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Hopefully the mechanic placed the exact weight of refrigerant in the system but to get hiss means its leaking out or its under filled. How long after you had it refilled did it start hissing? Also the system really needs to hold a vacuum -27 or better for an hour solid.
I discovered my evaporator leak ( I always knew it was bad) by observing dye coming out the AC drain line. Mine came out of my driver side drain underneath the car. A sniffer might be able to detect it through the center vents but lets hope for the best. If it is your evaporator then you will need to make a choice cause the labor to replace that will be massive.
All in all I spent about $600 in parts and that's everything- condenser, 2 driers, compressor, expansion valve, O rings, PAG oil, pressure switch, evaporator, flush kit for the line.. I stole many of the parts by getting great deals online using coupon codes and rewards points. For example, I bought my compressor, the latest revision OEM, for $201 brand new and the evap was $156 using points.
My labor I'd say 4 ish hard days in total. If I wasn't able to do all my own labor, the choice to keep the AMG would of been heart breaking tough one.
Oh 2 driers because I opened the system twice. It only needs one.
Last edited by Tall Giraffe; 06-28-2019 at 10:21 PM.
Hopefully the mechanic placed the exact weight of refrigerant in the system but to get hiss means its leaking out or its under filled. How long after you had it refilled did it start hissing? Also the system really needs to hold a vacuum -27 or better for an hour solid.
I discovered my evaporator leak ( I always knew it was bad) by observing dye coming out the AC drain line. Mine came out of my driver side drain underneath the car. A sniffer might be able to detect it through the center vents but lets hope for the best. If it is your evaporator then you will need to make a choice cause the labor to replace that will be massive.
All in all I spent about $600 in parts and that's everything- condenser, 2 driers, compressor, expansion valve, O rings, PAG oil, pressure switch, evaporator, flush kit for the line.. I stole many of the parts by getting great deals online using coupon codes and rewards points. For example, I bought my compressor, the latest revision OEM, for $201 brand new and the evap was $156 using points.
My labor I'd say 4 ish hard days in total. If I wasn't able to do all my own labor, the choice to keep the AMG would of been heart breaking tough one.
Oh 2 driers because I opened the system twice. It only needs one.
That’s impressive.
It started hissing right away.
My mechanic said he followed the guidelines on the exact amount of refrigerant to add. I think maybe he half-assed the vacuuming after the third time doing it.
I understand it’s an old car and the ac won’t kick out as much as it used to but I would like it to not shut off into safety mode after 10 minutes of driving it.
With my defective evaporator, my system would not hold below -23
If it doesn't hold better than -27, you still have an issue and youll continually lose refrigerant. I still think you need to replace that drier, but you need to find out why the system is under charged first. Being an old car doesnt mean the car wont hold charge, thats simply a mechanical issue.
Here is my thread. It may contain more info to help you and went through the process I took.
Last edited by Tall Giraffe; 06-29-2019 at 11:21 AM.
With my defective evaporator, my system would not hold below -23
If it doesn't hold better than -27, you still have an issue and youll continually lose refrigerant. I still think you need to replace that drier, but you need to find out why the system is under charged first. Being an old car doesnt mean the car wont hold charge, thats simply a mechanical issue.
Here is my thread. It may contain more info to help you and went through the process I took.
So something incredible happened today. I got in the car when it was 86 F out turned on the engine and monitored the climate control readings for a few minutes. The pressure was a little higher (#7 went up to 08). I was confident enough to take the car for a little drive around the block and monitored the readings while driving. #7 went up to 12 after a minute of driving and then up to 15! The A/C came out cold on both the driver and passenger side with no hissing. On my 5 minute drive #7 fluctuated between 10 and 15. I'm not sure what to make of this. The only difference between yesterday and today is that it was sunny yesterday and the temp was a few degrees higher. Is it possible the A/C just needed a few days to circulate? I picked it up from the mechanic on Monday. The true test will be when I take it out for a 30+ minute drive on an 86 F day. Here are my readouts from today's drive...
I would start with calibration test.
You can try to make assumptions from performance test, but not knowing if sensors are accurate, that all might be worthless.
So something incredible happened today. I got in the car when it was 86 F out turned on the engine and monitored the climate control readings for a few minutes. The pressure was a little higher (#7 went up to 08). I was confident enough to take the car for a little drive around the block and monitored the readings while driving. #7 went up to 12 after a minute of driving and then up to 15! The A/C came out cold on both the driver and passenger side with no hissing. On my 5 minute drive #7 fluctuated between 10 and 15. I'm not sure what to make of this. The only difference between yesterday and today is that it was sunny yesterday and the temp was a few degrees higher. Is it possible the A/C just needed a few days to circulate? I picked it up from the mechanic on Monday. The true test will be when I take it out for a 30+ minute drive on an 86 F day. Here are my readouts from today's drive...
Just an update: I took my car out for two 50 minute trips on Sunday when it was mid 80's F out. The A/C stayed on the whole time and came out all vents cold. The #7 pressure hovered around 12 on city streets and 06 highway driving. I'm hoping it's stays above 06 on long distance highway driving. It's 89 F today and it's still coming on nice and cold after a few minutes of starting my engine. Next test is a long distance highway drive but for now I'm feeling pretty good about it.
