Air Conditioning Not Right...

[uccello]

Hello all,

I had the a/c charged at a shop ($150:thumbdwn and it leaked out within a few days. The leak seemed to be at the compressor shaft, so I replaced the compressor with a rebutable rebuild. For good measure, I also replaced the lines, dryer, orifice tube, and sensors. Pulled a vacuum and put in new oil/freon.

After all this, it doesn't blow cold. Sort of cool, but nowhere near what it was when the shop charged it & all the old equipment was on (it was an artic blast before it all leaked out).

What should I do? Tear everything down & start over again? I'm going crazy here in this heat

 

[Maniak]

What pressures are you seeing @ what ambient temp @ what vent temp?

High/low pressure readings will usually tell the story....

~Mark

 

[natenkiki2004]

^^ Exactly, gotta check the pressures.

Also, I'd be demanding a refund from the shop. They should have pulled a vacuum on the system and let it sit a half hour or so to check for leakage. Their incompetence just wasted your time and money, that's not acceptable.

 

[uccello]

Thanks!

I did ask for a refund or redo from the shop. They denied both options. Sadly they have a great reputation in town (AAA Bob Sumerel). I might consider reversing the credit card charge, but my past experience has been that the card companies are on the merchant's side...

The pressures are approx: 37PSI low & 230PSI high (assuming the gauges are correct) at about 87F ambient with high humidity.

Are those numbers right? I can see condensation forming on the lines in the engine compartment.

I've heard about the mix door, but I think that's working okay - as the A/C was great while the first charge lasted, and now, moving the temp lever & vent position lever seems to produce results.

 

[Maniak]

Disclaimer: I'm no a/c tech.. I just know enough to be very dangerous but so far I haven't killed myself, or anyone else while keeping the a/c working on our vehicles.

Those pressures don't look "bad". They are pretty decent.

I tend to try for 250%-275% ambient temp so at 90f I'd be shooting for 225-250psi.

What temps are you getting from the middle vent at idle with the fan set to 1 notch lower than high? (door/windows open). If you are getting 40f lower than outside temp I would say you are doing good..

Where I see issues sometimes is on the low side. It's a fine line from having enough so the low pressure cut off switch doesn't turn off the compressor while going down the road and having too much in the system.

Since you are seeing condensation you know it's cooling so it's possible you are fighting some other issues. First would be the blend door which will let outside air in so your are cooling outside air instead of the air you have already cooled some...

Another thing that may help is getting the hot coolant out of the heater core. Newer explorers have a heater control bypass valve and you can install one easily. Basically, you take a vacuum line from the blend door actuator and run it through the firewall to this new valve. You install the new valve between the heater hoses coming from/to the engine and the heater core. When you are on max a/c it will close the valve and stop hot coolant from getting into the heater box.

Thread on installing the heater control bypass valve : http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190431

Oh yea, don't forget to put a review of them on Yelp, google + and any of the other places that show up when you search for them. Just put in the facts. Basically, that you took the system to them and they didn't follow proper procedures to make sure the system was safe to fill and they charged to evacuate/fill a system on a a/c system that was leaking fast enough to stop working in a few days..

~Mark

 

[uccello]

Thanks Mark. I appreciate the tips! I will also be sure to leave a review for that shop Hehehe

 

[uccello]

UPDATE

So... I found a coupon in the paper for a free air conditioner check at a local Midas. I thought since it was free, I'd have some experts look at it. Boy was I ever wrong!!!

I presented the coupon to the manager for a free air conditioning check. After a few hours, he told me I owed him $110. I reminded him that the coupon was for a FREE ac check. He said I could either pay up, or he would remove all the freon from my car. I opted for the latter option, as I did not authorize any work to be done.

Yes, that's right, the manager stole my freon. He wouldn't give me a copy of the paperwork either, which proves that he knew this was wrong (he didn't want a paper trail).

Has anyone experienced this type of dishonesty before??? Do I call the police and report a theft?

 

[OneofMany]

Well- the midas shop did steal your refrigerant [Freon is a brand name for DUPONT(*******s)] but technically if they hooked their machine up to it and reclaimed your refrigerant- it is theirs.
As to the shop that charged your system without checking for leaks- That is illegal and against standard procedure for a/c service. A known leaky system may only be charged for the purpose of leak- checking. Knowingly venting refrigerant is illegal. Once the system has been diagnosed, the refrigerant must be evacuated whether repairs are being performed or not. I do believe the law is the same for r134a as it was for r12.

 

[mekelly]

I would certainly call the BBB. I think the police are going to tell you it's a civil manner.

You said you spoke with the manager of the shop. I would find out who the owner is and call him.

 

[natenkiki2004]

Being a major shop, it sounds like some investigative journalism might be a good way to go too. Contact some papers and local news to see if they'd be interested in uncovering that.

Pretty disappointing that this had to happen to you. Definitely do something about it though, it's crap like this that gives bad names to honest mechanics.

 

[larrydd999]

Getting back to the original issue, I just rebuilt the A/C in my '94. It's R134A so is available for general use, unlike the R12. I'm wondering if someone forgot to replace the vacuum connection (or it fell off) on the heater bypass valve (which is apparently installed in all Explorers that have R134A)? If so, you could have some heat mixing with the chilled air from the evaporator. Secondly, since you had pressure before the 'free test', I'd try to charge the system and see if it works.

 

[uccello]

Getting back to the original issue, I just rebuilt the A/C in my '94. It's R134A so is available for general use, unlike the R12. I'm wondering if someone forgot to replace the vacuum connection (or it fell off) on the heater bypass valve (which is apparently installed in all Explorers that have R134A)? If so, you could have some heat mixing with the chilled air from the evaporator. Secondly, since you had pressure before the 'free test', I'd try to charge the system and see if it works.

I examined that "heater bypass" (I think that's the official name for it) vacuum manifold thingy... it looked okay until I jiggled it around, at which point it disintegrated. I guess 21 years of coolant & heat rotted the plastic. I've replaced it with a new one.

Glad I did so, as I learned our "max AC" setting does more than simply recirc the inside air. So... between a recharge, the new manifold, and using the max AC setting, I'm now satisfied enough with the temperature

Thanks everyone for you help, and if you're thinking of using Midas... "buyer beware"! I spoke with someone higher up in the Midas chain. Let's see if anything comes of it. I feel bad because there are probably hundreds of customers that get ripped off at this place & don't even know it. While I was there, some guy paid $60 for two wiper blades "installed!"...

 

[Rhett]

We used to have a Midas here, and they were pretty terrible. Maybe that's why they are gone now I like how you told him to remove all of the refridgerant. I bet he expected you to pay the $110 just to keep it in. Most non-car people would have. Instead, you made them WORK MORE to evac it AND you didn't pay them a dime.

What shysters.