Air Conditioning - Not So Cool

4x4Hunter · July 9, 2000

Hey there...

Well I figured since i'm waiting on my parts for the suspension lift, I'd start looking at solving some of the little annoying problems. The major one right now is my Air Conditioning that blows basically warm air. I joke with my friends and tell them that I have 4, 60.... 4 windows down, 60mph... cuz the air hasn't worked in awhile now. The good part is that I live in NY and usually ...well 9 mo. of the year its the heater that I really care about working. Come next year however I'll be moving down to NC and want to be sure that the AC works. I used a conversion kit to R134, which seemed to work ( atleast for 3 or so days ) The explorer is a 91' so I imagine that the rings and seals on the lines for the A/C are rather brittle...so since the conversion seemed to work, I feel that the coolant is leaking from the system and that is the reason that I cannot keep the system cool. I'd really appreciate any help that you guys might be able to provide. I thought perhaps that Ford has a "kit" or something for replacement of those line seals if that is the problem. If there is something that I may not be aware of please comment.

Thanks

riffman · July 9, 2000

Maybe try checking to see how clean your Radiator is. Mine was absolutely jammed pack full of mud, and my airconditioner didn't do JACK!!!! As soon as it blew up, and i got a new one, my ac seemed to be a lot better.

I have no idea if that has anything to do with your experience, but it seemed too odd a coincidence to let it go unmentioned.

4Wheelin · July 10, 2000

My air blew one day while I was driving around and turns out the reason was no freon! That sucked because it cost me $380 to replace the compressor and all the lines under the hood. I would just say check all the hoses, seals, rings, and that you have freon in the line. Also, Where in NY are you from? because I am from Long Island and I have been looking for people from around here to go off-roading but yet to find some.

MikeP · July 10, 2000

With regards to your Air cond/heater blowing warm air, there can be a problem of that warm air/outside air mixing valve or flap not functioning OK. I noticed that at times, with the heat/cold switch moved completely to the left at the coldest setting (and the A/C turned off), the air coming out of the vents is warm (perhaps 10-15 degrees F warmer than outside air at say 55 deg F). There is a post somewhere on how to fix this air mixing valve/baffle thing located upstream of the heater heat exchanger located under the glove compartment. I think this is a problem on many Ford Explorers - and if your air conditioner is functioning, it needs to work harder to overcome this poorly functioning air baffle valve mixer thing.
By the way, a chap at the Ford dealers told me they have a relatively inexpensive kit for converting from R-12 to R-134 (I still have the R-12 system).
Over the weekend I drained and flushed my coolant system with the Prestone Radiator Flush stuff (using a Tee located in the heater hose). It seemed like there was a fair amount of "stuff" flushed out in the water-antifreeze mix. I put in about a 1/3 bottle of Red Line "Water Wetter", water, and a bottle of Prestone water pump lubricant & corrosion inhibitor liquid. However, temp gauge indicator remains the same at about the "o" and "r" letters in "Normal".
Mike with 91 XLT 4x4 in Seattle

Dennis Myers · July 10, 2000

Well I had the same thing with the air in my 94.
Turned out to be the evaporator ( mounted on the firewall in a blck plastic box with a little space blanket type material on it.) had a crack in it $650.00 to fix but it is worth it. (I can make ice cubes on my dash now).
Good Luck.

Tommy2000 · July 13, 2000

Anyone know where to find info on...

...that heat vent flap thing?

Also, why would my AC change to blowing colder for a little bit, and then click to warmer again...it is really weird...

Dennis Myers · July 13, 2000

R-134a Level

I would have your R-134A level checked, The cycling of temp sounds like you are low on fluid.

4x4Hunter · July 13, 2000

I really need to know if they make a part package for the seals on the air conditioner....I want to repair that as soon as I can..

Tommy2000 · July 13, 2000

Re: R-134a Level

Originally posted by Dennis Myers
I would have your R-134A level checked, The cycling of temp sounds like you are low on fluid.

Which fluid?

Dennis Myers · July 14, 2000

Which Fluid?

The fluid would be either R-134A or R-12 depending what is in your cooling system.

FMExplorer · July 14, 2000

4x4Hunter,
Take your rig to the local A/C shop and have them do 2 tests - 1 vacuum test (to see if the system is leaking) and the other is a dye test. If it leaks, they will put a dye in the A/C and the dye will come shooting out of the leak. Then you can replace whatever is leaking. Once you get a leak you need to get it fixed immediately, as you can get moisture in the system. This will royally screw up your condensor(little radiator next to main one) and evaporator. These parts can be replaced by most anyone, but afterwards you need to have a shop create a vacuum so you can add the freon or freon-substitute (R134)
Hope this helps - I made all these mistakes on my Saab - 1200 in parts and I did all the work!

