redsly

Ok, I added some r-134a to my Air Conditioner today...

Lately it seems as if my A/C takes a while to get cool, so I went to AutoZone and bought one of those "All you need in one can" r-134a cans that actually came with a pressure gauge and trigger for recharging. Now that that is done, the cars idle goes up and down when the A/C clutch kicks on. Not only that, but it makes a low toned squealing sound (nothing like belts). I guess I want to know if anyone else has had this problem... I know that I should have just waited until I got my service done in a few weeks and had Acura do it, but it gets cold and that would be a waste for the price they would charge me. If anyone has had a problem like this, please let me know what you did to remedy it.

I was wondering if I just didn't use the A/C and went to the dealership to have it drained and recharged, would that work fine.



Oh, by the way... replaced the tranny at 86k because of gears slipping and now I am on my third tranny at 99k because of the differential whining...
I had 1050 mi left on warranty and got the tranny right before expiring!!!

Allout

What did the pressure gauge show before and after? Did the can come with instructions on what pressures you were looking to achieve - pressure should also be related to temperature.

TRILIGHT

Most cars I've had tend to fall around 30-50psi on the low pressure side when the AC is running. When it is not running and has had time to equalize, the pressure is much higher (again, on the low pressure connection) falling around 90-100psi. You can give and take a small bit based on outside temp as Allout said but it should still be quite close to those numbers. Remember that overcharging the system will make it cool just as poorly as not having enough freon at all.

redsly

The can said htat the (I'm not exactly sure this second) pressure should be between 25 and 40 psi (we'll call this the blue zone). When I attached the guage, it was at the very bottom edge of the "blue zone" so I charged it since it was at the minimum mark and only went to the half way point (if that). I am just confused if I should bother bringing it to Acura since there is a sticker saying to use 'HFR-134a' (Honda's brand - not sure if I used the right letters) only. I didn't think it would have any problems, but didn't notice that sticker until after I already filled it.
Well, gotta drop the kid off.
Thank You

TRILIGHT

That's BS. Honda doesn't make refrigerant. 134a is 134a. About the only thing I might think would be a problem would be if you used the kind that comes with the oil in it. Too much oil will clog the expansion valve and then you have to replace it because not even flushing will work. Ask me how I know. hehe

redsly

Uh-Oh...
This refrigerantsaid it had "everything that you need"... so in other words, I believe it did have the lubricating oil in it.

This morning when I got in my car and drove it around 35 miles, the A/C was Ice Cold, so I thought it was working fine since it didn't fluctuate the idle...
At least I thought it was fine...
So a few hours later when I was leaving and it was around 90 or so degrees, it was doing the same exact thing again.
I did realize today that I brought the PSI (with max a/c on and on the low pressure line) to 35 PSI. When I first started the recharge, it had 25 PSI... I am wondering if there is to much pressure in the system now. The pressure gauge that came with the kit said that 25-45 was goo PSI. I will take some out tomorrow to see if that fixes it. I hope that I didn't mess it up like TRILIGHT makes it sound as if he did.
When I am driving you can actually feel the compressor kick in and make the car slow down. It only happens for a few seconds and the A/C doesn't get cold unless you are going at a constant speed (in other words, when your revs are higher than at idle). I hope I didn't phuck u my system, that would be a waste of money two times.

I was looking at hte Pioneer Avic z2, anyone have that system? Has a hard drive to rip cd's to and a dvd rom for navi as well as voice controls and a search function through voice commands...
Well, it seems well worth the $2250 (which Circuit City has a sale right now for $2000) to me.
Any help is always greatlyappreciated.
Thanks

TRILIGHT

Nah, I don't think you screwed it up. At least, not from my own experience. I doubt that, once clogged, the expansion valve would not work and then work again. If you say it was ice cold, it is definitely working at some point! I don't have a manual to tell you how to test but it sounds a lot like maybe the compressor is not staying engaged. Check your condenser coils and make sure they aren't gunked up or something.

I would definitely try to have someone you trust do an AC check on your system. Its been my experience that compressors usually don't go out as often as people are made to believe. It's usually something else going wrong. You could have someplace check for leaks, do a deep evac on the system, and refill. Have them check the compressor clutch while (or before!) they're at it. I wouldn't do this at the dealership. They will rape you! Try to find a shadetree type mechanic somewhere (shadetree, not shady! hehe ). They will be more honest with you about what you really need. Most places will straight up tell you they have to replace everything in the system including the compressor. Good luck!

PS. Just so you have a frame of reference, I just had someone do pretty much this same service on my Stealth that was not cooling. To do the above diagnoses and fix leaks and fill ran about $180. Not pocket change necessarily but not the $1000+ a new AC system would have cost either! YMMV

BigLizard

Besides checking the pressure system. Get a point inspection done on it too. Check anything else that could potentially be out of sync. Cars tend to do wierd things after small services like that.

