Automotive Air Conditioning Information Forum

Hi guys I am new to AC work but have put the time in to try and fix the AC on my toyota celica. I have bought the required manifold gauges and tools. My celica had lost its charge due to a a few pinhole leaks in 2 aluminum AC lines. I could not find the leaks at first so I went through and replaced a number of components to be safe as it had never been worked on before here is what I replaced.
-New condensor
-New evaporator and metering orifice *This new evaporator is about 1" less wide and tall the original one so i am thinking of putting the old one back in as it was not leaking and has a bigger surface area.
-New Drier
-New Orings on all connections.
*Through this process of replacing everything i found the original problem was a leak in 2 Ac aluminum lines. I patched the big one with an aluminum rod it turned out great.The second line I could not patch so I bought a AC line splice kit. http://www.ebay.com/itm/252054287166?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT This kit held for about a month then I found freon with the dye in it leaking out the patch and pooling leaving a good size leak. So I bought this AC patch kit from Dorman:kit 800-673 A/C Line Splice Kit For 5/16 Line With # 6 Hose. This kit is a higher quality and i hope it will hold. Only 4 days so far but no leaks yet!! Next i refilled it with the proper amount of 134a 23oz.....

**Here is my current problem: My AC is not that cold. It is ok traveling down the road getting about 50-47 degrees out the vent after driving a few minutes. My problem is this:
1. at idle it will slowly warm up after say 7-10 minutes of idling the vent temp will rise to 60-70 degrees. Then when I rev the motor up to speed up the
compressor it will not cool down like it used to before all this work......
2. On a rare occassion at idle the AC light will blink off and on I believe this means the coolant is level is too low this is while it is blowing warmer air

3. My manifold gauges read with AC compressor running Low Blue: 27 High Red: 240 then drop when compressor cycled off to Low Blue: 39 High Red:180
*When exactly should I take my readings???
4. at times when testing I would see the high pressure line shoot up to 400psi. while low pressure side did not go up much(not sure on the actual number)
*Iwould turn it off when this would happen as I don't know what is too high and will cause damage??? Any advice here?

5. Finally, I added 4 Oz of oil when I did the last AC line splice. I think it has too much oil in it now as it had a small pool of oil from the leak or maybe it
was Freon? I don't know as it was a liquid so I thought it was oil...... Would too much oil cause my symptoms of warm air and high side line pressure too high and low side being too low???????

***Any ideas guys I am totally new to AC work but not cars I hope this helps clarify my problem????????

The standard for testing: RPM's at 1500, windows/doors open, max blower speed, recir mode (max air cooling) If you added 4 oz of oil, you may have over done it because 2 items can not occupy the same space (oil and refrigerant). If the high side went to 400 PSi, there is your problem. You are not rejecting heat from the refrigerant. Areas to look at are fans, plugged condenser fins, plugged condenser passages, air flow across condenser. After checking these items, if high side is still too high, mist the condenser with a water hose. High side drops radically, then you may have plugged condenser internal passages. A lot of condensers can not be flushed so a replacement may be in your future. Typically, low side should be 30 to 35 PSI and high side 225 to 250 at 90 * ambient.

brandonA. wrote: -New evaporator and metering orifice *This new evaporator is about 1" less wide and tall the original one so i am thinking of putting the old one back in as it was not leaking and has a bigger surface area.

Not as tall by 1 inch? Is anything taking up the extra space? Air may be bypassing the evap on the way to the vents. After the high pressure issue is addressed, it would be wise to fill I the empty space here or put the old Evan back in, after it has been cleaned if the lines have not been capped off.

Thanks guys you have been very helpful. Is it common for a new condensor to have plugged passage ways. It is brand new so it is clean on the outside. Also it is true that air can blow by the new evaporator and would like to put the old one back in.

-If I do have too much oil what would be my best option. Should I drain it all out and refill? Is there a way to get out the oil without disconnecting everything? Possibly pressurizing one end and leaving the hose off on the other end to blow it out????


thanks a ton!!!

Brandon

If the compressor is being cycled off on evaporator temperature, there is nothing you can do under the hood to improve the vent temperature. Better refrigeration performance would just make it cycle off sooner. Air bypassing the evaporator would be a real problem. It is also possible that the heater is reheating the air, or the evaporator temperature sensor is tripping at a higher temperature than it should.

I think the only condition that normally makes the light flash is the rpm from the compressor sensor wasn't as expected. This causes the A/C amplifier to lock out the compressor (until the button is released and pressed again) because it might be seized. However, false alarms due to faulty A/C amplifier are common.