JonM

N3YIX · August 2, 2000

Go to http://www.aircondition.com for your AC problems. They are LOTS of help. I changed my '92 over to R134 (with their help)and now I get 28 deg air coming out of the ducts at highway spee.
Just a thought
John

raven2 · August 4, 2000

I was told that when using a retro r-134 kit to replace the r-12, without getting the entire system converted, the charge will only last a year because the r-134 molecules are smaller than the r-12, and the gas will slowly seep out of an r-12 system

AZExplorer · August 4, 2000

The R-12 is $60/# and $30 to have a tech put it in ($90+).
And I especially enjoy the 3 hour wait in the tiny dirty waiting room with Opra on the tube.

The R134 is $4/# and the kit for the DIY kit is $16($20+ the first time, $4 thereafter)
And I especially enjoy the 3 hours spent in my tiny dirty garage, looking at the three other projects I finished along with the recharge, with The Boss making me gratefull I'm not from NJ.

I may be cheap, OK i'm easy too, but the more things I can service on the grey pig, the better. Thanks to WAExplorer for the greasy wrench bug bite.

[Edited by AZExplorer on 08-04-2000 at 02:07 PM]

dmkbuff · August 5, 2000

Usually when you have a refrigerant leak you will be able to notice refrigerant oil around the leak. You will have to look carefully at all the spring lock connection fittings and other connections to see the oil. The red dye can be purchased at any auto parts store. It is injected into the reciever on the low side of the compressor. Very easy to do, but you should be able to pick it up by just looking for oil stains.
Typically the leaks are at the compressor seal. You can tell by looking at your hoodliner just above the AC compressor. If you see a film of oil that is where your leak is.
Also there is a orfice regulator located on the incoming line of your evaporator. This device has a screen on it. I have noticed that the screens gets plugged and the cooling capacity is affected.
If the compressor is pumping there should be enough refrigerant. If you are low the compressor will cycle frequently from the low pressure switch.

kvo · August 15, 2000

dmkbuff and others -

I'm about to do the conversion but not sure where the low pressure side of the AC system is. Could someone who has done it let me know. I was reading the repair manual and they said if there is condensation on the condensation lines, you are low on refrigerant, and that's what I have.

Looking in the engine compartment from the front of the truck, I saw two valves, one on the right side of the radiator and one on the left hand side by the firewall/blower. My manual does not say which is the low pressure.

Thanks for any help.

dmkbuff · August 15, 2000

The low pressure connection is the one up by the firewall.
It is part of a cylnader looking thing which is the reciever-filter & dryer.

You are probably low on gas, but don't overfill it. That is worse then having it low. It may blow the relief valve or take the seal out of the pump. If you do not have guages I believe it takes about 2 1/2 cans of 134a to get close.

kvo · August 15, 2000

dmkbuff -

Thanks for the information. I have another question may be you can help.

My blower has been on and off intermittently. These are the symptoms: when the engine is cold, at start up, the system works fine, AC, heater, blower at all speed. After driving for a while, the blower stops working but I can still see that there is still electricity to the panel switch when depressed.

At first I thought it was a loose connection, took it out but there was nothing loose. Kilroy (a member) said it could be that the blower is the problem, the contacts may be corroding and not getting the contacts after it heats up. There was another post that suggested that the system shuts down because of low refrigerant?

dmkbuff · August 15, 2000

Is the blower stopping or is the AC Pump stopping?

There is a low pressure switch for the refrigerant (it is also located on the reciever filter-dryer) that will cycle the air conditioning pump. But that should not affect the blower.

If the blower stops it could be a loose connection or the blower motor is heating up and stopping. Also if it is happening when the AC is running and the AC is low on refrigerant the evaporator coil could be icing up stopping the air flow. Are you noticing a lot of water dripping on the ground behind the right front tire when you park your rig? You can check this when you are driving by shutting the AC switch off and letting the blower run at high speed. If it is icing up the hot air flowing over the evap will melt and you will notice increased air flow.

kvo · August 15, 2000

dmkbuff -

The blower stops working completely, no air blowing through any of the vents. Next time I use the AC and the blower stops, I'll open the hood to check if the blower is still blowing or not (have not thought about that). As you indicated, it may still be blowing but the evaporator coil could be icing up stopping the air flow. And yes, there is a lot of water after I have used the AC, looks like a water line break.

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