Air Conditioning

[RangerFella]

1997 2.3L I4 Ranger 2WD Supercab w/ a Stick. ~65k miles. The AC does not currently work at all...the fan blows but it's not cool at all, even in cool weather. I was told that I could try recharging the system to see if that would fix it. What I need to know is how to do that.

I already have the hose (without a gauge) and a can of the proper coolant. Apart from that, I don't know what to do or how to do it. If somebody could give me some tips or pointers, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

 

[97RangerXLT]

#1. Throw the hose w/out the gauge away, or put a gauge on it.

#2. Make sure it is not something simple like a blown fuse or fusible link, check the relays, fan clutch, compressor clutch etc.

#3. If all the other electrics check out, then ideally get a manifold gauge set, it will cost you in the neighborhood of 90 bucks. If money is a problem, get a refill kit that has a gauge on it.

#4. your A/C pressure on the low side (and high side too) will depend on the outside air temp, the relative humidity and how plugged up your condenser is.
*note, if someone has the temperature/humidity/pressure charts... please post them. I do not have access to them at this point, I think I have them at home, but it would take me forever to find them.*

#5. hook up your gauge set to both high and low side, open the valves at the hookup points to allow the system to reach the gauges, but do not open the valves on the manifold itself or the freon can. On the refill kit hook it up to your low side and do not open the valve to the freon can just yet. Start the truck and put it on max a/c blower on high. look at your gauge on the low side of the manifold gauge or the single gauge on the refill kit.

#6. your low side (if you have the manifold gauge set) should read around 30 psi to 45 psi depending on outside temp and humidity. IF it is cold outside, it will read lower. another point to mention, it needs to be at least 70 degrees outside or in the garage where you are doing this....

#7. If you have a refill kit, the gauge should read 30 to 45 psi depending on temp.

#8. If the compressor does not even kick in, and you have extremely low readings on the gauges, you are probably out of freon. If the system is completely empty, no pressure readings at all, you need to evacuate the system to a -30 psi and hold that for a few hours to get the moisture out. If you fail to do this, ice will form inside your a/c system and this is not good...you can trash the compressor. another note, if the system is completely empty, find the leak and fix it. Replace the receiver/dryer while you are at it. this is the opportune time, you do not have to worry about venting the freon (illegal anyways)

#9. If you do have some pressure, but the compressor is not kicking in, open the valve to the freon can now (with the truck running of course) and open the valve on the low side to the manifold if using the manifold gauge set. fill the a/c system until you get the 30 - 45 psi on the low side. It should take no more than 2 12oz cans of freon, and probably less! (again if someone knows the exact capacity, chime in..) You do not want to overcharge the system! if you have put a can and a half in and nothing has changed, stop, you got another problem that needs to be addressed.

#10. after you get the proper charge, close all the valves and carefully disconnect the hoses. you are done.

#11. other problems you might have...If the low side pressure goes way up and the high side pressure is fairly low, you might have a bad expansion valve. requires recovery of the freon and taking the system apart to replace. This is one of the times where the full manifold gauge set is helpfull. the refill kit will not help much in this case as there is not gauge on the high side.

Hope this helps, and for the a/c techs on the board this is all from memory, so if I have forgotten something, please feel free to chime in.

AJ

 

[94STXRanger]

I did the same thing, but in the summer... Anyway some professional ac guy helped me. He had me start the truck and keep it revving at like 1500 rpm, Im pretty sure. He hooked up that hose to whichever valve it goes on(someone help me out here) and as i revved it he added the stuff until i felt it coming out of the vents nice and cold. He measured it and i want to say it was at like 48 degrees.

 

[94STXRanger]

haha ok forget my post

 

[Ranger44]

Dont forget, that it's not good to just top off a system. If it's low, it had to have leaked out. Therefore the leak must be found and fixed. I agree check for easy things first, make sure things are plugged in and fuses aren't blown.

