AC woes!

[JT1]

It's officially hot weather season up here in MI, and i'm sick of not having a functioning Air Cond. system in my 1988 Mercury Topaz. There is a sticker under the hood saying that the system was serviced in 97' with some R12.

Well I decided i should try to find out what the problem may be, upon inspection I've found that the pump is cycling on and off, there is a marginal amount of freon pressure( I poked the low side schrader valve and heard a decent whoosh, but it didn't come out like it should ya know) so here we are 12 years later with r12 in the system and a functioning compressor, and blower but no cold air.

I'm thinking it's got a low charge and all i need to do is get it charged up(hooray ebay r12) and see where that goes.

I'm looking for any input or experiences you folks may have! Thanks-JT1

 

[Steve S]

Probably it would be best if you could check for leaks then evacuate and recharge. There are some A/C masters on BITOG that will give the best reply.

 

[StevieC]

Check the High/Low pressure switches, that is what the problem with my Ford Tempo (Same car) was... It drove me nuts because I could make the compressor kick in by powering the clutch and it would cool the inside down, and the pressures were good but it wouldn't work any other way. Then my dad and I traced it back to a faulty pressure switch. I think it was the Low that was bad...

Good Luck

 

[ThirdeYe]

Originally Posted By: JT1
It's officially hot weather season up here in MI, and i'm sick of not having a functioning Air Cond. system in my 1988 Mercury Topaz. There is a sticker under the hood saying that the system was serviced in 97' with some R12.

Well I decided i should try to find out what the problem may be, upon inspection I've found that the pump is cycling on and off, there is a marginal amount of freon pressure( I poked the low side schrader valve and heard a decent whoosh, but it didn't come out like it should ya know) so here we are 12 years later with r12 in the system and a functioning compressor, and blower but no cold air.

I'm thinking it's got a low charge and all i need to do is get it charged up(hooray ebay r12) and see where that goes.

I'm looking for any input or experiences you folks may have! Thanks-JT1


The 2nd (when you posted this) was the coldest day in the history of Michigan for July 2nd

 

[JT1]

I know that's why i'm trying to get it fixed before the heat kicks back in! Some strange weather for the past week for sure, but i guess thats michigan.

 

[JT1]

Any help here, i'm about to buy some ebay r12 and have a shop pull a vacuum on the system and then refill.

 

[mechtech2]

All AC systems on cars leak. Some more, some less.
Ford testing showed an average of 7 ounces a year.

AC systems operate OK with a range of pressures.

In your case, since there still is pressure, I'd simply fill it. Of course, the pressure should be checked with a gauge.
Normal maintenance was to squirt in a can of R12 every year or so. It was cheap and kept you cool without major repairs.