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ac refrigerant leaks

L

lakeside

CEG'er
Joined
Jul 31, 2004
Messages
36
prior to the last 2 summers, i have attempted to get the mystique ac to cool. my ac guy has done the dye to locate leaks to no avail. both summers following a service and fill, the ac would work well. but as the weeks wore on, less and less cooling was available, until finally, after maybe a little more than a month, no cooling at all. not good for hot and humid tennessee!

now, admittedly, this car is not driven daily....or sometimes even weekly. this week we have been experiencing unusually high temps for this time of year (into the 80's today for example). it has gotten me thinking about the ac again.

the guy who has been working on the 'stique has done ac work on 3 other cars for me successfully. he is also "the ac man" in this part of tn. and is known for quality work. has a shop, has the tools and i trust him.

somehow i need to get my mystique ac working- long term! refrigerant is too expensive to simply let it escape into the atmosphere! any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.... lakeside
 
when the system stops working what are the system pressures? I think that the clutch air gap might be a good thing to check ...
 
thanks brapple and also tony for the thread. hopefully these ideas will help solve my problem.

lakeside
 
85 already :crazy: That accumulator (filter/drier) rusting is a good possibility, although you do not live in the salt capital (NY State). I had the compressor leak from the center case o-ring. To find that was not easy, even with dye and appropriate light and yellow glasses! Eventually the leak got bad enough the leak detector found it (a tool your A/C person should have.) Had to fill the system up all the way and test.
 
yes to be able to UV die the system to check for leaks the system needs to be full and have the correct operating pressures so that the system can function properly to fill the system with the UV die ...
 
I just remembered used soap bubbles (thickish solution of dish soap) to find the compressor case leak (as you would find a tire rim leak).
 
As mentioned above, the receiver should be checked as that is a know common problem with Contiques as they age.

If nothig else shows up, the evaporator core is suspect as it is one of the hardest things to pin down due to it being well hidden. There are a few things that may help find it. When the A/C is charged, run the A/C to get the refrigerant circulating, shut it off and park in an enclosed garage with the windows closed. Park it overnight. In the morning, get inside quickly and close the door, hold the probe from an electronic A/C leak tester up to the A/C vent on the right side of the dash and turn on the blower to catch the first blast with the leak tester. If the evap core is leaking it is very likely that the tester will sound off. You won't get any indication if you don't protect the escaped refrigerant from what I explained.

A much less desirable option is to take the dash apart enough to inspect and test the evap core.
 
again, thanks to all for the thoughts, ideas and suggestions.

as to pressures when it is not/or has stopped cooling- to the best of my recollection, there were no pressures, as the system was completely empty. in both pre-summer experiences, i seem to recall we had to put in like 5 or 6 (or more) small can equivalent worth of refrigerant (of course, he has it in bulk out of very large bottles, but you get the idea).

it is sounding to more and more from your comments that the receiver dryer may just be the culprit. will keep you all informed. i take it a "new" dryer would best be installed without foam to help prevent a recurrance of the rusting out syndrome?

lakeside
 
yes when my accumulators/dryer rusted out the system would work for a few days then slowly get warmer ...

the new units do not have the foam on them and they are not to price from what I recall from Teamfordparts.com. luckly you don't need to change anything else if this is the issue but you need to add oil and coolant ...


also don't forget to swap the o-ring on the pressure sensor or it will all leak out when you fill it ...
 
I just had my air conditioning system repaired on my '98 Mystique. The system would leak down and then no cooling. The problem turned out to be a bad condenser (unit in front of the radiator) which is really difficult to inspect from the top of the car. The condenser had an area worn into it from a metal tube (part of the air conditioning system I think) that runs horizontally across the front of it near the bottom. The problem is that there is also a plastic brace that runs vertically from the grill area to the bottom of the plastic bumper. If the car is driven into a low driveway or onto a curb, the lower part of the bumper can bend toward the radiator and up and push this vertical plastic brace into the horizontal tube which then contacts the condenser. You might want to drop the plastic guard under the front bumper and inspect this area if it hasn't already been done.

With this type of leak, my system showed a slow leakdown (~ 1 hour) and was difficult to spot at first. The solution was to remove the tube, straighten it and replace the condenser.
 
a/c low - won't charge

a/c low - won't charge

Have reviewed most of a/c material, replacing dryer, etc. and am hoping someone might be able to help narrow down options for me.

