Whenever I write about recharging your AC system, an inevitable flow of commentary follows. The discussion centers on the question of whether an AC system should ever be recharged by a car owner, and why recharging is a pointless exercise and a waste of money. I'll save the "only the pros can properly evacuate and vacuum load the AC system" subtopic for another day, and instead focus on the "if your AC refrigerant is low, you have a leak, so anything you put in is going to leak out, too" angle. It's true that in a perfect world your AC would never need to be recharged. But think of a car which is 10 years old. If it has even a pinhole leak, that's enough to deplete the system over a period of a decade! You can recharge the system and get another 10 years out of it, or you can take the advice of the naysayers and start replacing AC hoses, seals and other components until you (or your mechanic) are convinced the leak is fixed. I like to approach auto repair from a point of basic economics and take the route that makes the most sense to my wallet. Make your own decision, but if I had warm air blowing from my AC vents, I would recharge my AC and not think twice about it.
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While I do agree, Matt, there also must be a consideration of how fast the A/C stopped working. If it very gradually got less cooling effect, then a quick top up will probably be ok. If it was cold on Monday, warm on Thursday afternon, the likelyhood of a DIY charge lasting more than a couple of days is low.
matt, advts usually block out half the articles, how do we read it?
There are two other possible problems to cause this: besides low pressure it is possible to have a sensor(pressure) failure or wire broken, or a clutch fuse or wire broken. Broken wires or fuses can be checked, sensor replacement is pro job (due to need to evacuate the system). As always if you have any work done, check for satisfied customers (friends) before choosing a repair person. Having to recharge more than once per hot season is not normal operating condidion and should be checked out by a professional.. M
Matt,
Being a old retired mechanic from the old GM school, we were taught that there is no way to make ac system anymore tight, than it is to make a cooling system tight, and over a period of time it will leak out enough to affect the cooling capacity of your ac, but this should not be done more than once a year,( remember ac runs even in the winter during defrost) without checking for a leak.
Matt you are way off base. These recharge kits that Auto parts stores make a lot of money off should be illegal. First the only way to service an A/C system in a moblie vehicle is with a mainfold gauge set. charging an Mobile A/C system via a can tap on the low side is wrong. To properly service an A/C system you MUST look at the low and high side pressures. Trying to charge the A/C system with a auto parts recharge kit does not take into the picture the high side reading.
As the vehicles get newer the charge of the system is very critical. 2 to 3 ounces either way means if the system works or not.
Refrigerant does not evaporate. I f one needs to charge the system it is because of a leak. Putting refrigerant in with a stop leak creates more problems than the owner will want to deal with. When an A/C system is diagnosed properly with the proper equipment the leak can be found.
My whole career has been in Southwest Florida. I’m a master ASE tech. A/C servicing MUST be done by a professional, not someone who has no idea what they are doing.
i HAVE FOUND THOSE RECHARGE KIT WITH THE BUILT IN PRESSURE VALVES USELESS AND DANGEROUS. I HAVE TRIED A COUPLE OF THEM AND THE READINGS WERE WAY OFF. I HAD TO BRING MY CAR TO A REPAIR SHOP AND HAVE THE JOB DONE PROPERLY. I HAD WAY TO MUCH 134 IN THE SYSTEM. I KNEW BECAUSE ADDING CAN AFTER CAN THE GAGE DID NOT GO UP. THE SECOND CAN WAS A DIFFERENT BRAND WITH A DIFFERENT GAGE, BOTH INACCURATE AND JUNK AND WILL HARM YOUR SYSTEM.
Matt, you are not way off base. You are giving some very good advice here. First, I am a woman. Second, putting a little freon in the A/C system is so simple to do with the recharge kits found at the auto parts store. If a person can read and follow directions, then they can do it. My car is a 1987 BMW 325is (25 yrs old) and I put freon in it (almost) every year with one of those recharge kits. It works perfectly and my car is ALWAYS ice cold the way I like it. So far this year, I haven’t had to put any freon in and the A/C is still running great and ice cold. I have never encountered any problems with doing this job myself (and again I am a woman and a very feminine woman at that).
So, for those of you who say it “must” be done by a professional is clearly false and is trying to do the -typical- instill fear. I have saved SO MUCH money over the years doing alot of my own maintenance and repairs, like brake work, tune-ups, oil changes, recharging my A/C and the list goes on & on. This is all because I don’t buy into the fear tactic used by many out there in the automotive repair industry.
So Matt, I thank you for always trying to educate and inform us…keep up the GOOD work!
IT IS CLEAR SKY HAS NO IDEA ABOUT MOBILE A/C SYSTEMS.
Sky: proving once again that gender DOES NOT matter. Too many times a lady, will go into a shop and be sold a bill of goods, overcharged, and, if they do what they say that they did, ok but sometimes they don’t. Sounds to me like you had a great teacher, keep it up. M
These do it yourself kits are certainly a lot more popular then they were before the refrigerant changed, for whatever reason. I’ve had pretty good luck with them, after changing the old car’s refrigerant over to the new system. Added a can of leak-stop stuff that seemed to actually stop the leak that several overhauls of the old system didn’t fix, including the fluorescent dye. (According to that Gearz program on Speed, the magic ingredient is ethylene?)
Anyway, on another note, I recall years ago being in a garage when somebody brought in their huge old GM land yacht and demanded that the AC be recharged, even though the obvious leaks in the AC hoses had been “fixed” with electrical tape. By the time I had paid and left, the argument between the owner and the manager was still going on.