Air-con home recharge

D

Dog Biscuit

Member
 Bournemouth
The air-con has never been that great since I picked up the car last year, although there is' some' cooling effect.

I picked up the EZ Chill recharge kit and I have some questions for those who know more.

1. Tested it with the engine off and it was in the red (high) zone. The test states that as long as it doesn't read zero, you're ok. I did however reduce it to the mid green range (I could recharge if I wanted) as it didn't say any other measure counted. Didn't make a difference either way.
2. Set it up to recharge with the engine running and a/c on max, the cylinder feeling very cold as I used it, but the indicator with the system running didn't budge from the low point of the green range (the lowest point of the 'charged' zone). Not sure how long it takes to charge up, but the level remained the same and cooling no different.

Am wondering if there is a leak (but why would it show gas?), not charged it long enough (but it didn't change after quite a go), if the pump isn't working (fuse?)

Advice on how to check precisely if the a/c pump is working would help, but any other feedback appreciated.
 
You should be able to hear the compressor pump cutting in/out when you operate the aircon on/off, if that's not working then no amount of gas will help... the recharge cylinder will get cold as it empties so that suggests you're regassing OK.
 
A1GSS said:
You should be able to hear the compressor pump cutting in/out when you operate the aircon on/off, if that's not working then no amount of gas will help... the recharge cylinder will get cold as it empties so that suggests you're regassing OK.
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Thanks for that.

When I press the a/c button I can hear a slight change of sound in the fan and that's it. Historically with other cars I've heard the engine rpm rise with a deliberate thud as well as seeing it on the tacho, but the tacho doesn't change and the engine sounds no different.
 
A1GSS said:
You should be able to hear the compressor pump cutting in/out when you operate the aircon on/off, if that's not working then no amount of gas will help... the recharge cylinder will get cold as it empties so that suggests you're regassing OK.
Click to expand...

Doesn't this system have a low pressure sensor which would stop the compressor from cutting in when there is no/low gas?
 
Ricey01 said:
Did you use the canister upside down?
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No. Turned it side to side and shook it as per instructions. The way the connector is designed, looks like it should be upright.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
 
The gauge on the EZ chill should move when the AC is turned on/off. The standing pressure in the system should be higher when turned off. Also the refrigerant in the bottle will be in liquid form so you can feel it when you shake it, so if it is empty you will know. It could be that there wasn't enough gas in the bottle for what you needed, not sure of the weight of refrigerant in the car but it should say on the plate under the bonnet where it has says 134a refrigerant.
 
To test the air con pump is working, run the engine and have someone switch the aircon on and off with temp set to low. You will hear a really distinct audible click as the solenoid engages the pumps clutch.

Can't comment on DIY discharge as I took mine to a local specialist a few months ago which for £30 ish makes it so little as to just get on and do it. The comment they made was that these systems can run on so little gas before you notice it not working that when they do recharge, it takes a heck of a lot of refrigerant gas. You may have emptied your can??
 
Dog Biscuit said:
Ricey01 said:
Did you use the canister upside down?
Click to expand...

No. Turned it side to side and shook it as per instructions. The way the connector is designed, looks like it should be upright.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


Use it upside down.

It won't work otherwise (contrary to the instructions).

If you goole it you'll see a few people saying the same thing.

Worked for me when I used it but I did it upside down :thumbsup:
 
Also as per Jeeper ......you will empty the can. Unless you are just topping up an already working system (which clearly no one would!) it will take a lot of refrigerant
 
Thanks for the latest ideas folks, intending to give each a go over the weekend and will report back with the findings.

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As I own a business that specialises solely in air conditioning installation, servicing and repairs, I can tell you these DIY air con things frankly shouldn't even be legal. Myself and all employees have to have specific refrigerant handling certification and training in place and various insurances to do what we do, so to sell R134A refrigerant (which is also massively damaging to the environment might I say) to the general public like this is totally unacceptable. Not only this but they work by simply ramming more gas into the system without first draining out any existing gas and without taking a proper vacuum of the system to remove any contaminants that WILL be affecting the performance of the air conditioning.

Rant over.

Now, in regards to your car, you can very easily check if your air con's working as it should by first making sure the compressor clutch is engaging, if not you either have an electrical fault or next to no gas in there. If it is then you have gas in there so check the two pipes that lead into the compressor, there is a high pressure pipe and a low pressure pipe, touch both and you should find the low pressure pipe very cold and wet to the touch, if not then this is a general indicator that the system is working and you most likely just need a recharge, at this point for the love of god take it to a specialist who will safely devastating the system, take a vacuum to remove contaminants and recharge it again. Job sorted, no messing around with idiotic DIY canisters, and costs you all of about £45 at most places, how hard can it be?
 
As I own a business that specialises solely in air conditioning installation, servicing and repairs, I can tell you these DIY air con things frankly shouldn't even be legal. Myself and all employees have to have specific refrigerant handling certification and training in place and various insurances to do what we do, so to sell R134A refrigerant (which is also massively damaging to the environment might I say) to the general public like this is totally unacceptable. Not only this but they work by simply ramming more gas into the system without first draining out any existing gas and without taking a proper vacuum of the system to remove any contaminants that WILL be affecting the performance of the air conditioning.

