onegoodmonkey

hi guys, i have a 2001 cl55 and wanted to grab a can of 134a from the auto store and charge it into the A/C. Was wondering if anyone has done this and ho did it go? thanx, ryan

viguera

I just did that this weekend and now I have to do it again with dye to find the leak in my ac loop...

Hardest part is literally locating the low side port... which means that if you have eyes you can probably do this.

On my w208 it's pretty obvious on the driver side (black plastic cap on metal tube)... I would suggest that you figure out first if you indeed NEED a recharge and most importantly why. If you don't need it, you will probably do more harm than good, and if you do need it is probably because of a leak somewhere.

Did you run the AC diag and make sure you were low in refrigerant?

onegoodmonkey

thanx for the reply, i suspect that i may have a leak, but just wanted to see if it will hold or not as i just bought the car used and the system has gone into the EC mode as it does when it is out of 134, my warranty doesnt kick in for 30days, so i thought in the meantime, id give it a shot on the cheap and see if it holds, what do you think?

sosh

Unless you have a set of gages and know how to use them I suggest you not do this as over charging can cause many problems as can undercharging. You are not driving an old domestic car.

onegoodmonkey

i hear you, you are correct... its a 100,000 piece of high tec and i shouldnt play with it like its my 73 mustang... ill go to a pro... thanx

viguera

The gauges are not necessary... and this car is actually easier to self-service than a domestic car...

If you run the AC diag it will tell you exactly how much gas you have, then you can decide whether or not to try and find the leak. At least you know if it's that, or a bad sensor or what...

viguera

If the car goes into EC mode it could be low refrigerant, but it could also be a bad sensor. Again, the diag will tell you the evap sensor readout, heater core info and coolant temp and pressure. Then you can decide whether or not it's something simple like a $45 evap sensor gone bad and you can replace yourself, or something much worse that requires a visit to the dealer.