This weekend I took a 10-hour round trip in my hatch. The whole time the A/C compressor/clutch kicked on and off. It blew pretty cold when it was on, but when it was off it got warm, obviously.

Is this a symptom of low refrigerant, too much, or something else?

All I can find is stuff about the compressor not kicking on at all.

Thanks.

 

if its cycling on and off pretty quick its most likely low. cruising on the highway it will cycle a little more than normal, but should stay cold the whole time.

 

When I refilled the A/C system before this spring, I replaced the dryer/receiver, refilled the compressor with oil, and recharged the system.

I used the gun below in the picture, it has a pressure gauge on it that shows I think 45psi as max, after that it's overfilled. Is this accurate enough? Currently it shows 45psi in the system, it shows it full as hell.

 

AFAIK with AC problems (from personal experience) if you are low on freon, then it certainly won't blow cold. It will blow warm if anything. To me it sounds like an electrical problem, check your manual to troubleshoot this.

 

interesting, want to know too.

 

Might be a pressure switch or some other kind of bad switch in the system. And usually when u recharge ur system after u replace a part u have to use a machine to vacuum it down and remove all the moisture from the system. At least thats what i think anyways.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by reddohcvtec &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Might be a pressure switch or some other kind of bad switch in the system. And usually when u recharge ur system after u replace a part u have to use a machine to vacuum it down and remove all the moisture from the system. At least thats what i think anyways.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Hmm, there is a flow chart in the Helm's for checking the switches, etc. I'll have to follow it sometime when I have a few hours to kill.

I followed a DIY for recharging the A/C system. I thought about the vacuum part to remove all the moisture, I guess I didn't becuase someone else was in the same situation I was in and it worked great for him.

 

anytime you open the ac system you must use a vacuum pump plain and simple.those kits are just for charging it up.
dont want to pay the high prices of a regular shop go to a semi truck refrigaration shop like carrier (i use to work there) or thermo king they will do it cheaper at least the shop i worked in did