a/c recharge not working

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My a/c seemed to getting weak (but still working), so got a gauge to check it. The low side pressure was 25. After adding a can of r134 it's still barely higher. Does this mean there's a leak? If there is a leak that's that bad (i.e. losing almost a whole can's worth of gas as soon as it's added), how was the a/c working at all? The hose connections all seemed to be tight. Could something else be causing the low pressure?
 
What vehicle? Under the hood there might be a sticker with the number of lbs of r134a charge. If its a big system like a suburban a can might not be enough. You might need a professional, it would be good to know the high side pressures too.
 
Did you purge the fill hose of air before pushing in R134a? You need a regular manifold gauge set to see high and low pressure. They are not that expensive.

Did the cycle time of the compressor on/off change as you were adding R134a?

Did you put the can in a pan of warm water (while its connected and adding R134a) to make sure you could fully empty the can of R134a?

I hope you did not add any stop leak!
 
Without knowing the high pressure side the low readings aren't going to be as useful. High pressure could start to go up fast while low side is barely increasing.
 
Take it to a professional. Those stupid cans you can buy from stores aren't truly r134a and are a synthetic imitation with sealants. Unless you have proper diagnostic tools and know-how, don't waste YOUR time.
 
Originally Posted By: lugNutz
Take it to a professional. Those stupid cans you can buy from stores aren't truly r134a and are a synthetic imitation with sealants. Unless you have proper diagnostic tools and know-how, don't waste YOUR time.


Actually you can buy regular ole' R134A at the stores, all the stuff is the same as long as you don't get any of the idiotic stop leak products.
 
Originally Posted By: spasm3
What vehicle? Under the hood there might be a sticker with the number of lbs of r134a charge. If its a big system like a suburban a can might not be enough. You might need a professional, it would be good to know the high side pressures too.


+1 to this, and +1 to the warnings about stop leak. I hope the product you used does not contain any; I've heard some nasty stories about it.
 
Beware the sticker under the hood. On my Genesis Coupe the conversion from grams to lbs wrong.
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gen-coupe-ac-charge-decal-wrong-lbs.jpg
 
I had it refilled because I got a hole in the condenser and had to replace that. I don't know how much they put in. At the time I was unaware of the error on the label.

Is there anyway to check? I have a set of gauges but have never used them.
 
Normally, I'd say to look at the suction line under the hood and see if it's sweating. But in your area, it's probably so DRY that it never would in Summer. I'd imagine your dew points are very, very low. Here is humid Tx, this simple test works OK.

It also might take more than a single can. Be sure to purge the lines of air before connecting!
 
Originally Posted By: michaelluscher
You should tell them about it.


It's been too long. I may have an old receipt though.

Found the receipt but there is no amount of 134a used anywhere.
 
Originally Posted By: SHOZ
Beware the sticker under the hood. On my Genesis Coupe the conversion from grams to lbs wrong.


How do you know which is correct? Maybe the lbs is correct and the conversion to grams is wrong?

I am sure mistakes in stickers, manuals, etc does happen, but I doubt very often.
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
Originally Posted By: SHOZ
Beware the sticker under the hood. On my Genesis Coupe the conversion from grams to lbs wrong.


How do you know which is correct? Maybe the lbs is correct and the conversion to grams is wrong?

I am sure mistakes in stickers, manuals, etc does happen, but I doubt very often.


I just assume the car being made in Korea that the metric number is correct.
 
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