A/C Recharging Procedure

Post by **boosted5cyl** » 04 Jun 2010, 08:49

I did it on the low side. Started out with a compressor that wasnt kicking in (think I had about 10PSI of pressure in there) filled to appropriate pressure for ambient temp (45PSI at the time IIRC) and its been running sweet since. It hit 102DegF up here at one stage and Vicki the S80 is black-On-black, so I can confirm the A\C is working well. As pointed out above, when recharging consumer cans of R134 very often you will need to submerge the can in warm water to get the pressure up to where it needs to be.

greencupbay · Post by **greencupbay** » 04 Jun 2010, 13:39

Thank you boosted5, I'll try it out over the weekend and fill it up to 45 psi. Just to clarify, it IS supposed to be at 45 psi. on the low side, correct? Thanks.

Post by **boosted5cyl** » 04 Jun 2010, 15:09

The desired low side pressure changes with ambient temperature. The pressure gauge you have should have the range specified somewhere, if not, get another gauge. In my case it was 100f ambient and I ran outta freon at 45PSI. I think it was meant to be at 50 for 100F but I was happy enough with the peformance at 45 so I figured let it be.

greencupbay · Post by **greencupbay** » 04 Jun 2010, 20:22

Okay. Thank you. I will let you know how it went later!

Retired MVS Contributor · Post by **Retired MVS Contributor** » 06 Jun 2010, 17:42

When they tell you to recharge from the high side, they are assuming that the system is empty, has been pumped dowm, (evacuated) and the engine IS NOT RUNNING...If the engine is running, as much as 300 PSI can buid up (normal high side pressure on a hot day) and that will surely explode the can and injure someone...If you add refrigerant through the high side, make sure the engine is NOT RUNNING and a vacuum exists in the system...To top up a partially charged sytem, do it through the low side, can upside down and engine running...Shake the can to agitate and vaprize the refrigerant...Some folks heat the can with hot water or a hair dryer...Do not over heat...While refrigerant is being dispensed, the can will feel very cold...When the can gets warm, feels light, and no "sloshing" can be heard when it is shaken, the can is empty and can be valved off and removed...

BTW, the refrigerant is not freon, it is R-134 and will not harm the envonment...Freon has been banned since the early '90's and must be vented into a collection system...

greencupbay · Post by **greencupbay** » 07 Jun 2010, 11:08

That explains a lot. Thank you for the input Jerry. I do have a partial charge in the system and am looking to just finish filling the system. Thanks!

Retired MVS Contributor · Post by **Retired MVS Contributor** » 11 Jun 2010, 09:54

For those intersted there is an excellent tutorial on air conditioning at www.aircondition.com...Also question and answers...

hanzbe420 · Post by **hanzbe420** » 30 May 2011, 06:27

firstvolvo wrote:Per other posts I read, it's impossible to overcharge, since the DIY kits available at local parts stores do not allow for overcharging-they simply stop transfering refrigerant when the maximum system pressure is reached.

so is this true? can more people confirm this?

A/C Recharging Procedure

Re: A/C Recharging Procedure