Car air conditioning top up
Yes we all have cars with air conditioning that do not cool as well as they used to. Why? Car air conditioning compressors are not hermetically sealed. They are open type. Fugitive leaks occur on even the best of car compressors over time. Also leaks on mechanical fittings and Schrader valves will cause poor cooling performance.
A significant leak needs to be fixed first before attempting anything else. For properly working air conditioning units that don't cool as well, read on for some tips.
You will need to consult your car service manual to know the weight of refrigerant to use on an evacuated system or the expected operating pressures.
Also a handy tip is that the typical small can is 12oz. My car uses 23oz total. Don't overfill else your compressor will go bye bye. For Topping up 1 can usually suffices.
For this job I used
1. Manifold gauge set for r134a refrigerant.
1. Can 12oz of r134a.
1. Piercing head for the r134a can.
Don't even attempt a job like this without being very competent in handling live refrigerant systems. Also for the love of life don't even connect the high pressure port and open the high pressure valve on the manifold gauge set! Wearing safety glasses is an excellent idea plus gloves are handy too (don't worry about my bare hand in the pics, I had taken off the gloves to take the pics).
