How many LBS of refrigerant?
#1
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How many LBS of refrigerant?
In our cars. Took it over to my old mans shop and a tech only put in 2lbs with the recharge machine at 5 minutes of every check, vaccum, ect. A/C was cold for 1 day now its hot again. So how many lbs and how long should I run the recharge again for the FULL recharge? And how long should I do each check recharge again?
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In our cars. Took it over to my old mans shop and a tech only put in 2lbs with the recharge machine at 5 minutes of every check, vaccum, ect. A/C was cold for 1 day now its hot again. So how many lbs and how long should I run the recharge again for the FULL recharge? And how long should I do each check recharge again?
Freon does not "go bad" it only leaks. If it were me, I would put NO more freon into the system without finding the problem first.
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I ran into the same issue when I recently bought my 1995 Z. The car had sat for at least a year, maybe more, and had probably only had the AC cycled rarely in a 5 year period.
I charged it with over a pound...compressor started, then stopped. Had my mechanic check the system out completely...pressure safety switch was defective and the low side schrader valve was leaking. Within a couple of days that pound-plus of refrigerant was down to 2 ounces. He scanned the system and found the bad switch, then evacuated the system and changed both Schrader valves before flushing and properly charging the system. The whole deal cost about $400, but it sure beat replacing a compressor/drier/hoses for what, $900+? Now the AC is nice and icy cold.
This probably isn't your issue, but the lesson here is that if you aren't properly equipped to diagnose the problem, you can throw a lot of dough at an issue and not fix it.
I would check the pressure with a good set of gauges, then see if the switch is working properly...mine was telling the computer the system was in a vacuum state on the low side, so the compressor would not cycle.
-Dave
I charged it with over a pound...compressor started, then stopped. Had my mechanic check the system out completely...pressure safety switch was defective and the low side schrader valve was leaking. Within a couple of days that pound-plus of refrigerant was down to 2 ounces. He scanned the system and found the bad switch, then evacuated the system and changed both Schrader valves before flushing and properly charging the system. The whole deal cost about $400, but it sure beat replacing a compressor/drier/hoses for what, $900+? Now the AC is nice and icy cold.
This probably isn't your issue, but the lesson here is that if you aren't properly equipped to diagnose the problem, you can throw a lot of dough at an issue and not fix it.
I would check the pressure with a good set of gauges, then see if the switch is working properly...mine was telling the computer the system was in a vacuum state on the low side, so the compressor would not cycle.
-Dave
#4
You can usually rent a pressure test kit for free or for a deposit at the parts store, start there before you waste any more money on freon because as said earlier, it only leaks it doesn't go bad and when it gets low it means you have a leak or faulty compressor condenser ect and need to fix that and get the system nice and tight again.
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Update: So I took it back to my my old mans shop (The Tire Choice), and hooked it up to the scanner for the 2nd time and got code (61) A/C system. I cleared it and refilled the system with 2lbs with dye. A/C got cold and I ran the car for 5 minutes to check for leaks. 3 of the techs all had flash lights & one black light and NON of them could find a visual leak. Now obviously the system is leaking but where?? Any other place would be in the dash. Is it possible its leaking in the dash? If so wouldnt there be refrigerant dye leaking into the interior? Well there isnt. We didnt have the time to break into the dash because I had to go to work 30 minutes later.
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#8
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Schrader valves can definitely stick and leak. The evap core could be leaking and be tough to see the leak with dye. Did you have the yellow eyeglasses on? They really help show leaks. Do you have access to a sniffer? You did suck the system down and verify it was empty, correct?
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Schrader valves can definitely stick and leak. The evap core could be leaking and be tough to see the leak with dye. Did you have the yellow eyeglasses on? They really help show leaks. Do you have access to a sniffer? You did suck the system down and verify it was empty, correct?
#11
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I haven't looked into upgrading the hvac system. A pair of the yellow glasses really can help when looking for the dye. It could be the evaporative core which sits in the portion of the hvac box in the engine compartment. Maybe you can try another shop that has the equipment and is trained using it?