AC failure

K

KempoDavid

Registered
I have a habit of taking lunch in my car and listening to the radio. This time of year that means AIR CONDITIONING.

So a couple of days ago I'm sitting there enjoying Glenn Beck and a roast beef and cream cheese on pumperknicle (my wife makes the best sandwiches) when I noticed it was getting kind of warm... within minutes my AC is blowing hot air.

So I've noticed a feww symptoms, maybe you all can help me diagnose the exact problem.

being an optimist, I tried the AC again the next day, and this is what I observed: the RPMS will bump down and up, and it will try to blow (somewhat) cold(er) air for a couple of seconds, and then back to hot. If I leave the AC on, it will repeat the RPM bump and cooler air.

Do I just need a "recharge" or is this more serious?

thanks!
-David
 
You need a recharge...

The RPMs will drop once the clutch on the compressor is engaging...

Just get a can or 2 of freon at your local autozone and a recharge kit, very simple.
 
They never changed it.... all Mark VIIIs came with R134a from the factory, they were ahead of their time.
 
Oh nice cause I just found out I think I need to change mine too finally, it was running luke warm last summer now its just hot all the time.
 
You lost coolant for a reason... beware, you may loose it again - soon. If so, you may want to re-seal the lines by getting new u-rings.

Under ideal conditions, an AC system NEVER needs a re-charge. Its like neon tubing! :)
 
Well the car is a 94 and I just talked to the original owner and he never charged it at all, all I want is to fill it up so I can run it on these real hot and humid days, besides i only drive 7 miles each way to work.

Oh and David, thank your wife for me I went out and bought stuff to make that sandwich tonight, loved it!! Tell her to add avocado slices to it and its perfect!
 
I think the 93 Mark VIII was one of the first cars to use R134a refrigerant.

People call it freon but it's not really freon.
 
Bill I think you are right.

Oh, and I got an o-ring kit. It was like $14 bucks. You need fuel line/AC line tools which are probably the most expensive pieces of plastic you will buy.

As for 134a - its legal to sell, in most states. One can is often enough, about $6, but you need the tools too. You can usually get a kit with everything and three cans for about $40.
 
Well, that is a relief. I think I can handle this "repair". Funny timing though, an old friend just posted to our mailing list how he just got 2nd degree burns on his arms and torso from recharging his AC.

How did he manage to do that? he followed some dumb advice...

He was having trouble getting the freon to go into his AC unit. A friend of a friend of his is a "mechanic", suggested immersing the freon can in "near boiling" water. Well, he takes a pan of 190 degree water out to his car, dips the can in, and it immediately explodes, apparently has a break-away bottom for just such an idiot move so he didn't get the shrapnel of the exploding can. But the escaping gas did blow the hot water all over him, leading to an ER visit and a percodan prescription.


oh, and avocado??? YUCK red onion FTW
 
unity said:
You lost coolant for a reason... beware, you may loose it again - soon. If so, you may want to re-seal the lines by getting new u-rings.

Under ideal conditions, an AC system NEVER needs a re-charge. Its like neon tubing! :)
Click to expand...

180000 miles and this will be the first recharge, I'll keep my eyes on it but if this is a treatment needed every 13 years that's OK :)
 
You dont seem to understand - systems dont loose coolant over time, it failed from a leak and if you dont seal the leak, you will lose what you add. :(

With that said, the stuff you buy to recharge should come with oil and conditioners that should help re-seal it for a while by makin ghte o-rings expand/

But back to my point. It may have lasted 180k - but it will NOT again - I repeat, the refrigerant went somewhere and fast enough for you to notice the drop.

So if you recharge and loose it in a week, let us know and we can help ya replace the seals - its a walk in the park, but you will need an AC vacuum to evacuate a completely empty system in order to charge it. The pumps sell for as little as $16.
 
unity said:
You dont seem to understand - systems dont loose coolant over time, it failed from a leak and if you dont seal the leak, you will lose what you add. :(

With that said, the stuff you buy to recharge should come with oil and conditioners that should help re-seal it for a while by makin ghte o-rings expand/

But back to my point. It may have lasted 180k - but it will NOT again - I repeat, the refrigerant went somewhere and fast enough for you to notice the drop.

So if you recharge and loose it in a week, let us know and we can help ya replace the seals - its a walk in the park, but you will need an AC vacuum to evacuate a completely empty system in order to charge it. The pumps sell for as little as $16.
Click to expand...

Oh, I understood, my thought ws that it must be a pretty small leak... or I guess it might just be very new LOL

Would that coolant leak as a liquid or a gas?
 
KempoDavid said:
Oh, I understood, my thought ws that it must be a pretty small leak... or I guess it might just be very new LOL

Would that coolant leak as a liquid or a gas?
Click to expand...

Gas... but if you add a coloring agent it will leave trace amounts visible with a UV light I believe.
 
The BEST way to recharge the system is to take it into a shop that has an A/C machine. The machine will evacuate the system(keeping tabs on how much freon was in the system), pull a vacuum on the system and hold the pressure for 40-60 minutes and if the pressure doesn't drop, the system is sealed. Than it will be recharged and the required amount of freon added to top the system off.

The cheap store bought stuff is an easy fix, but like Unity said....it leaked for a reason. Also, if an A/C system has never been touched, the freon will leak out an average of .25lbs per year from the schrader valves, so you should be due for a simple recharge.
 
Well, it wasn't the coolant at all, and its not leaking. It seems that the computer is shutting off the compressor becasue the cooling fan won't come on. It looks like the motor is shot. Mechanic tells me that factory part is $500, he wants to replace the electric motor...

I'm about to do a search, but any advice on that? That seems rather expensive...

-David
 
Way EXPENSIVE..... I believe you can get a motor for about $60 or so from your local auto parts store. I would suggest starting another thread not to get side-swapped.

This is very puzzling to me, was your car overheating when you were parked? I would find it hard to believe that the AC wouldn't work but your car showed no overheating symptoms.
 
Yes it would get very hot while parked for a while, but wouldn't overheat. That turned out to be low coolant level... and I guess the fan not working LOL.

He put in a new cooling fan and everything (related to the AC anyway) works great now.
 
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