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Hey Seth,
The PF condenser was an ebay item that worked great. No other mods needed. BTW other brands that specify R134 retrofits often specify PF condenser upgrades.
Good luck,
Dave
Mine might not be the most popular of sentiments and I don't think you're entirely ghetto for charging by temp/pressure.
Our weather is reasonably the same (Jacksonville, FL and your location in SC). Two days ago, temps were high outside and I charged until I had 55 low side pressure and 255 high side pressure.
I derived this from this ACPROCOLD.com chart...
Am I overcharged? Well, I don't care too much as long as the system blows ice cubes. I am going to have to essentially blow up my system and replace all the parts you mentioned but in the interim, I want to be cold.
I also put in some time ago, a petcock in place of the heater valve (I don't need heat ) and didn't want to worry about that element of the climate control design.
jej3: Trey, I am working from a similar, if not the same temperature/pressure chart. I meant ghetto only because I was not going specifically by temperature at that point, just shooting for 25-30PSI low side.
Or, I should say, I have used that chart in the past on other vehicles. If I had used it on the Red Witch, I might have noticed that my low side is a little low. I will try to wake up early tomorrow afternoon and check the pressures before I drive to work. It should be in the low 80's tomorrow afternoon.
I am not sure if I am going to replace the heater control valve or install a petcock. Thanks for brining that up. I do need to go through the vacuum system. I am beginning to belive I have a vacuum leak/issue.
Glad your shark is blowing cold! I am hoping to get the Red Witch to blow cold(enough) to get me through SITM.
When I had my car in, they stuck a sniffer in the center AC vents and turned the fan on high, and the sniffer went wild. They told me I likely had a leak in the evaporator. However people told me on here that they should have not turned on the fan, as any water in the air blowing over the sensor would trigger it. Sure enough, I did not replace the evaporator, and I've had no appreciable decrease in cooling performance over the last year. Just something to be aware of...
When I had my car in, they stuck a sniffer in the center AC vents and turned the fan on high, and the sniffer went wild. They told me I likely had a leak in the evaporator. However people told me on here that they should have not turned on the fan, as any water in the air blowing over the sensor would trigger it. Sure enough, I did not replace the evaporator, and I've had no appreciable decrease in cooling performance over the last year. Just something to be aware of...
Same thing happened to me, in another car, but I was stupid enough to replace the evaporator. The sniffer still went wild with the new one. I soaked a rag with water and put it in front of a table fan. Guess what? The sniffer went wild on that too.
Dave
why would you not just replace the heater valve???? its a cheap part and a factory one will last 30 more years. dont get the cheap stuff. some guys like to add on/off valves..... its a porsche not ford pickup
bureau13: I have read your experience with that, and am a little hesitant to sniffer the evaporator while driving. I think I will do it with the AC system completely off, then again with it running and the fan on the lowest setting.
We shall see.
j.kenzie@sbcglobal.net: Hmmm...I will try the wet rag and a fan trick with the sniffer I have. Thanks!
ducman2: True enough. New valve and short hose already on order.
I got up early this afternoon to check AC pressures. It was 85 degrees out, and overcast. Static pressure was 85PSI. Shortly after starting the AC, low side pressure pulled down to 10PSI. I slowly fed in two () 12oz cans of R134a. Low side pressure ended up at 34PSI, and high side was 240PSI. This was with the doors closed, blower on HI, and auxilliary condenser fan running. The vent temp was around 63 degrees. The air coming out felt cooler than it had.
On the way to work, the air felt colder. The vent temp got down to 53-54. Lousy, but better than it has been. I was definitely comfortable driving.
I will keep a check on the pressures over the next few days. We shall go from there...
Hmmm, I didn't mean to run the sniffer while actually driving...did I say that? I just meant don't blast the fan. I need to go back and read what I wrote now...
Originally Posted by skpyle
bureau13: I have read your experience with that, and am a little hesitant to sniffer the evaporator while driving. I think I will do it with the AC system completely off, then again with it running and the fan on the lowest setting.
We shall see.
j.kenzie@sbcglobal.net: Hmmm...I will try the wet rag and a fan trick with the sniffer I have. Thanks!
ducman2: True enough. New valve and short hose already on order.
I got up early this afternoon to check AC pressures. It was 85 degrees out, and overcast. Static pressure was 85PSI. Shortly after starting the AC, low side pressure pulled down to 10PSI. I slowly fed in two () 12oz cans of R134a. Low side pressure ended up at 34PSI, and high side was 240PSI. This was with the doors closed, blower on HI, and auxilliary condenser fan running. The vent temp was around 63 degrees. The air coming out felt cooler than it had.
On the way to work, the air felt colder. The vent temp got down to 53-54. Lousy, but better than it has been. I was definitely comfortable driving.
I will keep a check on the pressures over the next few days. We shall go from there...
A good "rule of thumb" is...30/35 degrees cooler than outside temperture (car at a stand-still, A/C on high, electric cooling fan running; going down the road this may drop some).
"Most" car companies use this rough estimate when designing the size of the unit, once they factor in cabin size, insulation, number of occupants and amount of heat gain through glass (etc). They could make every car that hits the road with the efficiency of freezing beef...if they wanted. However, there is a "stroke-out/drop dead heart attack factor" that they like to stay within. And that is roughly 30/35 degrees difference of outside temps. It's just way to hard on the body to go from 40 some degrees in a car...and step out into 85/90 degrees. Especially, for the older population. Of course, this could probably save the Social Security system...lol. If you are younger...have at it. In my twenties...I had 25 degrees coming out of the vents of my 944 (R12...that stuff rocked).
