a.c. lines cold
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,699
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From: Wilmington, DE
a.c. lines cold On my daily driver i noticed a very slight power steering type whine. I popped the hood and noticed all of my hard a.c. lines are white and cold to the touch. I guess it's condensation freezing. when I turn the air on its instantly super cold. used to take 5 seconds or so to begin blowing cold air. thoughts.....
Staging Lane
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 79
Likes: 5
From: Houston, Texas
Sounds to me like you're missing some refrigerant. If you lose enough the low pressure sensor will flip and the a/c won't work at all, but if you just lose some the orifice tube can actually work too efficiently and freeze the lines over. But I'd be surprised your a/c is still working well if that's the case, usually the condenser freezes over and can't suck the heat out of the air in the cabin.
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2011
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From: Wilmington, DE
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Also with the other guys on low refrigerant. All the things you stated point to it. Being cold right when you turn it on. Being cold when the system is off. The static charge, when correct, is usually very close to ambient temp. Also surprised system is still running. Bad low pressure switch also? Or just not triggered yet? Good luck man.
Last edited by SoFla01SSLookinstok; Jul 25, 2019 at 06:11 PM.
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,699
Likes: 168
From: Wilmington, DE
ok so if its low then i guess i have a leak somewhere and it will eventually all leak and not work. yea its super ice cold for 10-15 seconds then gets to a normal ac temp. out of curiosity why does low refrigerant cause these issues. i have no knowledge on ac systems....
side note, after i drove it to work yesterday without ever running the ac, when i turn the key off i here ac noises, like similar to like an old refrigerator grumbling and making those weird hissing/bubbling noises after it kicks off. or a window ac unit, better example. im sure you guys no the noise im describing
side note, after i drove it to work yesterday without ever running the ac, when i turn the key off i here ac noises, like similar to like an old refrigerator grumbling and making those weird hissing/bubbling noises after it kicks off. or a window ac unit, better example. im sure you guys no the noise im describing
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Staging Lane
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Boyle's Law. With very little refrigerant in the lines, the pressure differential as the gas expands from being compressed into a liquid is greater, resulting in more expansion and colder temperatures
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Verdad Gallardo 11 Second Club
Joined: Mar 2012
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From: South Florida
ok so if its low then i guess i have a leak somewhere and it will eventually all leak and not work. yea its super ice cold for 10-15 seconds then gets to a normal ac temp. out of curiosity why does low refrigerant cause these issues. i have no knowledge on ac systems....
side note, after i drove it to work yesterday without ever running the ac, when i turn the key off i here ac noises, like similar to like an old refrigerator grumbling and making those weird hissing/bubbling noises after it kicks off. or a window ac unit, better example. im sure you guys no the noise im describing
side note, after i drove it to work yesterday without ever running the ac, when i turn the key off i here ac noises, like similar to like an old refrigerator grumbling and making those weird hissing/bubbling noises after it kicks off. or a window ac unit, better example. im sure you guys no the noise im describing
Just as an opinion on what I would do. Have the car hooked to an A/C machine for recover, vacuum, & recharge. Before recharge make sure they add some oil with the UV dye. As now the next time it leaks out it should not be too hard to find the leak point with UV light & glasses. Or just visual inspect around all A/C components & lines looking for signs of oil or some dirt/debris sticking to oil. The UV dye helps a lot with finding exactly where leak is or leaks are.
OP never stated if he confirmed the compressor was staying on continuously, so it could just be whatever residual cold refrigerant is in the evaporator transferring before returning to ambient. If the compressor never turns on, or turns on for a few seconds and kicks off, the low pressure switch is still doing it's job. If the compressor does stay on continuously with low pressure, the switch is bad. Either way, confirm that before using A/C again so you don't burn up the compressor.
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,699
Likes: 168
From: Wilmington, DE
we never left the ac on. during all this when i knew something was wrong i would turn it on for a few seconds then turn off......so if i don't have any air blowing out the vents does that mean the compressor is not running? can the compressor be running and there be no air out the vents? dont think im goona worry about fixing just trying to learn about it for future knowledge...
Staging Lane
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 79
Likes: 5
From: Houston, Texas
we never left the ac on. during all this when i knew something was wrong i would turn it on for a few seconds then turn off......so if i don't have any air blowing out the vents does that mean the compressor is not running? can the compressor be running and there be no air out the vents? dont think im goona worry about fixing just trying to learn about it for future knowledge...