Identification of Air Conditioning System Part

[drakehound]

I would like some assistance in identifying the part in the attached image. It is in the high-pressure side of the air conditioning system in a stock 1994 Ford Explorer XL. It has a switch mounted in it that is closed with the engine off. There are two wires that run from the switch into the wiring harness. The wires are dark green/orange and red/yellow. None of this is mentioned in my Chilton manual. They are also not shown in the vehicle schematics or wiring diagrams. It is not a modification, because it came like this from the factory. It's a Canadian vehicle.

Does anyone know what this part is?

 

[Kesp4.0]

Not sure what that cylinder is but that entire part is called the AC Manifold. The switch located there is the low pressure cutoff switch. It only appeared on the 1994 model because of the different type of refrigerant used.
I'm actually upgrading my 1993 AC system from an R-12 system to an R-134a system and that's one of the hurdles for me: wiring in that low pressure cutoff into my older harness that didn't utilize a switch there

 

[JustinGibson]

I've been getting ready to redo the system on my 94 Navajo and was wondering the same thing. Does it need to be replaced?

 

[drakehound]

Not sure what that cylinder is but that entire part is called the AC Manifold. The switch located there is the low pressure cutoff switch. It only appeared on the 1994 model because of the different type of refrigerant used.
I'm actually upgrading my 1993 AC system from an R-12 system to an R-134a system and that's one of the hurdles for me: wiring in that low pressure cutoff into my older harness that didn't utilize a switch there

Thanks for the information. The refrigerant in my system is R-134a from the factory.

 

[drakehound]

I've been getting ready to redo the system on my 94 Navajo and was wondering the same thing. Does it need to be replaced?

No, it is working fine. I am just a little ticked-off that my manual doesn't mention it.