JBABS AUTO AIR CONDITIONING

AUTO AIR CONDITIONING HELP

This page is for non a/c experts who are hot and sweaty.

This Image Of a Typical Auto Air Conditioner Is a Good Reference guide

This is another view of a typical A/C system.

If you own a van with dual units both front and rear then do
not use R-134 as a replacement refrigerant it will not work
well, if at all....
This page is also for persons that enjoyed being able to recharge their vehicles by themselves
back when we were able to get refrigerant R-12 at the local auto store.

Well now you can buy the little cans of refrigerant over the counter again, but it is R-134. Its
better than nothing.

If you have the time read Jbabs air conditioning help page to understand what the freon does in
an a/c system. Air conditioning works the same no matter what the applicatiion. auto, home,
commercial, freezer, refrigerator,, ect..
If you want to change from R-12 to R-134 then page down this page for info.

Lookin for the R-134 pressure chart click here...

The so called oil change and O-ring change required...

If your system had needed charging a half times a year or so do to a leak than add "2 ounces" of
R-134a oil in a pre charged can to replace any lost oil do to leaking.

Most of you will not have the massive load of tools for a/c work but have no fear you and I
should be able to figure out how to get that a/c cooling even if all you have for tools is a
screwdriver, pliers, and a butter knife.

Auto air conditioners that are barely working or working but not quite as well as before are
simple a/c's to fix, usually they need freon added.

Sometimes when the a/c isn't running well and adding freon doesn't help then it can be hard to
figure out.

The most common problem is that the refrigerant (Freon) leaks.

When the system does leak, the first thing that happens is the a/c does not work well when you
need it the most (hot!! summer day). At night it will work better. What causes this is a pressure
sensor that turns off the compressor if the pressure drops below the pre-set setting of this switch.

The low side of a working car a/c should be around 40psi. when the outside temperature is hot
(summer).

As the system looses more and more freon the low side pressure will drop more and more. The
switch will cut off the power to the compressor when the pressure drops to about 25-30psi.

When the compressor stops the high pressure side will bring the pressure up as the system
equalizes. The switch will sense the pressure rise in which the compressor will come on again.
Then it starts over again.

The less freon there is the more the switch will turn the compressor off/on/off/on ect.. After a
certain point the a/c will not work at all.

This low pressure switch is there to 1: Regulate the compressor. As the temperature of the air in
the car gets cooled the pressure on the low side drops, if you run the a/c with the fan on low the
cold coil can get so cold the water condensat will freeze up the coil. 2: The switch will keep the
compressor from running if the system gets low of refrigerant.

Some vehicles use a switch on the high pressure side, it does basically the same thing. Except it
senses the high pressure and will shut down the compressor when the pressure goes to high or to
low. For Saftey.

If you take the time to read through what I have posted on this site you should gain enough
information to help you figure out why your a/c is not working, if you have any mechanical
ability it should not be to hard to pinpoint the problem. If you are petrified of the thought of air
conditioning trouble shooting then go to my vehicle air conditioning check list . This will only
help to figure out what may be wrong but you will still pay dearly to have someone else do the
repair.

Topping Off The R-12 Ststem.

The topping off of an R-12 system that needs a small amount of R-12 freon is the same as fillng
the system up with R-134. When you connect the R-12 can or jug to the fill hose or gauges you
then must connect the hose to the low side of the ac. After doing so add the freon slowly until the
aluminum tubing that connects to the compressor starts to sweat (drip water). Feel the tubing at
the compressor by hand it should feel very cold, like an ice cold soda out of the refrigerator.
When the low side tube is cold and sweating your done charging/topping off the system. Be sure
not to put in so much freon that the compressor starts to sweat. Only the tubing that connects to
the compressor should sweat. (be sure not to touch the high side tubing coming out of the
compressor as it can burn you). If you have gauges then the low side reading on a warm day
should be around 40 psi.

Leak Detecting

If you find you do have the most common problem a leak, look for an oil stain on the tubing,
there will be a dirty oil stain where the leak is, this is because there is oil flowing around with the
freon. If your looking for a leak check all the hose connections, and the connections to the coil
up front and the compressor, look for the oil stain as described above.

Chances are your vehicle uses R-12 refrigerant, you can check by looking at the stickers under
the hood. If thats the case, and your vehicle has a slow leak I recommend going to an auto store
and pick up the kit to change your freon from R-12 to R-134, R-134 is now available over the
counter. You must get the kit because the R-134 cans have a special adapter valve you must
install on top of the original access valves (the fittings where you connect the hoses for service)
on your system.

YOU DO NOT- use the same amount of R-134 as you do R-12 as the refrigerants have different
molecule sizes. Use 80% of the R-12 charge.

R-12 is no longer being produced because of the so called ozone depletion. It is still available but
expensive about $20 to $30 a pound. R-134 is less per lb. Now the R-134 is not quite as effecient
as R-12 but it works quite well. There are many other gases on the market now. These 2 that I list
work much better than the R-134a from what I have experienced. These are "Hot Shot R-414b"
Also the refrigerant "Enviro-Safe R-ES-12a"

Changing from refrigerant R-12 to R-134a

If you would like to change the gas from R-12 to R-134 something you can do yourself now that
you can buy the little cans again, Read below for help.

Working on pressurized refrigerant systems is dangerous so do it at your own risk.

HOW TO CHANGE THE FREON FROM R-12 TO R-134

To change to R-134 you will need.

