I guess this topic goes here but please dont hate, im new, anyways long story short got in an accident and looking for another car. I recently found one and everything is good, but then the guy told me that the ac works but its just not cold. he then told me just to recharge it, i later asked my dad's mechanic and he said usualy if there needs to be a recharge of the ac there is a leak. to my dad a leak means the car is not so great, i dont know but he is just like that, anyways how can i tell if there is a leak and if not why does the ac need to be recharged??!?! thanks and please reply back

 

The only reason an A/C system needs a recharge is if there is a leak.

With that said, it is not unusual for a car that is 7+ years old to have "lost" enough refrigerant that the pressure switch will not allow compressor to turn on.

Questions...
MM&Y of car?

Does the A/C compressor engage?

If it does engage, does it "fast cycle", turn on and off and on and off every few sec.?

If it does engage, does it stay on but air from vents is not cold?

Try this, if compressor does not engage, remove the low side service port cap, [service port on thicker of the two lines, may have blue cap] and press schrader valve, [like a tire air valve], this can be done at either service port but the low side is a vapor/gas the high side will be a liquid, don't have your face over it. 94

 

All AC systems leak, hence the need for a recharge. however acceptable levels of leaking vary. I n general its about 1oz per year. So you may need a simple recharge. Take to your local AC service center for further evaluation.

 

Say what, who the hell told you that?

You will have natural "dissipation" but 1oz a year that's a big leak and a system would not work after 1-3 years, depending on size of system, it should work for at least 7 years without any issues.

The system in my 89 Dynasty has never been serviced and it still gets me 4-6 degrees C out of the vents. 94

 

If the car was in an accident then more than likely the condensor was damaged, leaked the refrigerant from there..But you cant assume, have the a/c system profesionally checked..it'll save you some headaches since you aren't familiar with a/c systems..

 

alright cool thanks for all the reply's ill certainly check it out thanks again!

 

the problem with checking for a ac leak is that its a gas. gasses dont leave any signs, however sometimes they will have dyes in them but those can wash off if the system has not been working for a while, they can sometimes also leave an oily residue, but again its not always. if you dont see either the only way to find the leak is to recharge the system and either a)put the dye in or b) take it to a shop that has a refrigerant detector. AC systems can be very expensive to fix depending on whats wrong with it, or it can just be a $5 relay. If AC is important to you then I would definetly suggest having it checked BEFORE you buy the car.

Also you cant just assume its the condenser because I have seen those things bent into some pretty severe angles and not leak a bit. whats the y/m/m on the vehicle?

 

yes it does stay on but the air is not cold.. .. all i can remeber is that the guy said just to add freon to make it cold air

 

all i really know is that it is an Acura integra 1991 ls.. .. all i really have done is phone contact

 

No AC system is airtight. Its a pretty basic AC system knowledge. If you dont know this perhaps you should take an automotive AC class. R12 and R134 does not "dissapate". If the systems were airtight then they would never need recharging. They leak around the service ports and around the hose connections. This is why there are gaskets in the valve caps and why it is important to have the valve caps in place. The majority of R134 cars use 1 lb or less and usually need to be recharched with in 5-7 years. My RSX is a small car and uses 1lb 3 oz. This system is one of the smallest I've worked on. At 13 oz the system will not cycle. and will need to be recharged. So leaking at 1oz a year, a fully charged RSX system will need to be recharged in about 6 years. not the 1 to 3 years you indicated. Also, I said 1oz is a generalization. It varies between manufactuers.

 

I will put it to the guys at my shop... http://www.airwolfeautoair.com/ and see what they say. 94


BTW all our info says your RSX takes 18.00 oz [5.50oz of oil] of R134a, are you overcharging your A/C system?

 

Owning a shop is great and all,but you never stop learning. The RSX takes 17.5oz-19.3oz 18oz would be average which is actually what I use.

 

those rubber gaskets inside the cap are to keep water,dirt,and crud out of the service ports....not to keep r134 in, the amount of pressure even in the lowside is enough to push past the little oring or blow the cap apart. Thats like saying your valve stem caps are to keep air in. AC systems are sealed sytems. period. if its low than there is a leak and parts need replaced. If it is just a small leak like on my moms exploder, then you can just get by with recharging it every 2-3 years and say the hell with fixing it.


BTW if its a 91, than more than likely its going to be r12 unless it has already been retrofitted. Its getting tuff to find anyone that still services r12. Our machine broke last year and they optted not to fix/replace it.

 

The old owner of the shop, Steve [still works there part time] response when I showed him the post about the "about" 1oz a year loss just chuckeled and said "I wish", he said if that was the case I could stop doing repairs, put what I need into the van, get rid of the shop and do nothing but recharges as there would be so much work doing that alone I would have no time for anything else, maybe the odd retrofit for those R12 systems still out there.

One more thing, DCFIVER, the majority of R134A systems use more then 1lb of refrigerant, the avarage is closer to 1.5 lb and more if it is a dual system, [as most SUV are].
In fact I can't think of a car that has less then 16oz of the top of my head, although I am sure there are some.

Also for the sake of less argument I will agree that no AC system is compleatly leak free, but a few molecules here and there, [what we call dissipation] is what will require a recharge every 7 years or so, not 1oz a year, being down 2-3 oz will effect the A/C system, at the very least result in poor cooling.
Also as mentioned the service port caps, keep dirt/moisture out of the ports and are not designed to keep refrigerant in. nuff said.94

 

Agree and Disagree. Those caps are dual purpose. They are not diect lines of defense,but How many times have you pulled a cap off and heard the slightest of pss. THe amount of pressure in the high side(Honda) 150-250 is held in between all connections with a little rubber, AC systems are sealed systems, there is an expected and acceptable refigerant loss rate for all vehicles. A leak detector(sniffer) even the best are only held to a standard of 1/2 oz. per year. So that even the best leak detector(Yokogawa/Bacharach) would pass a sytem for leaks, but in the case of a 10 year old 99 civic it could have leaked Almost 5 oz of refrigerant "without" having a detectable leak. 5 oz of refrigerant would cause a loss of system performance. The vehicle would not necessarily need parts, but rather a charge to factory specs. Minnesota(I think) has passed a state law that requires all manufacturers to post how much refigerant loss each Model has per year as of the 09 year. These results are expected of NEW vehicles, which do not need parts. All that being said most often an AC system that has a low state of charge Does have a leak.

 

You seem to be stuck on the 1oz per year statement Ifmade. I already clarified that the number was a generalization and not the rule.My point being that ACsystems do leak and are not air tight . I m sorry but refrigerant does NOT dissapate. And the service port caps are there to help minimize the loss. I 'll see if I can find my old school books to show you in writing.

 

check all lines and components for oil spots when refrigerant leaks there will be oil where its leaking