVERYTHING under the engine. Get ALL the grime off you can. basically you want a clean start ok..Now, get some LEAK DETECTOR. You put that in your system and what it does is Dye the leaking part or parts, hose, whatever.. You wear glass's that will make the dye stand out like a sore thumb. Once you do that you can find your leak and start from there. I am surprised that if you took it somewhere the guys doing the repair did not notify you of the leak and put leak detector in there to begin with.

With the AC you actually have to put a vac. on the system BEFORE you can put the charge in there. Otherwise you will have air and water and other trash in there..All of which will destroy the parts of your ac system. Do NOT try the do it yourself approach unless you have a VAC pump that will evac the line's. otherwise all your doing is wasteing money.

BTW, the guy doing the charge should have known there was a leak when the system would not hold a vac. There's no way I know of that the system could have a leak and still hold a vac. Otherwise he would have been able to tel easily when the gauge's would not stay put. Good luck and sorry you wasted the money you already used to try her out.

 

Easiest is, get the dye at the store. You can get it either in a bottle you pour in (must open the system), or get it included with a can of refrigerant. Stick that in, then use a blacklight (UV) and the dye will show up as a bright light under that UV flashlight. Find dye, you've found the leak.

Either way, your system will need purged when you are done replacing parts.

 

I thought he was doing this DIY.

 

You may be right. He said "I" so I figure you are.


OP, its VERY dangerous to charge or recharge a system without a set of gauges. One on the high side, one for the low side. They come as a pair and are not too expensive. Do NOT trust that little wanna be gauge on the side of most recharge bottle's. those are a joke and NOT safe at all. I hate to say it as i LOVE doing stuff myself and only resprt to a dealer if I must. BUT with the AC system being under such high pressure and not being something to learn over the net in a few hours of reading, i would take it somewhere. Now, if they say the condensor or whatever is bad yeah..you can change that out yourself. And save some cash!! but when it comes to actually filling the system, I would not do it without gauges. That being said buying gauge's will cost more than a AC fill most likely anyway buddy.

 

Gauges are on sale right now at Harbor Freight for $55. You'll need to get a can tap to go with them for filling, they don't come with it.

I just did 2 episodes of having someone else charge my system and not find the problems. For what I paid them I could have had every tool for A/C save but a recovery system. I finally went and bought all the stuff, pump, gauges, etc. Now I am no longer married to a service shop for my A/C work.

I agree though, without the tools, I'd take it to someone who has em.