mvanbv00

I want some info before I take my car to a mechanic to have it looked at. Last summer the A/C was starting to get a little weak and not blowing cold air as had in the past. I had a friend do the walmart r134 refill. It still blows cold air but the compressor kicks on and off every 2-3 seconds (only after running for 5+min). I can feel the power difference in the car and it is annoying because it takes and gains so much power that it jerks the car (slightly).

I talked with one of my professors at Purdue and he thinks that it just got overfilled. His best idea was to have the system drained of any r134 and refilled professionally. Does anyone have any idea what has happened to my A/C system?

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

AC refill should NEVER be done unprofessionally.

it is not a good idea to buy "r134" refill and pump it in yourself because you need to FIRST vacuum your AC internals to get rid of any air/moisture before pumping new r134 in.

if there are any sigs of air or moisture in ur an, it will start clogging/freezing and many problems arise from there.

plus, the AC "tool/guage" that is available in most "recharge kits" are not accurate and does not give a definite PSI rating. most car's have different PSI requirements.

so yes, you could have also overfilled ur AC

mvanbv00

I know now after taking an aircraft class about systems (basically the same as automobile) that it is a terrible idea. Basically all I know is that there is a compressor, condenser, thermal expansion valve, ect. I never serviced any systems because we didn't have time in our lab.

Does anybody know what the diagnosis is and if any parts could be damaged? How much does everybody think that this could end up costing or what is wrong?

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

^the only reason i know is because i did it. and my system crapped out on me.

here is the story:

i had a rock hit my condenser and cracked it. i replaced the condenser myself. i also bought a "recharge kit" from walmart and charged the system myself. i charged to the maximum part of the green zone.

i ran the AC for a while and didnt run it again for a week. during that weekend, i went to Las Vegas (i live in California) and my AC compressor sized half way to LV. since i have AAA i got it towed to a shop.

i spend a little under $1200 (like $1180 or something) getting it repaired and fixed.

what did they do?

compressor
compressor clutch
dryer
power steering belt
0 ring seals
clean and vacuum AC lines/system
labor (about 4hrs worth)

plus im sure they charged me a little extra for being vulerable because i was from CA and was 400 miles from home.


the only real possible problem that could have caused my $1200 expierence?
1. there was some major air/moisture in the system....and that didnt help my compressor that already had 130k miles on it.
2. over charged the system
3. me being a cheap *** for get spending $70-100 to get it professionally vacuumed, cleaned, and refilled.

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

so my advise to you?

dont use ur AC until you get it properly vacuumed and refilled (professionally)

you can find a new, high quality compressor and all the parts for around $300-$400. and labor should be more than $300. (thats if ur system is REALLLY bad, but i doubt it)

i just F-ed up and had all that air+overcharge on it.

mvanbv00

My professor said that if none of the parts are damaged (cross my fingers) that the shop can just flush the system and refill. Do you think that this is a possibility? I rarely use my A/C so I hope I didn't damage anything.

Also recently when I have the defrost on, the compressor starts to kick off/on. It doesn't do it as often though, maybe about every minute or so.

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

when ever you have you defroster on, the compressor gets turned on to blow cold, dry air at the windshield, so yes thats normal.

AC takes the moisture out of the air (hence why you have a dryer unit)