AC Mainit Pa Rin! - New Evap, Exp Valve and Drier

[mbeige]

Yapoy good idea to have an A/C vent thermometer.

By the way Cathy, if you've seen the repairs the freon should come in a large, metal can yung tipong mini-Gasul, and not the Coke-in-can-sized cans because those are low quality.

When I had my A/C converted to R134a, it can now blow 5 degrees C at the vents when outside temperatures are around the high teens to low 20's. It takes a while talaga for A/C to cool the cabin if it's hot outside or if the car's been parked. Cathy it might be good if you could get a thermometer at the vents, and check the reading. It's best if you could take the reading at idle with the blower at minimum setting to see how cold it can really get.

[_Cathy_]

I saw it and it looked like a mini gasul that they turn upside down when loading the freon. Does that mean that I got "latak" freon or is that the usual practice?

Where can I get the AC vent thermometer? I hope it's not expensive hehe

[theveed]

It's usual, the refrigerants aren't pressurized so it has to be flipped upside-down.

[mbeige]

Cathy do you know how many pounds (lbs) were used to fill up your system? I don't know how much your system should receive but it's a very bad idea to overfill, and it won't cool as good if you underfill. If your car is originally an R12 system, and you convert it to R134a the newer legal type nowadays, you should load in a bit more but I don't know the concentration of how much should be added. This is because R134a is less dense (smaller molecules) than R12. However, R134a does not cool as good as R12 does, and R134a needs to run at a much higher pressure (again linked to its smaller molecular size) than R12.

So check if your system is filled with the correct amount of refrigerant, and find out what refrigerant you have (R12 or R134a). Chances are it's the latter but it's good to be sure of what you have.

I was checking the first page and it looks like you've had your A/C system repaired twice in the past and then just the other day you did. I think it would be best to follow Theveed's advice and have the whole system checked, it might cost you more but it will solve your problem. However since you mentioned your car has other problems it might be best for you to have your mechanic check everything, even the engine mounts and radiator leak if it hasn't been fixed.

The thermometer can be bought at hardware shops, a cheap dial one should suffice. The ideal temperature inside the cabin at the vents should be half of what the ambient temperature is. So if it's 30C outside, your cabin vent temps should be around 15C. It should even get colder if you're driving faster since the incoming air cools the condenser, together with the A/C and radiator fans behind the two.

[yapoy86]

I saw it and it looked like a mini gasul that they turn upside down when loading the freon. Does that mean that I got "latak" freon or is that the usual practice?

Where can I get the AC vent thermometer? I hope it's not expensive hehe

Its normal and you did not get "latak" freon...

Freon tanks are turned upside down so that the system will get the LIQUIFIED FREON it is normally done when the system have no FREON at all (during initial re-fill).. if TOP-UP only of freon, the tank will not be turned upside down so that the GAS FREON will enter the system.. this is the reason why top-up cost only 250 pesos while the full refill cost 1,000 pesos

FREON tanks are subject to VERY HIGH PRESSURE just like an LPG tank..these gasses becomes liquid under HIGH PRESSURE.. but when released they sublime as GAS

[1D4LV]

sayang money for repairs done without any significant result... to TS cathy_for_you you may also try looking for another shop.. baka LOW QUALITY yung freon na nilalagay sa A/C system mo.. i had the same experience na nag palit ng DRIER / FILTER, EXPANSION VALVE, etc and after all the parts changed still mahina lamig ng A/C ko.. then i consulted another aircon tech dito sa Las pinas si MR. COLDWET galing gumawa kasi talagang pulido... he again vacuumed my system for 1 hour and replaced the FREON with US made freon!!! Ayun after that lumamig na ng todo A/C ko up to now ok na ok pa din... normally aircon temp at vent is BELOW 10deg celsuis when A/C is engaged at idle... when vehicle is moving temp should be below 5deg celsius.. i've bought a thermometer to monitor my aircon temp and its amazing it can go as low as 0deg celsius... ORIG freon lang pala katapat...hehehehe magaling talaga yung tech meron pa sila gadget to retrieve freon unlike other shops na pinasisingaw lang yung freon which is bad for the environment..

no kidding? 0 degrees celsius? para kang nasa loob ng refrigerator nyan ah. baka pag singa mo nyan bro, yelo ang lumabas.

imho, the temperature should be at least half of the outside temperature. mukhang overkill yang lamig mo bro.

