2002 Ford Explorer A/C issues

[Norsegod]

I have a 2002 Ford Explorer with the 4.6 V8. I am having issues with the A/C not blowing cold at all. I thought that maybe the coolant was low, so I went out and bought a can of coolant, and hooked it up. I follow the directions on the can and place A/C in Max A/C setting, and fan on high. I hook up the can and what I see is the reading on the meter varies.

The needle will max out at the maximum acceptable reading (in the green) and then drop down to below the green. Then peg back out at the top and drop back down below the green, etc... etc... You can hear the compressor turning on and off with the movement of the needle. So the compressor kicks on when the needle moves up, and kicks off when the needle moves down.

I would like to know if anyone has any idea what the issue could be, as I do not think there is a leak, and it does not seem to be out of coolant. I was thinking that it might be either the high or low pressure switch, but would like to have a second opinion. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Number4]

You need to hook up a set of manifold gauges to read both the high and low side. Need to know the pressures.

Set of gauges from HF $49-$59.
Repair shop price: $9.99 - 39.99.

 

[lincolnshibuya]

I have a 2002 Ford Explorer with the 4.6 V8. I am having issues with the A/C not blowing cold at all. I thought that maybe the coolant was low, so I went out and bought a can of coolant, and hooked it up. I follow the directions on the can and place A/C in Max A/C setting, and fan on high. I hook up the can and what I see is the reading on the meter varies.

The needle will max out at the maximum acceptable reading (in the green) and then drop down to below the green. Then peg back out at the top and drop back down below the green, etc... etc... You can hear the compressor turning on and off with the movement of the needle. So the compressor kicks on when the needle moves up, and kicks off when the needle moves down.

I would like to know if anyone has any idea what the issue could be, as I do not think there is a leak, and it does not seem to be out of coolant. I was thinking that it might be either the high or low pressure switch, but would like to have a second opinion. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

normally this is not the ideal setup for charging AC, it works if there are no issues and the only problem is low on refrigerant. You need to have a manifold gauge which can do show both low and high pressures. The one sold in stores normally show the low side which is OK if there are no major issues. In your case since the compressor kicks on and off it means that it is still on low refrigerant, you could add more until it becomes steady at the green zone near the desired ambient temp. Now if you have issues like restriction on your AC you could probably do more harm by overcharging it or wasting cans of refrigerant if there's a leak.

 

[Norsegod]

Thanks for the information. I might have a friend who has a set of gauges I can borrow. I have been afraid of over charging the system so I don't want to just start filling away until it stabilizes. The needle is maxing out in the green, so I'm afraid charging it any more than it already is could over charge the system.

The movement of the needle on the charger maxes out and then drops to minimum all within about 10-15 seconds, and even when the can of coolant is removed you can still hear the compressor turning on and off over and over again in the same 10-15 second charging window. That was what made me possibly suspect one of the pressure sensors.

But, on the other hand, that doesn't seem logical either, because if the system reaches the high pressure limit, then the compressor should shut off. Which seems to be exactly what it is doing. And the same for the low pressure sensor. I will try to get a set of gauges hooked up over the weekend to see what I see. I understand that I am only hooked up to the low pressure side with the gauge that I have, and that is not ideal. I will let you know what I find out with the full set of gauges.

Thanks again for the reply, I really appreciate the help.