Something wrong with my AC?
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Joined: Mar 2010
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Something wrong with my AC?
Left my car baking in the sun today and it was like 100 degrees inside. Turned on my AC and the air was cool but not that cool. I turned it off an on and heard the compressor kick on and shut down. I'm hoping there's nothing serious going on. Any one have tips on what to check out?
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Joined: Dec 2007
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From: East Lyme, CT
You can take a ~$30 gamble and recharge it yourself. The "gamble" is that it's low on freon, not risk to the car. If you have a bigger problem, the recharge won't do anything, but at least you won't waste $200.
AutoZone/WalMart etc sell R134-A freon recharge kits. You can either buy a freon canister and connector hose separately, or they also sell freon canisters with the hose and gauge all in one for like $30 or so.
It's pretty easy to do... pop the hood, start the car, turn on the a/c full blast, and screw on the end of the recharge hose to the low side of the a/c on the car. You can't mess it up - the high side and low side of the a/c system have different size connectors. (They have plastic caps on the threaded connections) Wait for the freon to feed in, and the gauge to get into the green zone. At that point, the air should ideally be blowing colder.
My father, who is an HVAC guy, recommended against getting freon with the 'leak stopping' lubricant in it, as it tends to be a temporary fix that makes problems worse later on.
If you have a bigger problem, like a more significant leak, moisture in the lines, or a compressor going bad, at least you're only out $30 and about 15 minutes worth of time. But if it's blowing cool, you probably only need a recharge.
AutoZone/WalMart etc sell R134-A freon recharge kits. You can either buy a freon canister and connector hose separately, or they also sell freon canisters with the hose and gauge all in one for like $30 or so.
It's pretty easy to do... pop the hood, start the car, turn on the a/c full blast, and screw on the end of the recharge hose to the low side of the a/c on the car. You can't mess it up - the high side and low side of the a/c system have different size connectors. (They have plastic caps on the threaded connections) Wait for the freon to feed in, and the gauge to get into the green zone. At that point, the air should ideally be blowing colder.
My father, who is an HVAC guy, recommended against getting freon with the 'leak stopping' lubricant in it, as it tends to be a temporary fix that makes problems worse later on.
If you have a bigger problem, like a more significant leak, moisture in the lines, or a compressor going bad, at least you're only out $30 and about 15 minutes worth of time. But if it's blowing cool, you probably only need a recharge.
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,735
Likes: 0
You can take a ~$30 gamble and recharge it yourself. The "gamble" is that it's low on freon, not risk to the car. If you have a bigger problem, the recharge won't do anything, but at least you won't waste $200.
AutoZone/WalMart etc sell R134-A freon recharge kits. You can either buy a freon canister and connector hose separately, or they also sell freon canisters with the hose and gauge all in one for like $30 or so.
It's pretty easy to do... pop the hood, start the car, turn on the a/c full blast, and screw on the end of the recharge hose to the low side of the a/c on the car. You can't mess it up - the high side and low side of the a/c system have different size connectors. (They have plastic caps on the threaded connections) Wait for the freon to feed in, and the gauge to get into the green zone. At that point, the air should ideally be blowing colder.
My father, who is an HVAC guy, recommended against getting freon with the 'leak stopping' lubricant in it, as it tends to be a temporary fix that makes problems worse later on.
If you have a bigger problem, like a more significant leak, moisture in the lines, or a compressor going bad, at least you're only out $30 and about 15 minutes worth of time. But if it's blowing cool, you probably only need a recharge.
AutoZone/WalMart etc sell R134-A freon recharge kits. You can either buy a freon canister and connector hose separately, or they also sell freon canisters with the hose and gauge all in one for like $30 or so.
It's pretty easy to do... pop the hood, start the car, turn on the a/c full blast, and screw on the end of the recharge hose to the low side of the a/c on the car. You can't mess it up - the high side and low side of the a/c system have different size connectors. (They have plastic caps on the threaded connections) Wait for the freon to feed in, and the gauge to get into the green zone. At that point, the air should ideally be blowing colder.
My father, who is an HVAC guy, recommended against getting freon with the 'leak stopping' lubricant in it, as it tends to be a temporary fix that makes problems worse later on.
If you have a bigger problem, like a more significant leak, moisture in the lines, or a compressor going bad, at least you're only out $30 and about 15 minutes worth of time. But if it's blowing cool, you probably only need a recharge.
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Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2010
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I'm about an hour away. I'm going to try the recharge kit when I have time.
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