I recently replaced the A/C compressor on my truck. My step-father decided to plug up the compressor with out the system being charged. In return for loaning the truck out to haul a fallen tree I get a brand new compressor that is destroyed. He agreed to pay me back, so I did the job again. I replaced the compressor with a re manufactured unit. I also replaced the evaporator and orifice plug. I made sure to fill the compressor with the right oil and let it sit with the pulley down for a few minutes. When the system was being recharged the guy said it was not taking enough R134a. I turned on the A/C and the clutch did not engage. My aftermarket electric fans with the A/C relay also did not come on. Because of this I was sent on my way with still no working A/C. My "check engine" light has been on since I took the compressor out. The guy at O'Reilliys confirmed that the previous orifice plug was back wards (Color facing out the tube).

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

Yesterday I blew a coolant line. While I was under the hood I thought my safety radiator cap was leaking. After some listening around I noticed that the High side plug was slowly letting out R134a. I was able to push the ball inside with a small screwdriver and it went silent. Could this be the leak the technician was talking about?

 

That would be my guess. You have quite a cluster going on there. I question why the compressor would not turn on. I have had to jumper the low pressure/clutch cycling switch a time or two when doing a full recharge. It's not that uncommon.

Once you get the compressor running you can see where your pressures are running. That will tell you if there are more issue going on after the previous compressor was "smoked".

 

The technician had it hooked up to a machine that recharges the A/C. Wouldn't that have pressed the ball in while it was connected? I ask this because it was the machine that said I had a leak. I also heard a quick leak as he messed with the high side connector while it was hooked up.

 

BTW - How many pounds of R134a does this system require to be recharged?

 

As far as the amount of refrigerant needed, look under the hood...It'll have a sticker....I'd guess safely around the 2lbs mark...Thats just a guess though...

Also, if it was building pressure like that in the high side, it usually means there are some trapped air in the system....And when you added the R-134a, it didn't take as much....Because the VOLUME of space in the lines were already full of air....Pull a vacuum, get all the refrigerant out, and possibly bleed the remaining air out....

-Wes

 

I think I know what happened now. The guy who removed the R134a was out of town this week. Another guy did the work and he asked me if it needed to be "evacuated first or just push it in". Was he suppose to make a vacuum before putting the R134a in? I even paid that guy $30.

 

38 oz. to be exact.

And yes the machine and/or manifold gauge set would have pushed in on the service port plungers. Sometimes those crappy rubber ball thingys (LOL) do not reseat very well after you remove the adapters.

I would hope your A/C guy did a pump down with a vacuum pump for at least 15 minutes before tying to charge. I prefer 30-45 minutes myself, but that is overkill

 

He just "pushed." This is my first time working on most A/C components. I will take it to another place and have it vacuumed and then charged. I told him that I need it "refilled" after replacing the compressor. I figured he would have known what to do from there.

 

ALWAYS, ALWAYS pull a vaccum....It gets all the refrigerant and air out...Overloading a a/c system can seriously hurt you (I.E-Lines exploding at around 200+psi)....

When you pull a vaccum test, the machine, if its new enough should have different lengths of time alotted...Go with around a 30 minute test....After thest test is confirmed that you can hold a vaccum, fill it with 134a........

I'll consult my books and get back to you...

-Wes

 

In my first post I mentioned an evaporator. This was a new accumulator. My bad. These terms seem interchangable in some way and not in others.

 

My bad....It just hit me that you have a 95'...R-134a....I was thinking it had R-12a for some odd reason....

In that case, the accumulator needs to be changed...Because as the name suggests, it "accumulates".....And has residual refrigerant in it...

-Wes

 

You just answered my question....

 

I took it to another shop and everything went fine. It cost me $140 more than I expected to pay my friend, but it's done.