Is there a bonehead way to tell if my AC needs a freon charge?
It seemed to not be as cold towards the end of last summer and now at times I get nothing but warm air blowing out. Last night I tried it and it worked fine but that was 7:00pm when it was 80 not noon when it was 90. Also when I turn the AC on I hear a noise from the rear inside drivers side like something trying to cycle on and off but it never cycles off.
I read in a thread before about a blender door being stuck open or something like that?
I picked up one of those idiot type of guages that shows the system having a charge in the correct zone. I had her running for about 20 minutes at idle with the back top panel off and the noise is more of a hissing sound. Also I noticed that the clutch engaged when the unit is turned but it never cycled on and off, does anyone know if these have a cycle switch and if so where it is.
If your system is properly charged then your compressor should continously run as long as its calling for cooling. The hissing noise your hearing is more than likely the refrigerant as it works it way through the rear evaporator. There should be a cut out switch for when the engine is under heavy acceleration. But there is no cycle switch. If the unit is cycling either its low on refrigerant or it has met the demand of the system.
How would I check clutch air gap? Is this something I can do or do I need to take it to an A/C shop?
It's already hitting triple digits here during the day so I want to move on it as quick as possible I don't want my girls riding around in a truck blowing warm air.
It sounds like its low on refrigerant. I live in Phoenix and I'm driving a 98 with the original charge. You may want to take it in to a shop so your system can be leak tested.
There are over 170 threads on this site that come up when you plug "+clutch +air +gap" into the SEARCH tool.
Refrigerant level can be checked with a gauge. At 80F, the static charge in the system will be enough to register around 85+ psi in the system with the engine off an cold.
Dang it, where's that HVAC FAQ???
Steve
__________________
Think about it: Ignorance can be addressed through education but you can't fix stupid! ...apologies to Ron White
I checked and with ac on max and at idle it was a solid 35 psi. I reved it up some but was under the hood so not sure how high the rpm's were and it dropped to right around 18 psi.
I did search the clutch air gap and found some good info. The one constant on those threads seemed to be that the clutch would spin and then stop causing some to tap it with a screwdriver etc but mine doesn't stop spinning until I shut it off. I pulled the clutch face and tried it with no shim as some threads suggested but then the clutch stays engaged even when I turned it off. I found a thinner guage shim/washer and put that in but still no dice. I can say that it "seems" cooloer at first so maybe even a thinner guage shim? The one I tried is around .021 according to my feeler guage.
Unfortunately, having only the low side pressure is like trying to drive with only one eye...you only get half of the needed information and still can't tell if the charge is correct.
However, at least you know the clutch is engaging.
MEASURE the air gap. See if it is in spec, then perform the shim removal ONLY if indicated.
Steve
__________________
Think about it: Ignorance can be addressed through education but you can't fix stupid! ...apologies to Ron White
ac did work better this morning leaving the house with an outside temp of 88 at 7:00 am but coming home at 6:00 pm outide temp was 106 and it didn't work as good. At least the air blowing wasn't as hot as before and actually felt cool at times.
So I'm going to have the high side psi checked as suggested and also try to track down a smaller guage shim, I think I saw one thread that had specs at .014-.030 does that sound about right? Also is there an actual shim kit for this or do you just find a thinner washer/shim?
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