1G Need an AC guru. High pressure line is hot, but no AC.

[GSLENK]

My FMIC routing wore a hole in an AC line, and one day the line ruptured and bye bye AC. Probably happened in the winter as I recall using my AC one day for summer, and no-go. Found out the condenser wasn't cycling. Found out there was no line pressure. Found the leak. Took the opportunity to make some changes...

New dual pass condenser (aftermarket). New Drier (aftermarket). Relocated OEM r12 switch to the new drier. Replaced the line that had a hole in it. System does not leak one bit now. Used all Eaton EZ-clip system. The AC worked flawlessly before the line was severed.

I tried to charge it (yes I am also converting to r134a). I have a 30lb tank. I hooked up the gauges and pressurized the system off to check for leaks one final time. no leaks. Pulled a vacuum for 30 minutes. Let it sit for a little, no leaks still. Hooked up the tank of r134. turned the car on, turned fans on max, AC on max. Let some pressure and whala the compressor kicks back on. I took some pressure out, then filled the service line with about 1-2oz of (esther oil?) oil which is compatible with both refrigerants.

The high pressure line is hot as hell from the compressor to the condenser. Cool coming out of the condenser. and cool all the way throughout to the compressor again where it gets warm bc the compressor is hot.

The air being blown is no cooler than ambient from what I feel.

High pressure line gets up to about 100 psi. Low pressure is whatever I crank the bottle to. 0-90psi

I need some pointers. What to check, what to do etc... How does a normal AC act? Does the high line still get hot after the condenser (radiator thing)?

 

[iceman510]

I tried to charge it (yes I am also converting to r134a). I have a 30lb tank. I hooked up the gauges and pressurized the system off to check for leaks one final time. no leaks. Pulled a vacuum for 30 minutes. Let it sit for a little, no leaks still. Hooked up the tank of r134. turned the car on, turned fans on max, AC on max. Let some pressure and whala the compressor kicks back on. I took some pressure out, then filled the service line with about 1-2oz of (esther oil?) oil which is compatible with both refrigerants.

It does not sound like you are charging correctly. you say you pressurized it one final time. With what and how?
How did you pull the vacuum?

What does "let some pressure" mean? What does "took some pressure out" mean? How did you add oil afterwards? Normally this must be poured into the compressor and or lines when re assembling.

Normally with an empty system, you may have to just the relay to get the compressor working to pull refrigerant into the system as it will not run with no pressure.

And, a normally function system will be higher than 100 psi usually.

 

[GSLENK]

It does not sound like you are charging correctly. you say you pressurized it one final time. With what and how?
How did you pull the vacuum?

What does "let some pressure" mean? What does "took some pressure out" mean? How did you add oil afterwards? Normally this must be poured into the compressor and or lines when re assembling.

Normally with an empty system, you may have to just the relay to get the compressor working to pull refrigerant into the system as it will not run with no pressure.

And, a normally function system will be higher than 100 psi usually.

With a manifold set and a can or r134. Hooked up to the low and high ports with the car running, AC switched on full blast. pumped it up till the compressor kicked on. Could only get the high side to 100. The lowside depended on the valve position of the manifold/tank.

I used a vacuum pump to pull a vacuum on the system before charging.

I added oil by filling the middle yellow hose full of oil before charging.

Either my condenser is very efficient or it is clogged. the inlet fitting is super hot, and the outlet is ambient (feels cold but that is just the feeling of metal at ambient temp...). The remaining hoses are also ambient. up until the compressor. The AC vents blow ambient air. any ideas?

 

[GSLENK]

UPDATE:

Well, it appears that I have been filling it up wrong. Only add pressure to the low side. My mistake. Also dont forget to cycle the compressor on and off.

I did pull apart all the hoses and blew pressurized air to confirm that there were no blockages. There was UV residue from the fillup. No uv was on the line between the evap and compressor suggesting a blockage in the evap or the expansion valve. some compressed air blew a puff through it and it appears to flow now.

AC works and gets 20* below ambient from what I can tell using a infared thermometer.

 

[iceman510]

Good news. Thought it sounded like you had something not quite right.