Allout

Sounds like the system is over charged. With too much freon in the system, the compressor will kick out if the high pressure side gets too high. As the temp rises, the pressures rise. That's why it works when it's cool and stops when it gets warmer.

redsly

Ok, Yesterday afternoon I checked the pressure on the system before starting the engine and it read approx 99-100 psi. So I left the gauge on it and started the car with the A/C settings on max cooling. The gauge read 45 psi at first and started to descend slowly afterwards. It stopped at about 40 psi, and I decided that when I began the recharged it still did cool and was only at 25 psi, that I would just lower the refrigerant pressure.
Afterwards, I drove the car for about a total of 200+ miles (with some breaks in between obviously.
Seems to have fixed the problem all together, so I suggest that if anyone else has this problem, just check the pressure before paying big money for nothing.

I still don't know the exact pressure that the system is called for, if anyone does, please let me know!
Thank You all...

Allout

There is not an exact pressure. The pressure varies based upon several factors (i.e. - humidity, intake temperature, duct temperature). Helms has a chart to determine if your pressure is within service limits but you've got to know some of the variables. Pressure will be higher on a hotter day or when the internal temp in the car is higher as an example.

Glad it's working better for you.

TRILIGHT

Normal. Like I mentioned...

All Mine

My suggestion would have been too much pressure. But that was covered already.

m733l

iTrader: (1)

i'm about to attempt this myself. is there any type of 134r that is recommended? or anything from autozone,kragen, pep boys, etc. is fine? are there specifics to this or just follow the instruction provided by the 134r? thanks in advance.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

They are all the same. Get whatever is cheapest. And unless you have a leak there's no need to add anything.

You need a pressure gauge. If you overfill it will never work right.

mclarenf3387

Honestly, this is one thing I would leave up to a mechanic who has an A/C service machine. Thats the only way to properly fill an A/C system without putting in too much or too little. Plus the machine will clear the lines of moisture and can detect leaks when it puts the system on a vacuum. Using those kits is guessing at best and those gauges included with them only measure one side. To see if the system is working properly, you have to monitor the high pressure side and the low pressure side simultaneously otherwise your only seeing half the system.

m733l

iTrader: (1)

just bought a 18oz can with a guage. took me 10-15 min. easy diy to save money from the stealership. the can was 24 bucks.

^there was a kit there for 35 bucks that looks like it read the high and low but since no one mentioned it i just got the cheaper one. unless there is something wromg with the system the refill is pretty straight foward and is pretty much monkey proof.

Chemmech

You need to check the high and low sides (if your still having problems with good low side pressures), get a duplex gauge and a manual, or take it too the dealer...

Harrisonk531616

those cans from autozone never work.
To properly recharge a system you have to evacuate the system; then perform a vacuum on the system for about 15minutes to take out all the moisture. Then while the system is under vacuum, leaks are checked for. If there are no leaks present the system is then recharged to factory specs. If you exceed the pressure from factory you will damage your compressor.
another common problem is; some garages tend to evacuate the system from high and low side (mainly because it is quicker) doing so they draw the compressor oil through the lines and dump it in the drain and usually forget to add it back in; causing premature compressor failure and compressor seize.
bring you car to the rep. dealership and get it done right; you will save more in the end (=

m733l

iTrader: (1)

damn it. now you tell me...any reputable place that's not the stealership in socal?

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

You can if your just added some because your low. However you do need gauges to get the correct amount into the system.

But again if your low on freon then you have a leak because it's a closed pressure system. A lot of times the o rings on the pressure switch(attached to the accumulator) go bad & leak from there.

m733l

iTrader: (1)

^ are you saying i do not need to evacuate the system and remove all moisture from the system? all i needed was to add freon. i don't have any leaks or problems with the ac. so far so good with the kit that i got

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

How do you know you needed to add freon? What kind of tests did you run? See my point? Freon doesn't go bad, & it doesn't evaporate. You either have a leak somewhere, or the car had some sort of work done before to the AC system & wasn't charged right.

If there's a leak, then yes it needs to be evacuated, put on vacuum, & leak tested then filled to the proper specs as per the under hood label.

If it seems to work fine now, then leave it alone. If it is really a problem your AC will start to have problems, then you can mess with it at that time.

m733l

iTrader: (1)

ac has been week and when i hooked up the guage it was on the low side of the "normal zone" added the can and it was at the high side of "normal zone"

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

ok, Just leave it. If it starts to not cool enough again then check it out.

spoolindc5

its best to get the complete ac system discharged and recharged