Just an update: I took my car out for two 50 minute trips on Sunday when it was mid 80's F out. The A/C stayed on the whole time and came out all vents cold. The #7 pressure hovered around 12 on city streets and 06 highway driving. I'm hoping it's stays above 06 on long distance highway driving. It's 89 F today and it's still coming on nice and cold after a few minutes of starting my engine. Next test is a long distance highway drive but for now I'm feeling pretty good about it.
Output still seems a little low. I feel like those numbers at that temp a hiss should be there. Was there?
89 degrees, 74% humidity here today and when I checked today Im 17 - 09 bar.
Just an update: I took my car out for two 50 minute trips on Sunday when it was mid 80's F out. The A/C stayed on the whole time and came out all vents cold. The #7 pressure hovered around 12 on city streets and 06 highway driving. I'm hoping it's stays above 06 on long distance highway driving. It's 89 F today and it's still coming on nice and cold after a few minutes of starting my engine. Next test is a long distance highway drive but for now I'm feeling pretty good about it.
You are like my wife. I tell her "turn left" and she promptly turns right.
All those numbers are worthless as variable output compressor can operate different pressures that depend on other 8 sensors.
When we don't know calibration, it is like OJ Simpson trial. "garbage in = garbage out"
Output still seems a little low. I feel like those numbers at that temp a hiss should be there. Was there?
89 degrees, 74% humidity here today and when I checked today Im 17 - 09 bar.
The hiss comes and goes. It does seem to hiss when #7 is low. I have the same weather here in NY and when I checked yesterday it was at 14 bar. I agree it should be higher. I don't like to see it drop down to 06 on the highway but as long as the a/c stays on I'm not too concerned.
Well I would say that sure your AC will operate given the below average numbers but for how long? I think Kajtek1 and Plutoe has valid points/plausibilities. I believe running your system this way may ultimately cause more damage in totality.
Below is a chart I used as a close reference during my repair to understand numbers as suggested by MB. My system numbers, slightly different, matched another member with same car who also replaced his entire system as well.
You are like my wife. I tell her "turn left" and she promptly turns right.
All those numbers are worthless as variable output compressor can operate different pressures that depend on other 8 sensors.
When we don't know calibration, it is like OJ Simpson trial. "garbage in = garbage out"
How about some more info on calibration then? How do I get it calibrated? How much does it cost? Is this a DIY job?
Yea me too as I cant wait for the suggested answer----------calibrated MA never heard such HS------if your compressor cant make more than 11bar you have a bad compressor
Also, I took the car for a round trip 4 hour drive. During the first hour there #7 fluctuated between 07 and 16. The second hour it stayed steady at 07 and the two hours back it stayed at 07. All highway driving. The A/C stayed on and cool the whole time.
Your AC temp sensors are within 4 degrees spread, what is acceptable. Engine sensor shows higher, so how long it was since shut-down?
4 bars static and 16 max is low refrigerant pressure. If you really want to troubleshoot farther you should observe pressure #7 after restarting hot car, but at this point it is safe to say you need a can of r134.
At highway speeds you may have a lower #7 as high wind is going through the condenser effectively helping the system cool. The question is what is the ambient temp during the trip and was the beginning of the trip stop and go? Do you still have error codes?
I still say that you:
Ensure you have the proper refrigerant by weight in the system. The only way I know of is a full evac and refill. A pro machine may be able to tell you what was reclaimed by weight. Check vacuum pull for leaks see if it holds at least -27 for an hour. Add dye at that point for good measure buy a black light flashlight and monitor yourself. Its the cheapest trouble shooting to start with if you want to fix the long standing issue.
You stated that you had that the refrigerant charged several times. If you have full confidence that this was done correctly and dont want to do the above, then I will say Plutoe may be right. Your compressor. If you are going to throw that part at it, then do the drier and cabin filters for good measure.
WOW, this thread goes back 10 years, impressive. A lot of 210 A/C problems.
Folks, I see a lot of problems similar to mine, cooling on passanger side not so much on the drivers side.
In some of the earier post there is refernece to a diagnostic procedure at: http://www.eclassbenz.com/node/27
This link does not work for me, is there a new link?
I have got the item 1 - 8 info, but would like to know that I am getting that info during the correct conditions,
.
Thanks
DougQ
http://www.mercedesmedic.com/ac-air-...le-codes-list/
This is the best help site IMHO.
Follow the notes to do 2 readouts.
1 in the morning for calibration test
2nd on hot afternoon to check compressor performance.
Thanks, kajtek1 I will do that.
Question - I have seen the chart posted by tall girafe, my car is a 210.265, which one is relevant to my car?
Thanks
DougQ
The posted chart is written in engineers language. Not too many actual car owners can understand it , so make your life easier and follow MercedesMedic guiding.
Thanks, kajtek1 I will do that.
Question - I have seen the chart posted by tall girafe, my car is a 210.265, which one is relevant to my car?
Thanks
DougQ
To answer your question, the difference between the .055 and your .265 is that your car is the wagon, hence the .2xx. The difference between .055 and .065 is model year, so the .055 is the 96-97 model year and the .065 is the 98-02. Being that the 210.055 is an E320, I would say that its safe to say that chart would work on your car better than it did on mine which is an AMG .074. I used it as a reference and compared my numbers to another .074 owner who replaced everything like I did so the chart was within 20% tolerance of the other member and my numbers.
06-28-2019, 10:16 PM