[yapoy86]

well have you tried sticking a thermometer in your vent?? kasi ako na try ko na and it can really go as low as 0deg celsuis lalo na pag hindi nabilad yung auto sa araw like sa umaga or sa hapon/gabi, of course its "vent temp" pag labas ng hangin sa vent baba agad air temp nun to about 8deg celsuis pag dating sa balat mo.. technically it will just freeze pag singa mo kung ang surrounding temp mo is -5deg celsuis cabin temp. which is impossible.. siguro kung dun ka pupwesto sa loob nung cooling coil case eh pag singa mo magyeyelo ka talaga.. your cooling coil temp should be VERY COOL kasi malayo ang travel ng hangin before it reaches your cabin and your skin.. kung kulang ang lamig ng cooling coil hindi na aabot yan sa vent kaya pag labas eh mainit ang hangin..

additional info, MOST cars with climate control it uses an ELECTRONIC THERMOSTAT (resistive type you can see this inside the cooling coil case) which OPENS ( to turn-OFF the compressor) when the airconditioner cooling coil reached -5deg celsuis this is to avoid the cooling coil from forming FROST but not until the cooling reached -5deg celsuis it will continously engage your compressor..

unlike cars with ANALOG THERMOSTAT which you can control the ACTUAL temp of your airconditioner ot its frequency of turning on/off cycle.. Climate Control systems controls the temperature of your cabin by letting in some hot air (from radiator) to the vent when you slide the TEMP Controller near "hot zone" it does not control the TEMP by ACTUAL Reading unlike ANALOG thermostat that uses mercury for its TEMP control

Like TOYOTA they use analog thermostat for their vehicles like VIOS, REVO since hindi naman applicable sa pinas ang climate control...

In my kia carnival naka climate control din.. but i disabled my electronic thermostat and replaced with an analog thermostat.. in this way i can control my temp and also protect my compressor kasi mas madalas na mag "automatic" yung aircon ko hindi bugbog sa takbo...

[RAC Tech]

Hi. I drive a 96 Corolla. I just had my AC repaired today. Exactly a year ago I was in the same ac repair shop. Below are the details of what was done to my car:

Sep 2006:
General Cleaning - P850
Flush System - P300
Replace Filter Drier Denso Original - P1500
Replace Cooling Coil Serpentine -P4000

18 Oct 2007:
General Cleaning - P1,100
Flush System - P300
Replace Filter Drier Denso Original - P1,500
Replace Expansion Valve Denso Original - P1,600

I am really frustrated because after all that has been done, my AC doesn't function as well as it did before. It got even worse because before the repair/replacements done today I could do with just number 1, but now I have to switch to number 2 even if I have no passengers at all. I was told that the reason why the drier broke down so easily was because my radiator was leaking (which is true coz I saw it myself). Given that it is true, I just don't understand why it's still mainit. It really isn't just my imagination coz before the recent break down I really don't go above number 1 when I'm driving alone e going home from the repair shop I was a second away from brreaking a sweat. It wasn't that hot naman. Also I noticed that the pitch of my car horn got higher. It sounds so bad. I thought I was just imagining it but our helper didn't even recognize the horn and my dog didn't even bark thinking that it was another car. I feel dyaje to go back to the repair shop just a day after coz they might say that there's nothing wrong naman. Also the mechanic might think that I'm too finicky. Also do you guys know what the temperature inside the car should be when the AC is on low? They didn't show me the temp kasi. Last year they showed it to me before I left. So do you guys recommend that I go back tomorrow or should I just switch to another repair shop? or should my priority be buying a new radiator? The top portion is leaking badly kasi, they said that if I don't have it repaired immediately, it might cause the other parts near the radiator to break down as well (from the heat) . Thanks

The best way is ibalik mo sa gumawa para ma check nila uli. Overprice sila sa mga parts, ang serpentine 2k lang, laminated 4-5K. 96 corolla serpentine cooling coil original na nakalagay diyan.

