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help diagnosing a/c problem Posted by TML [Email]  (#2212)  [Profile/Gallery]
(more from TML) on Fri, 2 Sep 2011 16:01:33
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'96 9k Aero
Short history of problem: About 18 months ago, the wife drove the car cross country, and the a/c was working when she left. The car then suffered a cracked head, and subsequently sat for a few months before I got a chance to look at it and fix it. After I fixed the head, the a/c was working very weakly. It gradually stopped working altogether. I foolishly took it to the dealer for them to diagnose. They charged me an hour labour to tell me that there was no pressure on the low side, and it needed a new expansion valve (which they quoted several hundred dollars to replace) and from there they might discover more problems. I told them thanks, got the car back, replaced the expansion valve myself, and charged up with Duracool. Not surprisingly, it made no difference. The pressure was actually good when the compressor clutch wasn't engaged, and when it did engage it dropped to zero. On advice here, I contacted Duracool and they informed me the expansion valve diagnosis made no sense, and they were almost certain the problem was the low pressure switch. I put in a new low pressure switch, and re-charged (it was several more months before I got my hands on a part and installed it, and in the mean time the system discharged, so obviously there's also a slow leak somewhere, but I'll deal with that if I ever get the system working again). Now the low side pressure stays good when the compressor's running (well, actually a bit high, around 50psi... filled it with just one can plus a can of sealant, which doesn't seem like it should have overcharged it, maybe this is important info), but the air coming from the vents is just ambient temperature. I felt the pipes going to and from the expansion valve - the small pipe is hot, and the large pipe is cool, but not ice cold.
Any theories, and tips on how to test said theories? I could take it in to a a/c specialist, but in my experience all they do is throw parts at it until it works, or worse just tell me it does work and charge the $150 diagnostic/recharge fee. On my other Saab, I took it to four different "experts", and dished out well over $1000 in unnecessary parts and re-charges before one of them finally correctly diagnosed a leaky fill valve. (It was a slow leak, so the 90 day warranty was always conveniently over when it started blowing hot air again).
posted by 24.246.55...
, Fri, 2 Sep 2011 16:01:33 <-- Viewing This Message, Sun, 4 Sep 2011 08:07:04
, Mon, 5 Sep 2011 11:27:52, Mon, 5 Sep 2011 11:31:40, Fri, 2 Sep 2011 19:02:56, Fri, 2 Sep 2011 17:33:54, Fri, 2 Sep 2011 16:18:35, Fri, 2 Sep 2011 17:39:25, Fri, 2 Sep 2011 20:48:29, Sat, 3 Sep 2011 04:33:18, Sat, 3 Sep 2011 12:20:43, Sat, 3 Sep 2011 17:54:39, Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:58:29, Thu, 22 Sep 2011 05:47:51, Sun, 4 Sep 2011 06:41:44
, Sat, 3 Sep 2011 16:02:32, Sun, 4 Sep 2011 08:10:51
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