intermittant air conditioning

May 1st, 2003, 03:19 PM

i have a 88 king cab that had the ac retrofitted last year. most of the year it worked fine, but started not working sometimes. if i messed with it, it might start getting cold. it has a full charge of freon, and the compressor runs, but no cold air. it blows hot more than cold these days. any ideas? thanks in advance.

May 1st, 2003, 03:39 PM

At this point you really should hook up a manifold gauge set and read the system pressures...

1997XETruck · May 1st, 2003, 11:26 PM

It's possible that you have moisture in the system, which will freeze and cause a blockage. Does the system work for a while, then progressively gets worse - then you turn it off for a while, switch it back on and it magically works again for a while? If so, that's a sure sign of moisture (and possibly a leak).

Solution? Have the system evacuated, eliminate any leaks, replace the receiver dryer, hold a vacuum on it for at least 24 hours, and recharge.

You mentioned that you had the system retrofitted... are you using a system designed for R12 with 134a? If so that can cause a whole host of problems with compressor oil compatability - etc.

Good luck!

Heath

May 2nd, 2003, 07:25 AM

thanks for the ideas guys. just a little more background, yes, it was the old freon, changed to r34a. i dont think its a freezing problem, because usualy it will blow hot and get progressively colder, and when it works, ICE city! i did hook up one of those cheapy ac guages to it and it reads full charge. it read a little low when i first checked it and so i threw another can in it. it used to work about 80% of the time, but now it has only worked one day this year. when i shut the truck off, however, it quit and hasnt worked since.
1997XETruck you mentioned a host of problems with the retrofit. can this be remedied?

May 2nd, 2003, 07:50 AM

What were the readings? What was the ambient?

i did hook up one of those cheapy ac guages to it and it reads full charge. it read a little low when i first checked it and so i threw another can in it.

May 2nd, 2003, 01:35 PM

i hooked it up on the "low" side. i cant remember the pressure reading, but for a dummy like me, there is a blue area for low, green for good, yellow for a little high and red for overcharge....thanks big time for your interaction!!!!!