A/C Issue - Wont recharge
Discussion
Interesting one - my local garage tried to do a recharge on the a/c, everything looked good, vacuum fine, holding pressure, 110g came out but no matter what only 110g would go back in. Garage only seen it once before and that's not resolved yet. Obviously I don't want the parts cannon to come out. Anybody any experience of such a thing?
What was wrong with the a/c before the job?
What is the given capacity - refrigerant & oil - of the system on that vehicle?
You also say:
What is the given capacity - refrigerant & oil - of the system on that vehicle?
You also say:
Stu78 said:
Garage only seen it once before and that's not resolved yet.
Is this the same issue or another problem with that garage?Edited by paintman on Thursday 13th June 13:26
No visible damage. I've only had the car a few weeks. Air con would get cold but took a while which in my experience usually points to low refrigerant. I had the tyre people do a fill whilst it was in getting tyres but the result was much of an improvement so did charge, they couldn't say what the problem was. That's when I've taken it to a garage that I know works on A/C.
The system should have 525g refrigerant and 140cm3 of oil according to the workshop manual. The garage is having the same issue with another car, it's coincidence it's in the same week, almost identical problem. Only thing I've found on the interweb is a Merc US forum, an owner has the same symptoms and the suggestions are a stuffed expansion valve, unfortunately the OP never returned to conclude the thread.
The system should have 525g refrigerant and 140cm3 of oil according to the workshop manual. The garage is having the same issue with another car, it's coincidence it's in the same week, almost identical problem. Only thing I've found on the interweb is a Merc US forum, an owner has the same symptoms and the suggestions are a stuffed expansion valve, unfortunately the OP never returned to conclude the thread.
Stu78 said:
Will the compressor engage if it's too low on cold juice? the low pressure switch is definitely engaging as it's throwing a code. I don't know if he's tried bypassing the switch. Will ask.
It's funny that you ask this question on a Honda. Here's an interesting story about a 2011 Honda Accord:A friend of mine stopped by a couple of weeks ago as she needed me to evacuate her a/c system and charge it with R134a. Her ex BF was working on it and determined that there was a leak in the low side fitting so he removed the shraider valve and had her drive to my house. When she pulled up , i noticed a huge sucking noise as she shut the engine off which indicated that the compressor was still running.
I replaced the valve, pulled a vac and charged the A/C (also added oil given that system was open). Everything was blowing cold and she was happy. A week later, she called and said her a/c stopped working. I assumed that the system leaked out again and told her that I would recommend that she takes it to a friend of mine who does this for a living and would have more time to diagnose as I did not want to get into doing a compressor, condenser, expansion valve etc.
She also asked if he could do an alternator (another ex BF diagnosis) as her battery was running flat. I called my buddy who's a mechanic and he said that he suspects that it's the a/c relay which he's seen cause the problem where the compressor will run continuously until the system freezes up and will also run a battery flat. Last weekend he swapped the relay and solved both problems.
Moral of the story:
1) Don't let your ex screw with your car. there's a reason that he's your ex and it's not because he was doing everything right
2) Buy gauges and check pressure before you decide that you're low on Freon. Gauges can help you diagnose just about everything wrong with your A/C system
Just to update the thread: Last time I spoke to the garage the bloke who did my car wasn't convinced his machine was performing so he gave me a number of a specialist who works mainly in the trade, so call made and I arranged to take it to his place Saturday afternoon. Anyway, in what seemed like a matter of minutes he declared nothing obviously wrong. He took out 150g, put back in 530g, said everything reads fine on the gauges, had a good look around with his UV torch - no leaks, compressor fine, fans fine, cold pipe getting cold etc etc. However after a few minutes it started getting warm again so he did a scan and found a code for 'low pressure requirements not met', or something like that. To cut a long story short, it took a few cycles of turning the air con on and off and clearing the code that kept coming back, eventually the temp stayed cold and the code didn't reappear. He's thinking the pressure switch was sticking probably due to the previous owner either running with minimal gas or not using the air con at all.
All appears to be okay but I'm not convinced the of the longevity of that pressure switch, I'm thinking it might be prudent just to change it. Not sure?
All appears to be okay but I'm not convinced the of the longevity of that pressure switch, I'm thinking it might be prudent just to change it. Not sure?
E-bmw said:
It could be a good idea to plan for it, but if you leave your ac on for the summer you may find the oil in the refrigerant gets into the switch & it stays good.
I tend to leave mine on & just change the temperature setting as required.
Don't forget a regass will be required to fit it.
I always leave mine on but I suspect previous owner didn't or it was low on gas. Hopefully now it's being lubricated it behaves. Thankfully the pressure sensor is on a schrader valve so it can be done without removing the gas which potentially means I could do so long as it's reasonable access - not checked yet.I tend to leave mine on & just change the temperature setting as required.
Don't forget a regass will be required to fit it.
Edit - just had a nosey, really needs to be on a ramp and in from underneath.
Edited by Stu78 on Monday 1st July 20:56
Gassing Station | Home Mechanics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff