actually, the case has been lying dead since my last post...... it's in the middle of the radiator/condenser... right behind one of the cooling fans.

but I don't need aircondition any more this year.. probably not before may-june next year. 10-14 degrees celsius today, and that's the warmest there's been the last weeks...

I don't have any money to fix it at the moment either, so it will have to wait whatsoever. but at least it's easier and cheaper to fix than the evaporator...

 

great you found it,make sure it is the condenser unit.How did it get a hole in it?When you replace it make sure ,new dryer,vacuum, to remove all old fluids and oils.Before you have it refilled.

 

the condenser is leaking. how? I have no idea. probably because it's old and worn...

I tihnk I'll do this sometime after the winter. april, may probably

 

not the compressor.That's what I'm asking.
the finned unit in front of the radiator,that is where the leak is,correct?
ohlord

 

yes the AC radiator in the front. not the compressor.......

 

job.Be carefull with all fittings and get a pro to vac the system and refill with 134a and the proper oil.
ohlord

 

if shipping isn't to much to your country.

 

I'll get a price estimate from the stealership friday... but it's probably not worth the trouble buying it from US. ~200 + 25% + custom fees + shipping.....

but thank you for your help. maybe I'll report back next year when the job is done

 

I'm gonna recharge my a/c tomorrow and wondering how many can you guys are using that have no cold air at all. Also what psi are you getting?

 

You ran the diagnostics yet?Is the ec light stuck on?You could be properly filled with r134a and still have no cooling if a sensor failed or several other issues,
Run the tests post the values 1-8 and the errors.
If it is low on r134a ,so low that you have no other issues besides it being low you need to locate and fix the leak before filling with the proper oil and weight of r134a located on a tag on the cover of the ecu box up by the passenger side firewall.
ohlord

 

I use somewhere around 2 1/2 cans of the small blue cans (can't remember what it's called i think something like Arctic freeze or something along those lines.) This is for a completely empty system. if there is some left in there 2 cans should do it. And make sure you use the stuff that has lubricant mixed with it.
My compressor leaks and it's small enough that i only have to do it once a year.

 

estimated that there are 250million cars registered in the united states,let's just pick 1 in 250 to use your method of arctic freeze fill,that means 1 million cars are leaking out 2.5million lbs of r134a .It's a wonder with automotive care getting to such a sophisticated level that we have any air to breathe at all
If it leaked 10 cans a year would you then do as I suggested above and have him locate and fix the leak?Or recommend throwing in 10 cans yearly
ohlordohlord

 

If you are receiving cold air and there is a hum that follows engine speed ie the hum increases with speed and vise versa, would this still be an indication for adding coolant and lube or are we now dealing with the ac motor or other?

 

You could put a can of the regular with lubricant in it and one with the green die in it (also available at walmart) to locate the leak as well.

No worries. This was covered in principles of chemistry 2 in college. R134a is perfectly safe for the environment and the Ozone layer which is why they don't regulate it like R12. I'm sure they thought of poor idiots like me before they let it become available to consumers.
And as far as your breathing air goes, nothing to worry about again. R134a and R12 both rise to the top of the atmosphere, which is why R12 was causing the break down of the Ozone layer up there. so we're safe down here.

My justification: it is somehow cheaper to charge my A/C for $20 a year than buying a new compressor or a rebuilt one. Until I'm making $500,000 a year I think i'll stick with this or until they stop wasting our tax money in Iraq and stop ripping us off on gas prices that have gone up solely because of stipulation.

What I would be worried about is how much CO2 and CO and a bunch of other crap our way-too-old-design engines put in the air that puts any A/C leak to shame. even if I bought all the R134 at walmart and opened them up and let them out in the air it still wouldn't beat the 250 million cars exhaust that we breath on a daily basis.

what I would worry about is why have we not seen the hydrogen car developed yet? could the oil companies be involved in anyway with their deep pockets? I mean they pretty much get to pick the presidents of the US by directing their funds to the direction of their interest. Why are we still burning their over priced gasoline in this age of technology. If we can fit four processing cores on a chip the size of a quarter i think we should be able to manage making our cars run on hydrogen (basically water).

My two cans of R134a a year should be the least of your concerns. I do want to get it fixed though don't get me wrong. Peace.

 

a lot of chemistry also,enough to remember that
Tetrafluoroethane is also a cleaning solvent.
Recently, R-134a has been subject to use restrictions due to its theorized contribution to climate change. In the EU, it will be banned as from 2011 in all new cars, and California may prohibit the sale of canned HFC-134a to individuals to avoid non-professional recharge of air conditioners.
http://yarchive.net/ac/r134a_lethal.html
not harmful?
Remember our engines are ulev rated and while I agree far too much pollution gets into the atmosphere.I won't be breathing any 1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane anytime soon just to prove your chemistry 120 class gave you flawed information.
You best stock up on your supply
ohlord
"GOT CODES?"

 

That guy may have flunked chemistry or perhaps he should have!!

 

I've been through the forum discussions, and can't quite put my finger on my exact issue.

When the car has not been used, the AC system seems to work fine, and will continue to work fine for hours - until I shut down (say, to refuel). After such an interruption, both side vents will blow only very hot air. If I close them, the center vents will still provide cool (not cold) air, but not enough to effectively cool the cabin.

I've run the diagnostics (two separate occasions), but I can't interpret them:
1 80 80
2 75 78
3 154 158
4 157 157
5 37 44
6 86 172
7 14 15
8 132 138
9 32 31
10 1.0 1.4
11 1.9 1.6
12 4.0 E
20 6.7 6.7
21 42 42
22 00 00
23 32 32
24 13.5 13.3
40 164 164
41 85 85
42 72 72
43 136 136
(* the first set of values was upon initial start up; second set at the conclusion of a one-hour commute)

Error codes: B1234, B1416, E FF

Individual flap diagnosis - to my untrained observation, absolutely none appeared to track as predicted.

Could someone offer some assessment of what issues I do (and do not) have from these data?

Thanks,
Ed

 

-----oh boy this is getting good-----

 

Probably a bad duovalve because of #3 & 4 being way too high. Give it a rap or two.

 

How do you check the A/C compressor to see if it is working? The blower blows, the system is showing that it is full of freon, but the compressor doesn't come on. Pressure switch?????????

 

did you check to see that the system is full?
Onboard diagnostics won't tell you that,because it is a variable demand system.
Is the ec light on and can't be shut off?
Have you ran the onboard climate control diagnostics?
When you open the hood with the ac on do you see the compressor running?
Post the values and errors in the diagnostics and you only need values for 1-8 and all the errors.
ohlord
"GOT CODES?"

 

If No Codes re pressure..Jump the Switch to see if the compressor works

 

I stated in the description of the problem that the compressor is not coming on, and the system is full? I dont know anything about onboard cc diagnostics.

 

why I asked in the reply How do you know the system is full?
there is no sight glass like the old models.
Usually if it is not blowing cold and the compressor is not clicking on it is because the system is low on charge.
So run the diagnostics.
http://www.eclassbenz.com/node/27
Follow the instructions and punch in the values and errors that one of the forum members did the program to extrapolate the numbers.
If the ec light won't turn off,put a can of r134a in to see if you can trigger the compressor and get the ec light off.then run the tests and post the values 1-8 and the errors present.
ohlord
"GOT CODES?"
only use r134a that is just the r134a and the bit of oil,do not be tempted to use stuff that claims to fix leaks.

 

Crap... I filled my system with the leak sealer stuff. what do i do now?