AC not producing ice cold ac?
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AC not producing ice cold ac? Hi I currently have a 98 Pontiac firebird. I had got my ac fixed recently. There was hose that was leaking Freon and due to that it was not producing cold air. The ac is fixed but the issue is that it is not ICE COLD ac. It is cool air but not cool enough. When you turn on the ac after it is left outside in TX hot weather for about an hour the ac is cool in max setting but you still feel that it is not cold enough and still feel that it is still hot. I need to get some advice and see what might be the issue before I take it to the shop again. Also for a few seconds yesterday it started to blow warm air and then went back to the cool air. Can somebody please give some advice. Thank you
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From: South Florida
Hey man. From what I've read I would say the system may not be charged with the correct amount of refrigerant. Could also be a problem with the compressor or something else. The way it blew warm for a few seconds then back to cool sounds like a switch cut off the compressor. Tell whoever is working on it all the details.
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From: Waterford, MI
Get an IR temp gun or some way of accurately reading the temp coming out of the vents. When I worked in a dealership this was a common occurrence. A customer would come in on a very hot day and would feel their air was not cold enough, yet when taking a reading at the vent, it was around 40 degrees.
I also agree with having a set of gauges hooked up to verify correct pressures.
I also agree with having a set of gauges hooked up to verify correct pressures.
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Hey man. From what I've read I would say the system may not be charged with the correct amount of refrigerant. Could also be a problem with the compressor or something else. The way it blew warm for a few seconds then back to cool sounds like a switch cut off the compressor. Tell whoever is working on it all the details.
Thank you for your reply. The car repair checked thru and had determine that this hose they ordered from the dealership was the issue because it clearly showed it was leaking out Freon out of the hoses. I need to make sure which type of Freon or refrigerant hey had used.
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thank you for your reply. I have never hooked up the ac pressure gauges. I never really tried and I really don’t know how to do it. I will have to take it to the car repair place to see what is going on.
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thanks for your reply. This may be a silly question. What’s the difference between Freon and the refrigerant 134A? Do you think they have not put enough in the system to produce ice cold Ac? I hope it’s not something else because I clearly check with the car repair place before getting the repair done and they clearly told me that the hose clearly is leaking Freon out when they did the dye check.
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Get an IR temp gun or some way of accurately reading the temp coming out of the vents. When I worked in a dealership this was a common occurrence. A customer would come in on a very hot day and would feel their air was not cold enough, yet when taking a reading at the vent, it was around 40 degrees.
I also agree with having a set of gauges hooked up to verify correct pressures.
I also agree with having a set of gauges hooked up to verify correct pressures.
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Joined: Mar 2012
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From: South Florida
As what drdave88 stated. I also worked in a dealership & remember things like that as well. Your A/C system will not always produce the exact same air temp out of the vents. If on recirc, or full outside air, different temps. outside. Your air will be colder on a 75 degree day than a 95 degree day. Or colder at night than during the day. You can buy little thermometers to set in one of your vents. Have someone look over the system & pressures. Good luck.
Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
thanks for your reply. This may be a silly question. What’s the difference between Freon and the refrigerant 134A? Do you think they have not put enough in the system to produce ice cold Ac? I hope it’s not something else because I clearly check with the car repair place before getting the repair done and they clearly told me that the hose clearly is leaking Freon out when they did the dye check.
Freon is a brand name for R-12 refrigerant that has come into common use like Kleenex has become a term for facial tissues. Lots of people still refer to A/C refrigerant as Freon even though it really isn't. R-12 refrigerant is a CFC product that was banned because it contributes to ozone depletion in the atmosphere and it became unavailable in '93 unless you had a special permit to buy it. R-12 was replaced with R-134a in all cars produced for the '94 model year and newer. Nobody makes R-12 anymore but there is still a supply that comes from recycling by permitted repair shops. Your repair shop probably has a permit to buy R-12 for repairing older car A/C systems but no reputable shop would ever use it in a newer vehicle.
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WHY would you want to? There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with R134a EXCEPT people don't understand how to use it properly. I always hear the same bs "MY AC ISN"T COLD ENOUGH" and its blamed on the 134a. Every time its because its either overfilled or under filled or some type of mechanical problem in the system.
Example NEW Ford truck f350 guy complained it got cool but never got cold. The Ford dealer actually told him it was normal..........................I checked it and it was low on refrigerant! It was never filled properly from the factory. Few ozs later it was so cold you freeze yer hiener off in dat truck.
R134a systems need proper filling, too much or too little and they don't get cold enough. R12<freon systems were much more forgiving when it came to refrigerant volume.
Example NEW Ford truck f350 guy complained it got cool but never got cold. The Ford dealer actually told him it was normal..........................I checked it and it was low on refrigerant! It was never filled properly from the factory. Few ozs later it was so cold you freeze yer hiener off in dat truck.
R134a systems need proper filling, too much or too little and they don't get cold enough. R12<freon systems were much more forgiving when it came to refrigerant volume.
Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
R-22 is a high pressure refrigerant while R-134a is a low pressure refrigerant. Charging an R-134a system with R-22 would result in problems such as an overheating compressor.
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WHY would you want to? There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with R134a EXCEPT people don't understand how to use it properly. I always hear the same bs "MY AC ISN"T COLD ENOUGH" and its blamed on the 134a. Every time its because its either overfilled or under filled or some type of mechanical problem in the system.
Example NEW Ford truck f350 guy complained it got cool but never got cold. The Ford dealer actually told him it was normal..........................I checked it and it was low on refrigerant! It was never filled properly from the factory. Few ozs later it was so cold you freeze yer hiener off in dat truck.
R134a systems need proper filling, too much or too little and they don't get cold enough. R12<freon systems were much more forgiving when it came to refrigerant volume.
Example NEW Ford truck f350 guy complained it got cool but never got cold. The Ford dealer actually told him it was normal..........................I checked it and it was low on refrigerant! It was never filled properly from the factory. Few ozs later it was so cold you freeze yer hiener off in dat truck.
R134a systems need proper filling, too much or too little and they don't get cold enough. R12<freon systems were much more forgiving when it came to refrigerant volume.
Hi this is a very nice answer. On my firebird it is the same issue. It’s cool but not ice cold. So you’re saying that it is overfilled or underfilled refrigerant? I’m not sure if they used refrigerant or Freon. Which would you recommend for a 1998 Pontiac firebird so I can take it back to them to get them checked because I live in Texas and once the car is out in the sun for an hour it is cool but not cold enough and you still feel hot even though the ac is on. Also I had feel warm air for a few seconds and then it went back to cool. Any idea about that? Can you please let me know. Thank you
Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
In any North American vehicle manufactured since 1994, you don't have a choice... you must use R-134a unless you find someone to provide and install bootleg R-12 (i.e. illegally). You may or may not have the correct amount of refrigerant in your system and that may be causing your symptoms but you almost certainly don't have R-12 (Freon) in there.
Thread Starter
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In any North American vehicle manufactured since 1994, you don't have a choice... you must use R-134a unless you find someone to provide and install bootleg R-12 (i.e. illegally). You may or may not have the correct amount of refrigerant in your system and that may be causing your symptoms but you almost certainly don't have R-12 (Freon) in there.