Automotive Air Conditioning Information Forum

Hello all and thank you in advance-

1996 Chevy G30 Motorhome
5.7L

Here's the problem:
Air con was not very cold so I purchased an A/C Pro can at Oreilley. Turns out after further research that might have been a bad idea.

I followed the instructions to a T. When finished I had fairly cold air blowing but the compressor was cycling on and off. Five seconds on...five seconds off.

I watched a video that told me to check the system pressure with the A/C off and purge it down to 40 psi. I did that. Only air came out (no refrigerant). I turned the air on and same thing...cycling on and off but now the air is not cold.

I bypassed the low pressure switch which turned on the compressor full time but still no cold air.

Ideas? I am a motorcycle guy...not a car guy. I can rebuild a bike but they don't have A/C!

Thank you
Rob
Kent, WA

Hi, sorry, but you did not get off to a very good start.
We wish it would be illegal to sell that AC Pro in a can junk, it will/has wrecked your system, and youtube is right only a small % of the time.
Time to take it to a real pro, and be sure to tell them you put sealer in there. They may end up replacing everything because of that. Time will tell.
In the meantime you can wrench on your Harley

Agree primarily with what Tbird mentioned. However, you may not have gotten the can with sealer, and the sealer used may not be activated like the older types were.

With that said, you need to reclaim the refrigerant. Then, pull the system into a vacuum and recharge back to specs. Hopefully, you have just messed up the charge level or added some air to the system.

________

People always seem to find this site after they have done their Goggle shopping. I guess a dollar less and little if any support is worth it.

Crap. I don't think the can has sealer. What usually causes the compressor to cycle like that? I should have left well enough alone.

And NO Harleys. Yuck!
This is me
www.northwestadventureride.com

"People always seem to find this site after they have done their Goggle shopping. I guess a dollar less and little if any support is worth it."
Amen.

Your system was prolly just low on charge initially. You have no idea how much to put in, so a shop recovers, and weighs in the correct amount.
But you went a different direction.
Since youtube told you to bleed down to 40 psi with engine off, you essentially bled out most of the refrigerant, so you now have even less than you started and possibly sealer in there to mess up the metering device and the equipment at the shop where you take it.

If you put gauges on a healthy system with the car off, depending on ambient temp, you are gonna read approx 70 psi. You are at 40.

Rapid cycling is often a sign of low charge.

Listen...I get it with the lecture...The fact it was working and not as cold as desired seems to lean toward a recharge. That product is so widely sold it seems there must be some benefits and isn't all bad.

I am on many forums with suggestions and help for bikes (I own 22 of them) but I absolutely hate paying shop fees when I have a brain and tools.

Advice could lead to a free motorcycle rental in the Seattle area!

"there must be some benefits"

yep, keeps AC shops in business

The responders here are seasoned veterans who own or work in AC shops (not shade tree guys), and I have never met a seasoned veteran who thought the AC Pro cans were anything but bad.
Even if the can had no sealer, did you purge the hose supplied with the can to get rid of the air? Few ppl know to do that, so the first thing that happens is they are sending a slug of air into the system, thus bringing it to its knees

There was no sealer in the can. If the condenser is still cycling and assuming it will work as it should what cost should I be looking at when I visit the shop?

Did you purge the hose?