Hello All, this is not a performance related question. It's simply a comfort related question. I have a 1998 200SX SE-R and noticed just the other day that my air conditioner no longer blows out cool air. What do I need to know to refill my A/C? Can I do it myself? What can I do? I'm hot and it is affecting my driving and that is a dangerous thing. I refuse to wear a headband to keep the sweat out of my eyes. Your help is greatly valued. Thank you all so much.
They shouldn't charge you too much on labor cause to simply fill it I believe isnt that hard, but the refrigerant can be somewhat expensive. If you have a leak or something though....that can be quite costly.
I heard that if they can't find a leak now, they won't just swap out your coolant or something. My grandpa who is a car dealer was telling me his shop has to either find the problem, or take out your A/C all together!! I'm not sure if he's 100% accurate on this, but he was saying they had to start doing this because the coolant is too dangerous to the environment and whatnot.
When we have a car come into the shop with a/c concerns we suck down whatever is in there,(it tells us how much we pulled out), put a vacuum on it ,(we can then tell if it holds vacuum or not), then we fill it to spec with dye. Then we run it for a while and look at the system with a black light and we can visually see where it is leaking because there will be traces of dye where it is leaking. When you put a vacuum on the system you can watch the gauge and see if it loses vacuum which means there is a leak. I would not go to a small indepent shop where they just put cans of refrigerant in your system because they are not putting dye in the system and it may be cold when you get it back, it will not last. They don't necessarily put the right amount in either. If the system is overcharged it may not cool either. Most shops are competitive prices on a/c service. I would go to the dealer because they know your car.
Strange thing here is that my '98 se-r's air conditioner isn't working either. I don't even think the compressor is kicking in. I've checked all the fuses and they are fine. The light on the dash comes on but no cold air.
Canandian, Check this other thread that I started, there's some helpful advice on checking the compressor and the high pressure switch...Other A/C Related Thread
I'm not sure if he's 100% accurate on this, but he was saying they had to start doing this because the coolant is too dangerous to the environment and whatnot.
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