Sounds like you are in the ballpark, Seth. Though, you have to be extremely careful you don't overfill R134a...it don't like that. Usually, your cooling affect will diminish once you start doing that. And it sounds like you are either there or approaching that brench mark.
I didn't read the whole topic...so my apologies if some of this has already been mentioned. Good luck.
bureau13: No, you did not say to test while driving. My poor choice of words. I should have said not with the blower blowing. Or even with the AC running. I think I will put the sniffer in the vents with the system static.
Sorry about the confusion!
The Deputy: Very good advice! For the moment, I am filling for pressure to see how the system acts. It is very sick, I have no illusions of it magically fixing itself. I am just trying to get through SITM.
When I overhaul the system, I will be filling by weight, 85% of fill for R12.
Well, well, well...I am an idiot. Though I did learn something useful today.
I drove an hour each way to visit Chris Lockhart in Taylors, SC. And absolutely roasted both ways. The AC in the Red Witch went from ineffective to non-existent. Why not roll the windows down, you might say?
Because on Thursday, I had all the windows tinted. The door windows can't be rolled down until Monday after the tint cures.
Before I left to visit Chris, I topped off the refrigerant. It was down a little on the pressures. 20 PSI low side and 170 PSI high side, for 83 degrees ambient. I topped it off to 40 PSI low side and 220 PSI high side. Before I did that, I got the hare-brained idea to pull the vacuum line off the heater valve. That way, the valve would stay closed and keep hot water out of the heater core. (You old salts know what is coming.)
It was disgustingly hot today, and almost unbearable in the Red Witch. I had the AC on and the blower on HI. The air was a few degrees cooler than ambient.
After a nice visit with Chris, I hit Rennlist for some research. I have been wondering if I don't have a vacuum issue somewhere in the HVAC system. Lo and behold, I come across a post mentioning plumbing the heater valve straight to vacuum at the brake booster. To keep it shut. Uh-oh...
Yes folks, I removed the vacuum line from the heater valve, guaranteeing my drive would be hot and miserable. Said heater valve is now plumbed straight to vacuum at the brake booster. At least until I can inspect the vacuum system.
On a good note, I did learn how to quickly test the recirculation flap. Mine was inop, don't know if it is a failed diaphragm or failed solenoid valve. I do know that propping the flap shut with a long screwdriver results in the AC being almost effective. It is cool, almost cold.
Granted, that was at 9:30 tonight, and it was a nice cool evening. I will go for a drive in the heat of the afternoon tomorrow and see how the AC is.
I am now adding 'HAVC vacuum system refurbish' to my Red Witch To Do list...
Well, well, well...I am an idiot. Though I did learn something useful today.
I drove an hour each way to visit Chris Lockhart in Taylors, SC. And absolutely roasted both ways. The AC in the Red Witch went from ineffective to non-existent. Why not roll the windows down, you might say?
Because on Thursday, I had all the windows tinted. The door windows can't be rolled down until Monday after the tint cures.
Before I left to visit Chris, I topped off the refrigerant. It was down a little on the pressures. 20 PSI low side and 170 PSI high side, for 83 degrees ambient. I topped it off to 40 PSI low side and 220 PSI high side. Before I did that, I got the hare-brained idea to pull the vacuum line off the heater valve. That way, the valve would stay closed and keep hot water out of the heater core. (You old salts know what is coming.)
It was disgustingly hot today, and almost unbearable in the Red Witch. I had the AC on and the blower on HI. The air was a few degrees cooler than ambient.
After a nice visit with Chris, I hit Rennlist for some research. I have been wondering if I don't have a vacuum issue somewhere in the HVAC system. Lo and behold, I come across a post mentioning plumbing the heater valve straight to vacuum at the brake booster. To keep it shut. Uh-oh...
Yes folks, I removed the vacuum line from the heater valve, guaranteeing my drive would be hot and miserable. Said heater valve is now plumbed straight to vacuum at the brake booster. At least until I can inspect the vacuum system.
On a good note, I did learn how to quickly test the recirculation flap. Mine was inop, don't know if it is a failed diaphragm or failed solenoid valve. I do know that propping the flap shut with a long screwdriver results in the AC being almost effective. It is cool, almost cold.
Granted, that was at 9:30 tonight, and it was a nice cool evening. I will go for a drive in the heat of the afternoon tomorrow and see how the AC is.
I am now adding 'HAVC vacuum system refurbish' to my Red Witch To Do list...
Seth K. Pyle
Glad you're getting it sorted out Seth. Glad you were able to drop by and see the cluttered mess. LOL. I really enjoyed the visit. Hopefully next time we'll be in a new place with a LARGE garage/workshop where I can organize everything properly.
05-27-2016, 09:44 PM
) and didn't want to worry about that element of the climate control design.
) 12oz cans of R134a. Low side pressure ended up at 34PSI, and high side was 240PSI. This was with the doors closed, blower on HI, and auxilliary condenser fan running. The vent temp was around 63 degrees. The air coming out felt cooler than it had.