 

[skippy]

#1. Throw the hose w/out the gauge away, or put a gauge on it.

#2. Make sure it is not something simple like a blown fuse or fusible link, check the relays, fan clutch, compressor clutch etc.

#3. If all the other electrics check out, then ideally get a manifold gauge set, it will cost you in the neighborhood of 90 bucks. If money is a problem, get a refill kit that has a gauge on it.

#4. your A/C pressure on the low side (and high side too) will depend on the outside air temp, the relative humidity and how plugged up your condenser is.
*note, if someone has the temperature/humidity/pressure charts... please post them. I do not have access to them at this point, I think I have them at home, but it would take me forever to find them.*

#5. hook up your gauge set to both high and low side, open the valves at the hookup points to allow the system to reach the gauges, but do not open the valves on the manifold itself or the freon can. On the refill kit hook it up to your low side and do not open the valve to the freon can just yet. Start the truck and put it on max a/c blower on high. look at your gauge on the low side of the manifold gauge or the single gauge on the refill kit.

#6. your low side (if you have the manifold gauge set) should read around 30 psi to 45 psi depending on outside temp and humidity. IF it is cold outside, it will read lower. another point to mention, it needs to be at least 70 degrees outside or in the garage where you are doing this....

#7. If you have a refill kit, the gauge should read 30 to 45 psi depending on temp.

#8. If the compressor does not even kick in, and you have extremely low readings on the gauges, you are probably out of freon. If the system is completely empty, no pressure readings at all, you need to evacuate the system to a -30 psi and hold that for a few hours to get the moisture out. If you fail to do this, ice will form inside your a/c system and this is not good...you can trash the compressor. another note, if the system is completely empty, find the leak and fix it. Replace the receiver/dryer while you are at it. this is the opportune time, you do not have to worry about venting the freon (illegal anyways)

#9. If you do have some pressure, but the compressor is not kicking in, open the valve to the freon can now (with the truck running of course) and open the valve on the low side to the manifold if using the manifold gauge set. fill the a/c system until you get the 30 - 45 psi on the low side. It should take no more than 2 12oz cans of freon, and probably less! (again if someone knows the exact capacity, chime in..) You do not want to overcharge the system! if you have put a can and a half in and nothing has changed, stop, you got another problem that needs to be addressed.

#10. after you get the proper charge, close all the valves and carefully disconnect the hoses. you are done.

#11. other problems you might have...If the low side pressure goes way up and the high side pressure is fairly low, you might have a bad expansion valve. requires recovery of the freon and taking the system apart to replace. This is one of the times where the full manifold gauge set is helpfull. the refill kit will not help much in this case as there is not gauge on the high side.

Hope this helps, and for the a/c techs on the board this is all from memory, so if I have forgotten something, please feel free to chime in.

AJ

i read his post and recommend he read the sticky in heat/air section of the forum,then if not comfortable with the procedure he should take it in for estimates.

 

[RangerFella]

No compressor turning on, and I found out why. One of the lines, don't know what to call it, has a huge hole in it, looks kind of like a half-peeled banana. Looks like the thing ruptured. Oh well, I'm not going to mess with it just yet. I also noticed that it looked like somebody was trying to refill it themselves or a shop that did a poor job because the input valve thing or whatever was all rounded off and the cap was missing (like it was removed and then cross-threaded). I don't know what happened, and I really don't care. I'll get it fixed at some point but right now it's a non issue and too much trouble/money.

Thanks for all your help guys, I appreciate it. It's not Freon btw, it's whatever that 143a stuff is...the alternative.

 

[snake]

If the hole is open by all means cover it up with something. Dirt is hell to remove from the system so keep dirt and moisture out of it. Replace the hose or whatever is busted this summer, replace the receiver/dryer, replace a few ounces of oil, pull it down with a vacuum pump, then recharge. Should work like a hose...

And BTW, 134a is still a freon, or refrigerant like R-12 was. Its just more politically correct to use since the patent on R-12 ran out.