Air conditioner woes

[re griffin]

I carried my 02' sport trac in last year to get the air checked. the compressor continued to cycle on and off and it wasn't cooling.

the service center said it needed freon so they gassed it up and said they found no leaks and i should be good to go.

it did work fine with no issues.

this year when i went to turn it on nothing happened. i couldn't hear the compressor click in and no cooling.

i have gone through the owners manual and located all fuses that the air circuit runs through (there were 3) and they are all fine. i checked them with an ohm meter.

any ideas as to what may be going on and what i can check?

 

[EddieS'04]

Low on freon again. Low pressure switch, taking out the compressor

 

[Jim parnell]

you should run the AC for 5-10 min every month to keep the seals, etc. lubed/wet, so they won't leak down, agree, probably low on freon again.

 

[Don Pertz]

AC runs whenever the defroster or heat and defroster are on.



Other than taking it to a repair shop, sometimes you can jump the low pressure switch and get it to take R134.

 

[Mrlunchbox]

Where is the low pressure port for recharging your own AC? I know my 96 Explorer had one...

 

[David B 2]

I have a question. We had a very hard winter in VA this year. When I tried the AC, it was blowing only very slightly cool air. I have a 2003 Sport Trac. I took it to a shop who refilled it and used a dye. I ran it for 3 weeks and took back. They said they saw no leaks (with the light), and it was blowing at 49 degrees, so I should have no further issues. So my question... can I expect this to fix it for a while, and is it common for car AC's to need a refresh once in a great while? I thought that I read somewhere that if you needed a refill, then you should have a leak somewhere.

 

[Doctor CAD]

You "carried" your Sport Trac????



You must one big mofo!

 

[Chris Smith 8]

It's a southern thang! We carry everything! At the grocery store do you use a shopping cart or a buggy? Just wondering. :supercool:

 

[Steve McKellop]

He's probably fixin' to run down to the parts house and pick up some freon too.:haveabeer:

 

[Kevin Palmer]

LOL...

 

[Ed Fenwick]

On my '02, the low side is on the passenger side near the coolant and windshield washer bottles. If the nozzle on the freon kit fits, it is the low side. If you add more that one can, add a can of lubricant also. Be careful when you unscrew the plastic on the port. There is a rubber o ring in there that must be put back or you will loose all freon in a week. Easy fix.

Ed

 

[Mrlunchbox]

Thanks Ed! I have a port which is on a line that comes out of the canister. Its the only one I can see. When I go to put my quick connect on it seems to leak out some... I can't remember if that happened before with the Explorer. I don't want to put the quick connect on the high side...

 

[scott degroot]

Ed,6/19/2010 18:35 MT



Be careful when you unscrew the plastic on the port. There is a rubber o ring in there that must be put back or you will loose all freon in a week. Easy fix.

Ed

You need to have the schrader valve replaced

 

[scott degroot]

Ed,6/19/2010 18:35 MT



If you add more that one can, add a can of lubricant also.

Not very sound advice. How do you know how much oil is in the system to begin with. When a typical ac system leaks the amout of oil that is lost is very minimal .Now you go and add another 2 ounces and now the system is overcharged on oil which leads to poor cooling performance and can in some cases prematurely wipe out the ac compressor which is meant to pump vapor not liquids.

 

[Ed Fenwick]

L1TECH, good to know, r.e. sorry I gave you bad advice. It has always worked for me though. L1TECH, is there a way to know if the oil is low? Thanks for the correction.

Ed

 

[scott degroot]

The only way to be sure on oil charge is to flush the system and then add the correct amount of oil. I can tell roughly the state of oil charge by depressing the schrader valve briefly and feeling what came out...this is not an exact science though and is more of a "feel for it" method after too many years of doing ac work. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

 

[EddieS'04]

I agree with L1..very rare a leak losses too much oil. I also do the shrader test for oil inspection.



Years ago I busted a compressor, by adding oil.

 

[re griffin]

update: A buddy of mine does automotive air so i went to see him. he's about an hour away from me.

we hooked up the gauges and he said it had no freon at all. we added the appropriate amount and she started cooling nicely. he checked it with the light and couldn't find any leaks but it was midday and we were out in the sun. it cooled great all that day.

i didn't drive it the next day but the following day i did. when i cranked it up i noticed the compressor cycling on and off every few seconds which told me it was low again so i added another can of freon and it cooled fine the rest of that day.

with all that said, i have a leak and haven't been able to find it with the light. it'll be another week or so before i can go see him again and wanted to see if i could get an idea as to where to start to find a not so obvious leak.

any suggestions?

 

[Gavin Allan]

Hoses, hose connections, compressor seal, condensor coil, evaporator coil. Basically anywhere in the system there could be a leak.



Look for oil stain or oil/dust build up- that could be a clue.



May need to get a leak sniffer. Be sure to get one with a heated sensor for best results. Here's a decent one:

 

[Gavin Allan]

One site lists common cause as receiver can rusting on Explorerers: