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AC Gurus - HALP!

BGKYK5

BGKYK5

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on the crapper...
Last year the AC in my wife's van ('01 Caravan) died. Sounded like a compressor, so we had the dealership replace it under the extended warranty.

A week ago it did the same thing. Warranty was up and I can't even see the durn compressor so we took it to a local shop. They said it was the AC clutch. They replaced it - AC worked for a day and then quit again.

Took it back and they said it was way overcharged (they hadn't checked it before). They took out 4lbs and put back ~2lbs (dealership overcharged last year?). AC worked OK for a bit, now it is pretty marginal.

I put my gages on it today - it still read high and didn't cycle on and off like I expected. Pressure was 60psi low side and just over 100 high side. I let some out until it went to about 40psi low side 150 high side (took to much out?). It got perhaps a little better. Still not as good as it was a week ago and still not cycling.

Any ideas? Bad pressure switch?

BTW, don't vent R-134 near the airbox. :doah: :D
 
those pressures are bad, around here they run ~ 225 high side, ~ 40 low side, sounds like low refridgerant, does it have rear air?
 
your charge is a little low. Could be your pressure switch (forget real name) but fairly common. Wierd for dealership to overcharge system and still have cold air though. Could be compressor going out again due to bad charge I suppose.
 
If it's really hot out, the thing won't cycle until you get the vehicle moving. What you really care about is the low side pressure. As long as it stays low, you have cold air. The high side pressure is really a function of the outside temps. As long as it's not too high, you are OK.
I wouldn't blame the pressure switch unless you are going lower than that on the low side and the clutch stays engaged. With the low and high side so close to each other, I would suspect the orifice tube/expansion valve, compressor or that there is a foreign substance in the system (water, air, etc.) It's easy to tell if the clutch is bad. You can measure the votage going to it and see if it engages or not.

Is the inlet to the evap frosty?
 
What's A/C?? I know I wish I had it. I would assume the techs evacuated it down to zero atmosphere before recharging right?
btw got any Cesium laying around?
 
Yes, it has rear air, and both were running on max when I measured the pressures. So if I have ~40 PSI on the low side, the charge should be good and it must be something else, right?

I'll see if there is a easy way to look at the evaporator to see if it is iced up.


Kjunky5, I had some cesium, but then I picked it up with sweaty hands and now I am trying to find all my fingers. :D
 
what does the under hood sticker say for charge?? 4 lbs sounds about right for rear air.
 
Welcome to the joy of a dodge ac system.Most of the time its the evaporator and its under the dash and you have to pull the dash to change it.
 
You need a pro

Thatr system calls for 2.88 lbs. You should be around 28 to 35 on the low side @ 2k rpm or so if not your either to much oil, to little R134, or stuck open Exp valve If your cooling the condensor down and its still up near 250 your overcharged or over oiled, You need to take it to a PRO thats not fng retarted like most techs Ive run across. It need to be evaced and retarded witht the correct amount FIRST then go from there:D
 
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