80’s Mercedes

I own a 1987 260E, I converted it over to R-134a years ago, it still has the original factory compressor however, actually all the A/C components are original. The A/C works great as long as the vehicle is moving down the road I would say at least 45 mph or faster. The issue I have though is anytime I get stuck in traffic or go through a drive thru it gets very warm, the air basically becomes non existent? The car is a dream to drive but only in the fall, winter and spring. It’s been this way as long as I can remember. Anyone else seen this on a W124? I’m no mechanic but I’m wondering if it has something to do with using R-134a with an original R-12 compressor? And yes, the Freon is at the proper charge. With warm weather here I’d sure like to figure this out. Thanks in advance!

Plutoe

if i were you i would take the car to any dealer pay their diagnostic fee and fix the car myself as the 124 ac system is more complicated than the self diagnostic 210

80’s Mercedes

Thanks! Having my Mercedes guy look it over today

80’s Mercedes

Ended up being the condenser fan switch, for now he just wired it to run continuously, I'm gonna order the part in the next few days and have him put it in before winter. Already can tell a big difference now that the front fan is working like it should. Temp here in VA today was about 88F, 50F out of the vent going down the road and 60F stopped and idling, not quite what I'd like it to be but a huge improvement honestly.

HBguy

Glad it was an easy fix. You should run it as often as you can, so that the oil in the compressor circulates to all the seal points. The circulating oil helps keep seals fresh. Their drying will cause a leak. For every car I've owned forever, I always run the A/C with each drive, and try to drive each car no less than once a week. I've never had an A/C leak from any car I bought new.
FWIW, I've done everything with air conditioning from window air units to skyscraper chillers, cooling towers, and boilers. I even had an older Olds that put out 21-22 degree output in the middle of a "Vegas Summer" every single day...yes, below freezing.