Air Conditioning Diagnosis Help

[pyxis]

I'm in need of some assistance diagnosing a problem I'm having with my A/C. First off my explorer has the manual controls and not the electronic. The problem is that cold air does not blow when I have the setting on "A/C." However, cold air does blow when I put the setting on "Max Air."

I checked if there was refrigerant and it was a little low. I put a can of refrigerant in there and it still won't blow cold air on the a/c setting. And when I change from "max air" to "a/c" it blows cold for about five seconds before it starts blowing hot air.

Don't know if this is related but about five months ago I had an electrical problem. The cable connecting the alternator to the battery somehow got loose and caused arcing. Don't know how long that lasted but eventually it melted the terminal on top the alternator and also took out my starter. Replaced both but I did notice about two weeks later that the a/c had this problem. Like I said not sure if it's related but thought I'd throw that out there.

I'd appreciate any insight.

Thanks

 

[swetrid]

Check and make sure the blend door isnt broken. Sometimes the extra airflow moves the door and then cools properly.

 

[waskly]

how do you know it was a can low?

no offense, but less its recovered, charged, you dont know whats in there, and a can is what 12 oz? which is ALOT low.

your ac could be overcharged shutting itself down from high pressure......

there are alot of factors.

 

[pyxis]

how do you know it was a can low?

no offense, but less its recovered, charged, you dont know whats in there, and a can is what 12 oz? which is ALOT low.

your ac could be overcharged shutting itself down from high pressure......

there are alot of factors.

The hose that I hooked up the the low pressure port has a pressure gauge on it. It read that the system was low. I just filled it until it showed the "correct" reading.

 

[waskly]

The hose that I hooked up the the low pressure port has a pressure gauge on it. It read that the system was low. I just filled it until it showed the "correct" reading.

so you have no clue how much freon is in the system, which is a really big problem to start off with since an undercharged or overcharged ac system both do the same.

adding cans, that can be done, but you have to read both sides, hi, low side and have some experience with the system to know its close to whats needed.

reading a low side reading and adding will do nothing.

 

[my98nnj]

The problem is that cold air does not blow when I have the setting on "A/C." However, cold air does blow when I put the setting on "Max Air."

Your blend door is broken, a common problem. Check in the stickies for instructions on how to fix it or just Google explorer blend door.
You can find the part on RockAuto.com

 

[pyxis]

so you have no clue how much freon is in the system, which is a really big problem to start off with since an undercharged or overcharged ac system both do the same.

adding cans, that can be done, but you have to read both sides, hi, low side and have some experience with the system to know its close to whats needed.

reading a low side reading and adding will do nothing.

Hmm well thanks for the info. Last time I listen to the neighbor/mechanic from down the street though!

I'll check out that blend door. Thanks

 

[yavapaires]

A good RELIABLE check of refrigerant level without all the fancy gages that most of us cannot afford is to use a produce type thermometer to check the outlet air temp. Shoot for about 40 degrees outlet air temp. You can find these thermometers at your local Wally World. Or at any truck stop. They have a round gage with a long probe,about 4-5 inches long.