Automotive Air Conditioning Information Forum

I owned this car since new and just recently gave it to my daughter. While i owned it, i changed 2 compressors and a condenser over 250k miles in the Phoenix heat.

A few weeks ago it started cycling every few seconds. Gauges were reading 40/400 when it would kick off. I pulled a vacuum and weighed in 16oz (spec is 15-17oz). The problem persisted so i determined (correctly or otherwise) that it was the TXV. Everything was OK after changing the TXV.

A week ago the compressor seized (it was a Chinese scroll with 50k miles). I pulled all of the lines and flushed the evap/TVX and all lines. I put in a new (not rebulit) Denso compressor and condenser/filter/dryer. Pulled a 28" vacuum for 45 minutes and it held for 15 minutes. Weighed in 16oz 134a and 3oz PAG46 (compressor supposedly had 3oz). At 105 degrees ambient and 50% humidity, gauges are reading 60/300 at [edit] ~1500 rpm. Vent temp is 80 degrees. During a drive it will get down to about 58 degrees if i keep it moving. As soon as i stop, the air warms up to about 65-70. I pulled another vacuum and weighed in another 16oz, but it's about the same.

Bottom line, it's still better than the 105 degrees outside, but this thing used to freeze me out. I feel like I've done everything exactly right, and i can't figure out what's left that hasn't been changed already.

What are you using for vac pump, 28 is not as deep as we might like.
The deeper the vac the better it works....

Electric motor vac with freshly changed oil, or the dreaded HF compressed air venturi "pumps"

What did you use for flush? And we sure hope you got all the flush out

Idle pressures don't tell us much, we need pressures at 1500 RPM

Is the dryer warm-hot to the touch? If not the flow from the condenser is not adequate.

What happens to the pressures if you spray water on the condenser

Dryer installed correct direction?

Thanks for responding. All great questions.

tbirdtbird wrote: ↑Wed Jul 14, 2021 12:18 pm What are you using for vac pump, 28 is not as deep as we might like.
The deeper the vac the better it works....

Electric motor vac with freshly changed oil, or the dreaded HF compressed air venturi "pumps"

It's an electric one, i think two stage even, although i bought it from eBay so not the highest quality. What is a good oil to use in these?

What did you use for flush? And we sure hope you got all the flush out

This stuff:
https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/TEM419955
Even if some had been left behind, wouldn't the subsequent charge, vac and recharge have gotten 99% of it out?

Idle pressures don't tell us much, we need pressures at 1500 RPM

I misspoke. Those readings were at ~1,500 rpm.

Is the dryer warm-hot to the touch? If not the flow from the condenser is not adequate.

Also confusing on my part. The dryer and condenser are a single unit. I did open the access plug just to be sure there was a desiccant bag in there, but i didn't touch it specifically while it was running. My laser thermometer was reading 175 degrees near the inlet of the condenser, and 160 near the outlet.

What happens to the pressures if you spray water on the condenser

I will give it a try and let you know.

Dryer installed correct direction?

See response above.

"Even if some had been left behind, wouldn't the subsequent charge, vac and recharge have gotten 99% of it out?"
Maybe.

Tim, the forum owner, will have good oil for you at a very competitive price www.ackits.com
Was there a fresh oil charge in the pump? If old, it has moisture in it and will not give as good a vac

Given the temp gun readings you gave I have to wonder about airflow across the condenser.
All fans working as they should? We have had to replace electric fans because they were weak.
The experts on here may differ with me (I am hardly an expert compared to the 4 mods) but we are generally looking for a 30° temp drop across any coil, be it radiator, residential condensing unit, MVAC condenser, etc.
It will be interesting to see what the misting does to your pressure readings

CRV compressor woes! It's not a China issue!

We would not even work on these things in our shop. Cost so much in warranty it was crazy. Using OEM new components. The only good option is if you can find the piston replacement version. But very hard to find anymore.

Suppliers are out, just have the scroll version.

I would be debris will be an issue again.

Tim, what was the problem with these, have any idea?

DetroitAC wrote: ↑Wed Jul 14, 2021 8:08 pm Tim, what was the problem with these, have any idea?

They were not as bad as the HS110R, 06 models. Still seemed to be a problem child, enough they made a piston version. A quick search shows a trend of complaints.

https://www.vehiclehistory.com/articles ... wing-about

Harry, are these readings at the same time?
300 psig at the hi side service port
160F condenser out
175F condenser in

Also, what do you mean by "near", could you measure the inlet pipe and outlet pipe of the condenser and the pressures at the same time. Shiny surfaces don't give good readings.

Just from these readings, if they are all at the same time it seems the TXV is flooding (open too wide, maybe defective, maybe stuck). Liquid line is saturated (no subcool) and compressor exit superheat is way too low (means liquid present during compression). Please confirm readings

tbirdtbird wrote: ↑Wed Jul 14, 2021 4:40 pm Given the temp gun readings you gave I have to wonder about airflow across the condenser.

Initially that's what I was thinking, and I even had 2 high velocity fans at point blank range on both ends of the condenser in my garage, but when things didn't drastically improve at 50mph, I ruled out airflow.

It will be interesting to see what the misting does to your pressure readings

Agreed. It may be a few days before I get the car back over here, but I will definitely try this experiment.

DetroitAC wrote: ↑Thu Jul 15, 2021 10:05 am Harry, are these readings at the same time?
300 psig at the hi side service port
160F condenser out
175F condenser in

Also, what do you mean by "near", could you measure the inlet pipe and outlet pipe of the condenser and the pressures at the same time. Shiny surfaces don't give good readings.

Just from these readings, if they are all at the same time it seems the TXV is flooding (open too wide, maybe defective, maybe stuck). Liquid line is saturated (no subcool) and compressor exit superheat is way too low (means liquid present during compression). Please confirm readings

Yes, all temps and pressures going on at the same time.

By "near", I mean I was measuring the condenser fins right where the inlet comes in, and where the outlet goes out. Probably within an inch of each port. It was a "laser" temp gun, so assume whatever margin of error that may exist there. I use the gun less for accurate specific readings, and more for comparison of one area to another of the same surface type. I don't have anything to clip on to the inlet/outlet pipes, so I don't know how accurate I can get, but next time I have the car, I'll use a probe thermometer I know is accurate to get readings.

FWIW, I did replace the TXV a few days before I did the compressor/condenser swap. It was a NAPA part, so I feel like it should have been decent quality. And it did work before the compressor seized. Could a metal flake from the compressor have made it's way to the TXV? When I flushed, there weren't any big chunks of anything coming out. The most I saw looked like super fine glitter that you see during a typical motor oil change, and that was only from the compressor exit hose. Condenser (with attached filter/dryer) was replaced, and I saw nothing suspicious beyond that. I should note that I flushed the hoses/pipes separately from whatever they were attached to. I pulled them off the evap before the flush, and flushed the pipes and evap separately. I'm now wishing I had pulled the TXV to flush the evap, because the TXV really pinched down the amount of air/flush I was able to move through there. I'm assuming that was normal, but maybe not? Also of note, I blew the flush on the exit side of the evap first hoping to reverse out any debris that may have made it to the TXV.