ezone

How much static pressure is in the system now?

What year is your car?

bmac423

It's a 2003 Civic.

The pressure is at 0 psi at the moment. Just kicked off the vacuum pump again.

ezone

The system cannot turn on with 0 PSI in it.

Fans will not run with the AC until compressor operation is enabled by the PCM.

bmac423

Yeah, makes sense. That's what I had been reading.

So, I just vacuumed the lines again. It showed about -27 psi. I shut the valves for both ports on the manifold. Start car. Still 27 psi. Connect bottle, purge yellow line, then open low pressure valve on manifold. The pressure shoots to 80 psi.

The yellow line is live, but nothing goes through the manifold at that point. It does go through the relief valve when I purge the line though.

ezone

Not sure I understand.....No vacuum or pressure is actually getting inside the system? Sounds like the hand valves aren't opening the Schrader valves in the service ports?



That's pressure in the hose and gauge. Is it actually getting inside the AC system?

bmac423

Hmmm... that's interesting. I just tried again, same deal. I then used a different manifold set (harbor freight) which seems to have a leak, so the vacuum doesn't hold.

I've got the things open and firmly connected. Why wouldn't they get inside the system?

Do you think one of my ports is fubared?

ezone

I can't tell from here and it didn't make sense to me yet, that's why I'm asking.


All our equipment has this type of service valves on the hoses, you have to spin the colored handle down to open the valve and depress the Schrader inside the service port

bmac423

Yep, that's what I've got. You turn them clockwise to open the valves right? That's what the diagram shows anyway.

ezone

Yes,

bmac423

Man, I swear I'm doing it right. It's so weird. Thanks for all your help on this. I don't know what the hell is going on. I think you're right about the Schraeder valves possibly not opening. I just don't know why.

bmac423

I removed the valve core on the low pressure side and inspected it. It looks fine to me.

ezone

I've only been guessing based on what you write.

Was there pressure or vacuum in the system when you removed the Schrader core?

Maybe, if the system was in fact pressurized, there is a different or additional problem causing the system to not work, that has not yet been addressed?

bmac423

There was no pressure when I removed the core.

ezone

Based on whatever you were doing immediately prior to that step, should there have been either pressure or vacuum in the system?



If you use the vac pump to draw the system into a vacuum then stop and pull a core out, it should be apparent if the system actually had vacuum in it.
I'm thinking this would establish whether or not the valves and Schraders are doing the right things or not, right?

Dave88LX

If I were to do the mechanical work myself (replacing parts) and having a shop perform the evacuation and refilling of freon, what would you suggest to be done regarding oil? Will they remove it all anyways and start fresh?

ezone

If you want/need to remove the oil from the system, you would need to try to remove the oil yourself while the system is apart.

The recover-evacuate-recharge machines we use in shops cannot extract the oil from the system.
Any oil that does happen to come out to a machine was suspended in the freon that was recovered.