Kung papalitan ng compressor ang brand new TRS compressor 12K pag tumaas pa diyan mahal na yon, pag replacement na compressor naman range 4-5K plus yun service.. mabuhay...

[umzzzzz]

i suggest you isolate the problem first po. figure out what part should first be repaired.

[non-vtec]

imo, serpentine or laminated should still blow cold air. the real difference is when your car is parked under the sun, the laminated should perform better in cooling down the cabin.

anyway i had a similar experience before, new compressor, drier, but its still not as cold as before (7degrees max). when i brought my car to another shop, we found out that there was too much compressor oil.

[_Cathy_]

Yesterday I went back to the AC shop that replaced my compressor. I was driving kasi when the AC suddenly stopped blowing cold air so I drove straight to the shop. The mechanic said that the wire just went loose so he just made dukot something in the compressor. It's working now but I asked him how he's supposed to address what autotech said that the magnetic something is sumasabit eh he didn't seem to mind what I said so I was thinking if I should bring my car to another shop.

I also think that the compressor is maingay considering that it is less than 6 months old. I don't think they will replace it anyway. hay.

[_Cathy_]

Yesterday I brought my car back to the AC shop that replaced my compressor. I was driving when the AC suddenly stopped blowing cold air so I drove straight to the shop. The mechanic said that the wire at the compressor just got loose so he just made dukot. I was asking him if he had to pull down the compressor and he said no. I told him that sometimes the AC goes automatic ng non-stop and he said it was because of the loose wiring. I told him what autotech said that the magnetic clutch is sumasabit but he didn't do anything about that. The compressor is also noisy considering that it is less than 6 mos old. I don't think they will replace it anyway. I dunno if I should just go to another shop or just insist on them to address my complaints.

[afrasay]

PAg sumasabit yun magnetic clutch makikita mo yun pulley (the one where the belt is mounted) during off cycle na parang gustong umikot but not necessarily mag turn siya. normally removing the pulley and putting a washer would solve this. anu ba yun noise niya, katok ba as in tok, tok, tok or is it like a squeeking belt?

[_Cathy_]

Wala akong masilip kasi yung alternator nakaharang sa view ng compressor? tok tok tok yung tunog. Parang tunog sira hehe

[glenn_sp]

ma'am cathy bago na po ba compresor nyo? baka naman po may leak ang mga hose or baka defective na po ang aux fan nyo para sa condenser.. yung suki ko po magaling humanap ng pagmumulan ng sira, d nya tatantanan ( parang c mike e. hehehe) hanggat d nya nhahanap ang sira, kaso taga dito cya sa bulacan, mukang malayo po para sa inyo..

[_Cathy_]

Bago compressor ko. Nung January ko lang binili for 15,500 kasama na yung drier and expansion valve. Ano pa bang ibang pwedeng masira na magcau cause ng ingay?

[glenngj]

malamang compressor lang naman ang nag cause ng ingay. pwede sira na ang bearing nyan sa loob kaya maingay.. kung bago compressor mo i think may warranty naman yan. pwede rin yung aux fan mo na nasa condenser ang cause ng ingay, check mo din kung yung ikot ng fan is maingay.

[raine]

since bago ang compressor mo try mo check ang idler pulley baka sira na ang bearing palit mo na ito mura lang naman.

[1D4LV]

kung bago compressor, imho, baka may warranty pa yan...

[_Cathy_]

since bago ang compressor mo try mo check ang idler pulley baka sira na ang bearing palit mo na ito mura lang naman.

Kasama ba sa warranty ng compressor yung bearing sa idler pulley? Saan ba siya located? kaya ko ba silipin para pakinggan ko. hehehe.