A/C had no problems until vehicle 8 years old; last spring, a/c didn't cool, so I recharged, replaced switch on top of dryer. Ended up having to recharge a couple of times last summer. Mostly worked OK.

Weather warming up now, a/c is cool but not cold (about 20 deg below outside temp), and compressor short-cycles (5 sec on, 5 sec off). Hooked up gages, both high and low sides are reading low (10-20 psi low on low side, 25-50 psi on high side)...figured needs 134, but system won't charge, won't take any 134 from bottle...tried two different charging adapters/134 bottles to be sure.

Anyone seen this situation? Car 9 years old now...replace the dryer? Do you have to be able to vaccuum the system to do so, or can you remove old, install new, and simply re-charge?

Thanks.
 
lakeside said:
now, admittedly, this car is not driven daily....or sometimes even weekly. this week we have been experiencing unusually high temps for this time of year (into the 80's today for example). it has gotten me thinking about the ac again.
Click to expand...

lol this guy is complaining about the tempeture being 80 lol. Try in the 100's to 110 region thats ac and near naked driving time down in TX
 
hasikm said:
Have reviewed most of a/c material, replacing dryer, etc. and am hoping someone might be able to help narrow down options for me.

A/C had no problems until vehicle 8 years old; last spring, a/c didn't cool, so I recharged, replaced switch on top of dryer. Ended up having to recharge a couple of times last summer. Mostly worked OK.

Weather warming up now, a/c is cool but not cold (about 20 deg below outside temp), and compressor short-cycles (5 sec on, 5 sec off). Hooked up gages, both high and low sides are reading low (10-20 psi low on low side, 25-50 psi on high side)...figured needs 134, but system won't charge, won't take any 134 from bottle...tried two different charging adapters/134 bottles to be sure.

Anyone seen this situation? Car 9 years old now...replace the dryer? Do you have to be able to vaccuum the system to do so, or can you remove old, install new, and simply re-charge?

Thanks.
Click to expand...


that is very interesting, the pressure is definately low and you need more coolant. what could be the issue is a line has a blockage preventing flow but with all the pressueres begin low I am not sure about that. now it could be that there is to much air in the system. what you really need to do is determine if there is a leak or not. if there is get that fixed. To fill the system you have to vaccuum down the system before filling!!! sorry just wanted to make sure I got the paint across. luckly if you go to summit or eastwood you can get a venturie style pump that runs on 90 psi shop air that will do the job, just take you time with it, then you can fill the system to the correct pressure based on the ambient temp. again sorry but this is another big key to filling the system.

Also not is is not leagel to vent any refrigerant to the atmostshpere, but since you pressure are low already that is a mute point.

good luck
 
ac warm

ac warm

Thanks...thought I would check to make sure the fact that the short-cycle wasn't part of the charging problem, so I disconnected the low-pressure switch and jumpered it, forcing the compressor to run, and still the system would not charge. So, something is definitely going on...low side read about 10-15psi, and high side read 125psi...fairly warm today (80s).

Seems to be some kind of blockage?
 
Did you put the R134 can in pot of hot water, run engine at 2000 rpm? Both pressures are about half normal. Should have about 30 on low side.
 
FavoriteMystaque said:
Did you put the R134 can in pot of hot water, run engine at 2000 rpm? Both pressures are about half normal. Should have about 30 on low side.
Click to expand...


you really can't say that, the pressures depend on the ambient temps ...but in general if it was a almost 80 degree day the pressues are low
 
Very simple place to look is the low pressure refigerent switch. They leak just like and oil pressure sensor. These sensors/switches have plastic molded to the metal portion. They have a tendency to leak at the plastic metal joint. Check for oil around the sensor/switch.
 
ac warm

ac warm

Kevinm said:
Very simple place to look is the low pressure refigerent switch. They leak just like and oil pressure sensor. These sensors/switches have plastic molded to the metal portion. They have a tendency to leak at the plastic metal joint. Check for oil around the sensor/switch.
Click to expand...

Will check. Question: when I disconnected the high side gage, i got an oily residue all over my hand, which I have not had happen before when charging systems...definitely was not just 134 coming out as I released the fitting. Is this indicative of a problem?

also, should i be using the pot of hot water/revving the engine to 2000rpm when charging?

Many thanks...
 
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