Before being able to charge the vehicle the R-12 needs to be removed. In the old days you could
just depress the valve to let what is left of the R-12 out. It is like letting the air out of a tire. But
that is against the law. Your supposed to have the R-12 vacuumed out (recovered).

Install the new R-134 fitting on the "low side". The R-134a kits come with 2 134 adapter valves.
A question that is often asked is "Which adapter do I put on the low side"? or "How do I make
sure which one is the low side"?

The 134a fittings will only fit on the exact old fittings. They are different sizes. You cannot get
them wrong. The old R-12 low side fitting is a 1/4 inch flare fitting. The high side is a 3/16 inch
flare fitting. So the new R-134a fittings only fit one way. The larger of the two is the low side.

The R-134a cans fill hose will only fit one of the fittings, that is the low side. You cannot get this
wrong.
If your vehicle is equipped with a shiny can "accumulator & dryer bag" then the valve on the can
is the low side. See image below.

Below are a few common places where the low side fittings
can be found.
WARNING: Your vehicles a/c system will not need every bit of 3 cans. The reason I put 2 to 3
cans of R-134 is that most vehicle a/c's actually fall between needing 1_1/2 to 3 cans.

Read the instructions on how to connect the new fitting on the low pressure side. This new fitting
will now allow the R-134 hose to connect to the vehicles a/c.

Now read the instructions on how to connect the hose to the freon can.(The kit will have a
connector that fits on the top of the freon can)

You should now have a full R-134 can connected to the hose.

Next, tighten the "T" tap valve by turning it clockwise. Keep turning the T valve until it stops
tightening. This pokes the hole in the can to let the freon out. Now open the valve slowly untill
you hear gas coming out of the hose on the can. The reason I want you to do this is to push
(purge) the air out of the yellow filling tube on the can to keep you from putting air in the
system.

At this point you are ready to gas up.

If you bought a R-134 retrofit kit then you may be confused by the directions on the kit. If I
remember correctly it states to put in the first 2 cans upside down. I dont like beginners shooting
liquid freon into systems. If you want you can shoot in the first can upside down, *be safe*.
After purging the air out of the hose connect the hose to the new fitting on the low side.***see
image below***

Start the engine then set the a/c on hi cool and hi fan!. Keep the passenger door or windows
open!.

Watch the water temp gauge on the engine you dont want to overheat the engine while doing
this.

Now with the engine running and the a/c set on hi-cool/hi-fan turn this first can upside down.
Open the valve on the can and let the liquid freon in slowly (dont be in a hurry!). After some of
the freon gets into the system the compressor will kick on and off. This is normal. Keep slowly
adding the freon until the can gets empty.

Now that the can is empty disconnect the fill hose from the a/c. Then unscrew the 1 st can of
freon (there will be pressure left in the can so dont be alarmed). Now screw the second can onto
the "Tap". Then turn the tap clockwise until it stops again. Now the second can is ready to be
connected. Put the hose on the low side fitting. But this time do not turn the can upside down.
Open the "T" valve slowly to let the freon in again. With the freon can being up the outside of it
may freeze. So as the gas is leaving the freon can you can shake the can while it is filling. When
the can gets real cold this is where you dip the can into the hot tap water. Doing this will keep the
pressure up in the freon can while its filling.
Getting the refrigerant (Freon) charge is the most important and hardest thing for you to get
correct. The best way to tell is by hand. Find out which aluminum tube that is connected to the
compressor is the low side. The low side aluminum tubing that enters the compressor is what you
feel. "BE CAREFUL NOT TO GRAB THE HIGH SIDE ALUMINUM TUBE THAT EXITS
THE COMPRESSOR AS IT CAN BURN YOU" Keep adding freon while you feel the tubing.
You will keep adding freon until the aluminum tubing gets cold and sweats.

The a/c will be correctly filled when the aluminum tubing that connects to the compressor will be
cold and sweating. Like an ice cold soda can. The compressor itself should NOT sweat!! If you
overcharge the system the compressor will sweat and by now you should know that just the low
side tubing entering the compressor should be sweating. Now you can only feel the aluminum
part of the tubing not the black rubber.

AGAIN CAUTION: Be careful not to touch the other tube coming out of the compressor that
goes toward the radiator it will BURN you.

If you have gauges the low side at idle on a hot day will be about 40-50psi.

That is all there is to it..

I will go over it again quickly... Start with no pressure in the auto's a/c, then put on the new valve
in the kit over the old valve (low side) on the shiny can if your car has one. Then start the engine
and put the a/c on hi cool with the fan on hi, open the doors or windows then connect the first R-
134 can to the fill hose, turn the "Tap" valve clockwise until the can is punctured. Then open the
valve to let some freon out of the can, this will push (purge) the air in the hose out. On the first
can turn it upside down. Connect the hose to the new low pressure side valve (these are pop off
type valves like an air compressor uses). Turn the first can upside down. Let the liquid in by
opening the "T" valve slowly. This will allow liquid freon in slowly. After letting in the freon the
compressor will come on and off, this is normal. As you add more and more freon the
compressor will stay running. keep adding gas until you have a very cold and sweaty low side
aluminum tube that connects to the compressor. DO NOT OVERFILL, overfilling will make the
compressor sweat, also the pressures can go dangerously high.

To see how the refrigerant (Freon) changes state, liquid to gas. This is what makes air
conditioners work. Its the same with all a/c's go here....

FREON R-134 IS NOW AVAILABLE TO ALL AT AUTO PARTS STORES