Recharging AC Coolant

[Davis_Mike]

So my mom calls me today to tell me her car AC is just blowing hot air. Today is my Friday off day, so I tell her I'll pick up a can to recharge the coolant in the parking lot of her work while she is working.

Keep in mind, I am no mechanic & have never done this before. But I usually have little to no problem dealing with most auto maintenance issues or replacing parts.

So, I pull up her car info to make sure I get the right coolant. I then look up a few videos to make sure I can do this. It looks simple enough. I stop off & buy a full can of AC Pro with the hose attached.

Fast forward to me in a parking lot in 110 heat.

I turn her car on, AC on high & get to work. Yep, compressor not kicking on. I adjust the pressure zone nozzle that covers the gauge to make sure I have it in the right ambien temp zone. Fuck, 110 degrees basically puts me in the red. I need to be careful to put enough in, but not too much as to create a more expensive problem. I attach the hose & take a look at the pressure gauge, it's fluctuating all over the place.

Dafuck?! Is the gauge broke? According to the videos I watched, this isn't what is supposed to happen. So I get back in my truck & watch a few more videos. Emboldened with my new found courage, I proceed to start recharging the coolant. A third of the can in, I can finally hear the compressor start clicking on an off. I look at the gauge & it's still fluctuating. Hmm, am I doing this right? Lets do a more specific video search.

Ten minutes later, I am back at it, continuing the refilling. About half way through the can, the gauge stabilizes & reads at the extreme low end of pressure. At this point, I am pretty confident I am doing this correctly. I continue on. After some more recharging, the gauge reads about halfway in the green pressure zone. Now the compressor is staying on & I assume the AC temp in the car has started to cool. So I check it. Nope, still hot. This has me a little worried. But I continue on.

Finally, as I start to near the ambien temp zone, the AC starts to cool. So I finish off the can, putting me right at the proper pressure reading. I check the AC temp, ice cold. I look at my phone, it's been an hour.


TLDR Version: Paranoid novice turns a less than 5 min AC recharge into an hour long job in 110 degree weather.

 

[outofyourmind]

Yeah, the gauge moves up and down as the compressor cycles on and off.
Been there, done that.

The commercials make it seem like it's a 2 minute job, but when I've done it, it seems to take the system forever to take the freon. Shaking the can back and forth and holding that stupid trigger.

I need to put some more in my truck. It doesn't need much.
I can't even imagine how long it would take if the system was empty, as yours seemed to be.

 

[Yankee Traveler]

Yup...Been there too.

Even went so far as to throw away the first can and buy a second. Ima paranoid dumbass as well.

 

[Hank Kingsley]

I just go to my friendly mechanic and get him to do it.

Especially since if it's empty and needs recharging something else is likely wrong and I don't like letting the stuff to continue to leak into the atmosphere.

 

[cowboycolors]

your best bet when recharging a/c as a "shade tree" mechanic is to do it in the cool of the morning or evening

Yes it can be done in the heat and is done all the time that way by guys with all the required equipment.

You did a good job be proud

 

[JuiceTheGator]

There's a valve between the lower and upper system. I thought the jumping around might have been as a pressured upper was releasing into the unpressured lower end where you're supposed to charge it.

Amiright?? I dunno.

 

[raider bill]

The compressor is cutting in and out on low pressure, once you have enough refrigerant in there it stays on.