Re-charge A/C

[Mephisto]

Aren't you supposed to check the pressure of the system while it is running? I found when the system wasn't running the high pressure side equalizes with the low side, so your low side pressure is higher when the system is off. I could be wrong on this, as i still haven't done anything to fix my system, lol.

[Modsqwad]

Using the good advise so far from people like Andy (modsquad), I'm getting through the trouble shooting of my AC. I have NOT yet recharged the AC with the RedTek. I figured best to do some troubleshooting to figure the problem first - which proved a good decision, now need a bit more help on what I discovered...

I found a blown inline 15amp fuse behind the glove-box, in my case the far right one of the three (see here for andys pics). Thank you. Now both cooling fans are blowing (one in front of engine fan & one under to passenger foot well). However, no improvement in the AC.

I connected the pressure gauge to the low pressure port and this is what I see for pressure (see pic below) - seems high. Any thoughts on what why? At least I know that the system is holding pressure (at 115psi). I think someone said in this thread that over pressure may cause issues?

so, fans turning, lines have no leaks, have high pressure - what next in the troubleshooting?

Oh - Any chance of someone posting a picture of where the filling "site glass" is? I think Andy said it was under the carpet on the passenger foot well. I looked everywhere along the line (in and out of van) and can't see it.

Now the picture of existing pressure in system - too high?...

Ok heres a stupid question was the compressor clutch engaged (running the compressor) when the photo was taken?
If not then (and heres where my ac knowlege gets a little theoretical) that high pressure reading may just be the result
of the gas pressure equalizing in a not running system. If it was engaged and the system was running then I would say that there
is either way too much refrigerant in there or one or both of the TX valves (thermal expansion) at the evaporators is pooched.
The sight glass is under the rubber gromet under the rug of the passenger side footwell. Roll the carpet back from the front
and you will see it. I have attached a couple photo's. When running with a full charge of gas it should be clear of bubbles. If
its low on gas it will look like the head on top of a glass of Guinness. Normal system pressures run around 32-34 low side
140 ish high side. Buen suerte.
Andy Wilson
Sayulita Nay. Mx.
PS Even after all the work I have done on mine it still seems to cycle up and down on the delivery temperature somewhat.
PPS Green1 mentioned the "full throttle cut out switch" could someone post a photo of that little guy. I'd like to get to know
about that a bit better.Thanks.

[jphillips]

Aren't you supposed to check the pressure of the system while it is running?

I was really just doing a pre-recharge test to see where pressure was at. So, that picture was pressure while engine was OFF.

[jphillips]

The sight glass is under the rubber gromet under the rug of the passenger side footwell. Roll the carpet back from the front
and you will see it. I have attached a couple photo's.

Andy my friend, that is why a picture is worth a thousand word! I looked everywhere, except there of course. Found it in 2 sec's with the pictures.

I put in two cans of Redtek today. Made no diff in temp. Now that I know where the site glass is (thank you) I'll try adding a few more cans if needed. I'll go back over the posts to see how many cans may be needed.

[jphillips]

Ok heres a stupid question was the compressor clutch engaged (running the compressor) when the photo was taken?...
If it was engaged and the system was running then I would say that there
is either way too much refrigerant in there or one or both of the TX valves (thermal expansion) at the evaporators is pooched.

No. I'll check while running.

TX valves you say? How do you test such a valve and, where are they?

[Modsqwad]

Ok heres a stupid question was the compressor clutch engaged (running the compressor) when the photo was taken?...
If it was engaged and the system was running then I would say that there
is either way too much refrigerant in there or one or both of the TX valves (thermal expansion) at the evaporators is pooched.

No. I'll check while running.

TX valves you say? How do you test such a valve and, where are they?

What pressure were you getting with the engine running? Are you mixing refrigerants (redtek + freon)? Is it cooling at all ?
If it starts to look like a tx valve they are in the evaporator boxes and the front will be a cast iron bitch to get at. Probably a job
for a shop as you need a vacuum pump to do it. I think however that the system pressure should look better when its running.
Keep us posted.
Andy

[Green1]

PPS Green1 mentioned the "full throttle cut out switch" could someone post a photo of that little guy. I'd like to get to know
about that a bit better.Thanks.

I don't have a photo, however it's easy to find, open the hood and move the throttle cable, (either by pushing on the accelerator pedal, or by hand) when it's all the way down you will see that it hits against a black button, that's your full-throttle cut-out (it doubles as the stop at the end of the accelerator movement)

[Modsqwad]

PPS Green1 mentioned the "full throttle cut out switch" could someone post a photo of that little guy. I'd like to get to know
about that a bit better.Thanks.

