evilsaint

Did quite a bit of searching in the last hour and I couldn't come up with anything useful in terms of recharging the system myself. I've done it on other cars before but I always just used one of the big, wheel-around type of machines. I've checked for leaks on other cars too, but it was so long ago that it was R12, not R134A, heh. Needless to say, I can't remember how the heck we injected the dye into the system.

Any advice is appreciated. I can deal with the compressor not blowing hard enough (got mine replaced via extended warranty but it hardly made a difference), but not blowing cold air until I drive the car for 5-10 minutes is just pitiful. Hopefully I can just buy a can of juice and do it in my driveway, or is it more complicated than that on our cars?

loudandheard

I had a problem with my A/C in my w202, previous C-class. Apparently there was a known issue with the car where the condenser or some thing like that would develop a crack and leak the refrigerant. The whole dash would have to be taken out in order to fix a very cheap piece. I think the piece was $50-$100, but the cost of removing the dash was some where close to $1k.

If I remember correctly the A/C compressor shuts itself off it does not read pressure or if the incorrect amount of refrigerant is present. I think the A/C would blow air, but it was just hot air. I had a place try to recharge, before I knew about the issue above and they were unable to get it to work at all. They said the whole system was shot.

I took it to another place and they did the dye test and I told them that I couldn't afford to get it replaced. So I had them put in the refrigerant anyways. That finally kick started the system and it worked.

I'm sure I didn't answer any thing, but yes the A/C system is fairly complex when compared to a regular A/C system. With out the correct amount of refrigerant the A/C the compressor will not even start.

evilsaint

Any chance you remember what the cost was to recharge the system? I just assumed off the bat that it would be way too expensive to have somebody else do it, but if it's only $400 or less, I could probably manage it.

The A/C *does* get semi-cold, but it takes a good five minutes on average which blows for a person who sweats as easily as I do The temperature was never amazing, but I remember that during the first and second summers that I had the car, it would blow ice-cold after only a minute or two, assuming I had the temps on "Lo" or w/e it's called when you take them all the way down.

loudandheard

I don't recall, but I'm pretty sure that I had the system recharged for less than $400, but it was done at an indy shop a few years back. You may not have a problem refilling the system if you just need a bit of a recharge, mine was completely out and had a small leak. So I don't think it should cost so much.