Troubleshooting help needed-AC pressures
I will be calling Classic Auto Air tomorrow with my question and/or to order parts if necessary but first thought I could use a little help from you geniuses out there so I can speak more intelligently when I call.
History: Installed Classic Auto Air 134a system on my Demon. Compressor comes pre-filled with correct amount of oil so you are to install 24 oz of 134a with no oil. I pulled vacuum and let it hold for 48 hours to ensure no leaks. Charged system and it worked great. 2 weeks later the pressure was too low for the clutch to engage and in fact was completely empty.
I once again pulled a vacuum and once again it held for a couple days. At this point I was thinking that if it were to leak down again, it would be nice to have a dye in it but I wasn't sure if it would add to the liquid volume of the system. A mechanic who is certified to work on AC systems assured me it would not. (I am beginning to think I got bum advice) So I charged it again using 1 12oz with dye and 1 12oz without dye. Neither cans said they had oil however I'm suspicious as to what and how much dye or dyed oil is in a can of "dye 134a"? Upon doing this, all pressures were normal, it worked great for a few weeks even though the temps were cool and I didn't really need AC, it worked every time I tested it.
Yesterday we go to a car show and my wife drove the Demon. She turns on the AC and it blows warm air.
I connect my gauges when we got home. Temperature was 90*. Low side pressure was 90psi (I expected 50 or so) and high side was around 75psi (I expected something around 200psi per charts I found online). There was no leak found with my UV light however the evaporator coil is impossible to see as it is in the case under the dash. The low pressure charge port cap however broke when I took it off, leaving the internal threaded portion in the valve, to which I had to spin it out with a pick. My suspicion is that this had possibly been failing after the first charge and the center portion had somehow depressed the schrader valve and was the cause of the first leak-down. see pic below (couldn't find a picture of one with an L on it but it is the same design.
My fear is that the dye may have slugged the system with too much liquid and I may have damaged the expansion valve or compressor? Any thoughts, advice is appreciated. Thanks
Jerry
I will be calling Classic Auto Air tomorrow with my question and/or to order parts if necessary but first thought I could use a little help from you geniuses out there so I can speak more intelligently when I call.
History: Installed Classic Auto Air 134a system on my Demon. Compressor comes pre-filled with correct amount of oil so you are to install 24 oz of 134a with no oil. I pulled vacuum and let it hold for 48 hours to ensure no leaks. Charged system and it worked great. 2 weeks later the pressure was too low for the clutch to engage and in fact was completely empty.
I once again pulled a vacuum and once again it held for a couple days. At this point I was thinking that if it were to leak down again, it would be nice to have a dye in it but I wasn't sure if it would add to the liquid volume of the system. A mechanic who is certified to work on AC systems assured me it would not. (I am beginning to think I got bum advice) So I charged it again using 1 12oz with dye and 1 12oz without dye. Neither cans said they had oil however I'm suspicious as to what and how much dye or dyed oil is in a can of "dye 134a"? Upon doing this, all pressures were normal, it worked great for a few weeks even though the temps were cool and I didn't really need AC, it worked every time I tested it.
Yesterday we go to a car show and my wife drove the Demon. She turns on the AC and it blows warm air.
I connect my gauges when we got home. Temperature was 90*. Low side pressure was 90psi (I expected 50 or so) and high side was around 75psi (I expected something around 200psi per charts I found online). There was no leak found with my UV light however the evaporator coil is impossible to see as it is in the case under the dash. The low pressure charge port cap however broke when I took it off, leaving the internal threaded portion in the valve, to which I had to spin it out with a pick. My suspicion is that this had possibly been failing after the first charge and the center portion had somehow depressed the schrader valve and was the cause of the first leak-down. see pic below (couldn't find a picture of one with an L on it but it is the same design.
My fear is that the dye may have slugged the system with too much liquid and I may have damaged the expansion valve or compressor? Any thoughts, advice is appreciated. Thanks
Jerry
