Is my AC cold enough?
- Thread starter Jonas
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I must have missed it somewhere here but what are your vent temps after spraying water on the condenser? If they drop substantially, then you have an air flow problem. It’s also possible to have some refridgerant flow restriction. Honesty I’d flush the system and replace the condenser
Pressures are fairly high. did you notice the compressor cycling with the gauges on the system? I assume with the hood closed, pressures could get even higher.
Check what the gauges say when you see ther compressor cycling off. You can remove some refrigerant if you think it's a high pressure issue, the compressor can pump it back into the can from the high pressure side.
The temp dropped 5-6 degrees when I sprayed the condenser.
I can't tell when the compressor is cycling on and off. Maybe that's why the pressures varied so much? I let the car run for several minutes to get those pressure ranges-they are the lowest and highest that I saw. Someone else on an AC forum said my pressures looked a little low.
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I usually aim for 15 psi low, 150 psi high for systems I don't know the capacity by weight.
Your low pressure is certainly high, and high pressure is higher than it should be with adequate cooling of the condensor.
Is this a simple compressor or variable stroke?
Your low pressure is certainly high, and high pressure is higher than it should be with adequate cooling of the condensor.
Is this a simple compressor or variable stroke?
Pretty sure it's variable. It has a control valve. What do you suggest?
Make sure the pressure sensor is correct for the vehicle, the regulation works off that.
I see you have gotten a lot of responses on the AC forum I told you about. Hopefully they can give you some more direction.
I can't tell from looking, but Rock Auto sells different ones for the Vibe than for the Matrix. I'll ask about it.
How cold do you need it. If it was fall and it was 55 degrees in the car you'd have the heat on.
The temperature of the thermometer in the vent is 55. The cabin is ~85 degrees.
I'm pretty sure it's accurate. My window unit at home reads 40 degrees all the time. I'll set it outside in the shade and see what I get.
Yeah it's about 92 here too. Mine is about 51 degrees in park. Warmer than that if I'm stopped at a light.
Is this 15/150 psi for 1800 RPM? It was between 80 and 85 degrees outside.
I still have the suspicion my mechanic put too much PAG oil in the system. Before we knew the compressor was shot, he suggested it just needed oil. He then charged it with some oil to see if it would work. It obviously didn't. (He didn't charge me either ;-) Later I brought him the new compressor and told him it came pre-filled with 3oz of PAG oil and he kinda shrugged that off and said "I'll just have to look at it." The oil capacity is not listed on the hood sticker, I can't find it anywhere, so I seriously doubt he just knew how much to put in. As I've said before, he said it wasn't very cold and he didn't know why. He then suggested I change the cabin filter (good idea, won't make it colder) OR that I brought him ChEaP ReFrIgErAnt and should have used PoLaR IcE.
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I'd say 15/150 at 100 degrees... variable compressors shouldn't be very sensitive to rpm.
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