A/C issue, guage said low, now says danger!

Had to replace some o-rings in my a/c system that had started leaking, so I went to recharge, put in about 1.5 cans of freon, the guage said the level was still "low" when I finished, but it was right below the "filled" area which i think was 25-35psi (cans still have a decent amount left in them when i disconnected them) so i figured i just needed another can, because it was starting to blow a liiitle bit cold, but not where it should be.

drove the car around today, the a/c was still blowing warm, so bought a new can of freon one today, drove home, and when i put the guage on to fill it, it goes all the way up to the "danger" zone with like 100psi or something crazy.

wtf?

before the o-ring blew (where the high pressure line connects to the condenser) i had just charged the system and it was working fine, about 30psi and blowing nice and cold.

any ideas?

When you put the gauge on it was that the static pressure or with it running? Static pressure will read high. http://shbox.com/1/ac_performance_chart.jpg when the compressor is running.

I'm in the exact same situation. I had posted about it in this thread (http://web.camaross.com/forums/showthread.php?t=525919) but didn't have much luck.

I had checked my pressure with the engine running and the A/C turned on, as instructed by the charging kit. Same deal for me. It read just above the "good" line, and was actually blowing cool (but not COLD) air. Next day, I noticed that it was blowing ambient air again, and checked the low side pressure again (with engine on, A/C turned on). This time it read way too high.

I'm wondering if my dryer doesn't need to be replaced, given that the car is 11 years old now, but I don't know why that would cause the pressure readings I got...

ANYONE have any insight?

im positive my drier is dead, so but it should still get a little cool shouldnt it?


im just going to stop by an a/c place, get a new drier, and have them do a proper empty/refill of the system.

its too damn hot here to wait around longer, lol.

If your pressure readings are that high it means that the compressor isn't running (or working) and the pressures for the high and low side will be the same. Most A/C systems have pressure and temp switches to keep the compressor from turning on if it's not in a specified range (if the refrigerant leaked out the compressor won't turn on). If something was clogged the low side pressure would continue to drop until the high side overpressurized and the system shut down.

Like GreenDemon said... You need to know both the High and Low pressure readings as well as the ambient conditions (temp and humidity) to judge how your AC system is working.

If the system pressure gets too low, the low pressure cutoff valve will cause a code in the PCM that will not trigger a SES light, but will not let the compressor kick on till the code is cleared. It will not reset just because you refilled the system.

If the system pressure gets too low, the low pressure cutoff valve will cause a code in the PCM that will not trigger a SES light, but will not let the compressor kick on till the code is cleared. It will not reset just because you refilled the system.


well thats probably what happened when the o-ring failed and all the freon burst out.

so if i go somewhere to have the code cleared the compressor should work again?
will a code scanner like the one they do for free at autoparts stores also be able to clear the code?

well thats probably what happened when the o-ring failed and all the freon burst out.

so if i go somewhere to have the code cleared the compressor should work again?
will a code scanner like the one they do for free at autoparts stores also be able to clear the code?


????

What year is your car? most of the auto parts places only do OBDII... If you can find a parts place that will clear the code for you, it should call for the compressor to engage.

What year is your car? most of the auto parts places only do OBDII... If you can find a parts place that will clear the code for you, it should call for the compressor to engage.


its a 95

ok, they cant clear the code, who else can? stealership? id really prefer something else.

I'm sure the dealership can clear the code, but they'll probably charge you a diagnostic fee to do it...

You may want to buy a cable from AKM and use FreeScan or the like... The 95 is a little different because it's OBDI but the connector under the dash is like the OBDII.

http://www.akmcables.com/

If I remember correctly, when I bought my cable it was ~$75 and freescan is free... I've used it many times so it's been well worth the investment.

http://www.andywhittaker.com/ecu/ecu_software.htm

I hope you get it fixed soon. Having no AC this time of year really sucks...

thanks, might as well pay for that instead of the dealership. probably will end up using it more than i think.

just disconnect the battery to clear the code

just disconnect the battery to clear the code

lol, i almsot spent $75 on the cable.........how long does it have to be disconnected to clear it?

lol, i almsot spent $75 on the cable.........how long does it have to be disconnected to clear it?
5 or 10 minutes should do it