I don't have a photo, however it's easy to find, open the hood and move the throttle cable, (either by pushing on the accelerator pedal, or by hand) when it's all the way down you will see that it hits against a black button, that's your full-throttle cut-out (it doubles as the stop at the end of the accelerator movement)

Gracias Amigo! Is it only cutting out AC or does it have any other known purpose? I may bypass it altogether if its just AC control.
Thanks.
Andy

[DelicaMark]

So after playing around with the a/c recharge kits (bought two now and took both back) and replacing blown fuses. It was around 30C in the Southern Island most of the weekend and I actually had pretty good a/c performance...kept the van much cooler than the outside temperature at least. I am a little embarassed to say but this is what I did:

1. Actually turned on the rear fan and engaged the top vents so that cool air was there...big surprise that actually started to cool the rear part of the van.
2. Turned the intake of the air to recirculation instead of fresh air. Weird!!! Cooling recirculated cooler cabin air worked waaaay better than trying to cool 30C air with 20 year old a/c technology.

I posted this just on the off chance there are others out there that maybe are not running there a/c on recirculation. For me it made the difference of the a/c pretty much not working (or at least not able to keep up with coolong really warm air) and working quite well.

-Mark

[g_man1972]

g_man1972 I also think that it must have been too hot for the AC to work right. I had just gotten mine fixed for a final bill of 800 bucks (500 for retrofit and 300 for recharge again and replacing of some low pressure valve.) and it didn't seem to be working. I'm glad I checked in this forum because my fuse for the front fan was blown as well so I replaced it and it worked slightly better but never all that well especially at stop lights. It doesn't seem to cycle that much after the fan was fixed though. I still notice these pauses even when going at a good clip where the system shuts down for a few seconds and blows fairly warm air for a bit.

As well, I can't cool the whole van. When I turn on the back zone I can't keep the front cool anymore. I'm sure that this must have worked at some time. I think I'm going to take it back to the shop again even though I am fed up with paying this much money.

You know what's funny, is that when I changed my fuse I noticed that the A/C didn't cycle as much either, maybe that's the way it's suppose to be when the fans are working? I also noticed that when I put on the rear fan it doesn't cycle at all, the rpm always stays steady. I also notice that when I have the rear on, the front doesn't blow as cool, maybe that's just the way it is and that's as good as it gets, as well as it not being as cold when at a standstill vs moving along at a decent clip.

Maybe we will have it all figured out by next summer
Cheers
Gary

[Dawg]

I took a day trip South of the line last year and had it recharged.

[Roodman]

Thought I'd add my experience. I just recharged with the RedTek kit from Canadian Tire and added a can of lubricant as well. The A/C is working great. I thought I'd need a bit more than the two cans that the kit came with, but after checking the pressure again today (was about to add another can), it's running at around 45-50 PSI, so that should be just about right. I didn't purge out any old stuff, the pressure on the guage (with the engine running) started at a vacuum, so I'm going to say that it's empty.

My setup is a 91 Delica 2.5 turbo. I don't have the convenient low pressure port on the compressor, my ports are both on the lines. One of the lines is marked Low, so that made it easy. My caps were black and silver, the black one on the low pressure line. Also, the fittings themselves, though the same size diameter, are different lengths. The high pressure line is the shorter one with the silver cap and the fitting is gold in colour, the low pressure is the longer with the black cap and a grey/silver fitting. There is no discernible size difference in the diameter of the two lines.

Looking in the sight glass didn't do me any good. I didn't really notice any bubbles and the glass is miniscule anyway.

My fuses are all good btw - got lucky I guess. Props to everyone for posting so much info in the forum! After reading all the threads I worked through this job smoothly and checked everything to make sure it's all working - cheers to all the posters out there!

[Details Monster]

My A/C was not working, here is what I did to troubleshoot the problem:
1) Check the fuses (behind the glove box; box needs to be removed). My main A/C fan fuse was blown. Another topic shows fuses and relays.
2) After replacing fuse, still no cool air; I could see the the compressor was not engaging nor were the fans turning on. Manually tested fans and compressor clutch by bypassing relays; they all worked (don't forget A/C button needs to be pushed in and blower fan needs to be on).
3) Tested relay coils with OHM meter; all good.
4) Suspected low system pressure was cutting out A/C system; Decided to get the $50 recharge kit and $25 sealant from Can Tire; used kit, pressure was low, after first can of refrigerant; system was functioning; injected sealant and second can of refrigerant and all is COOL!