Rant over.

Now, in regards to your car, you can very easily check if your air con's working as it should by first making sure the compressor clutch is engaging, if not you either have an electrical fault or next to no gas in there. If it is then you have gas in there so check the two pipes that lead into the compressor, there is a high pressure pipe and a low pressure pipe, touch both and you should find the low pressure pipe very cold and wet to the touch, if not then this is a general indicator that the system is working and you most likely just need a recharge, at this point for the love of god take it to a specialist who will safely devastating the system, take a vacuum to remove contaminants and recharge it again. Job sorted, no messing around with idiotic DIY canisters, and costs you all of about £45 at most places, how hard can it be?
 
Player 1 said:
As I own a business that specialises solely in air conditioning installation, servicing and repairs, I can tell you these DIY air con things frankly shouldn't even be legal. Myself and all employees have to have specific refrigerant handling certification and training in place and various insurances to do what we do, so to sell R134A refrigerant (which is also massively damaging to the environment might I say) to the general public like this is totally unacceptable. Not only this but they work by simply ramming more gas into the system without first draining out any existing gas and without taking a proper vacuum of the system to remove any contaminants that WILL be affecting the performance of the air conditioning.

Rant over.

Now, in regards to your car, you can very easily check if your air con's working as it should by first making sure the compressor clutch is engaging, if not you either have an electrical fault or next to no gas in there. If it is then you have gas in there so check the two pipes that lead into the compressor, there is a high pressure pipe and a low pressure pipe, touch both and you should find the low pressure pipe very cold and wet to the touch, if not then this is a general indicator that the system is working and you most likely just need a recharge, at this point for the love of god take it to a specialist who will safely devastating the system, take a vacuum to remove contaminants and recharge it again. Job sorted, no messing around with idiotic DIY canisters, and costs you all of about £45 at most places, how hard can it be?
Click to expand...

Don't the pros call ezchill 'death bottles'?
 
Slightly off topic but a question to Player 1; what's your view of these air con system sealers. The ones that do the whole system as opposed to fluff up the seals.

I ask because I have a Smart for 2 that was gassed in March of this year and stopped producing cold air about a week ago. When gassed it held the vacuum without a problem and they could find no leaks. On that basis I'm guessing that any leak is very small for the cooling to last 8 months so if the ads are to be believed, they could work in my system.
 
Ricey01 said:
Don't the pros call ezchill 'death bottles'?
Click to expand...

Just as well do to be honest! 99% of the time you're going to do more harm than good to an air con system by simply ramming more gas into it. The only thing it will tell you is whether there's gas in there or not with the the gauge that's on them, and even that's a complete joke because all its showing is a pressure reading. So how do you tell you've got your 740g (R134A recommend weight for a Z4) of gas in the system with just a pressure reading? You can't, it doesn't matter if you've got 150g left or 600g left, the gauge will still show the same thing right up until you've got next to nothing in there. If you've got 600g left for example, plug one of these bottles on and jam another say, 800g in, you've now got 1.4kg in a system that's supposed to have just over half of that, immediately the pressure is going to be through the roof, you won't get much, if any, cold air come through and more importantly, you're going to start causing serious damage to the air conditioning components. It's just not worth it!
 
If what you guys are using what I think your talking about, over here its called antifreeze. Before I had gotten rid of my zed I took it to my mechanic to find out why no cool or cold air was blowing out he used an oil type substance and a vacuum/pump to get rid of anything that might have been inside the piping. It turns out that my a/c compressor wasn't working. This could be a simple solution, I'd definitely recommend what player 1 said. Just take it to a specialist.
My mechanic being a close family friend, only charged me for the labor not even for bottles of antifreeze 8) being a family friend and recommending people to him is also a discount :P I have already got him business putting in a supercharger then later on a turbo into a scion tc. And an LS1 swap into a Z28. :thumbsup:
 
Denis O said:
Slightly off topic but a question to Player 1; what's your view of these air con system sealers. The ones that do the whole system as opposed to fluff up the seals.

I ask because I have a Smart for 2 that was gassed in March of this year and stopped producing cold air about a week ago. When gassed it held the vacuum without a problem and they could find no leaks. On that basis I'm guessing that any leak is very small for the cooling to last 8 months so if the ads are to be believed, they could work in my system.
Click to expand...

To be perfectly honest, I can't say we've ever used them! In theory you shouldn't need a specific sealer as such, you see when something is recharged it will also have 1 or 2 ounces of oil injected into the system at the same time, the idea of this being that it lines the inside of the pipes, helps protect any seals and lubricates the compressor. By memory, I think a Smart only needs 450g of gas so you're definitely right in saying there's a very slow leak, if you can, check everything for any damp patches, specifically on joins in the system as the o-rings can be pinched and check the compressor as well as its very common for them to start weeping around the front, just behind the pulley, PM me if you want any more details!
 
The switch test worked (after I put some of the last remaining gas in the bottle upside down). The level is still only just touching the lowest green mark, one of the pipes is cold, and the air con is certainly a tad cooler.

The switch sound surprised me. When I had it switched on there was a small click. When I switch it off there is another click and the fan is louder.

In older cars it always seemed more dramatic with an engine RPM rise.

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