- Location
- Southern Maryland
I recently got my AC working for the first time in several years, but I'm having a couple of issues and not sure what's up. When I first got it the system was not working, but I was not in a hurry to fix it (yay for vent windows). I had a friend at an AC shop replace the heater core and evaporator and convert the system to 134a. He also spliced in a '94 low pressure switch connector so that I could run a drier with a Schraeder valve. Later when I was doing the engine swap I found a bad corrosion hole in the condenser tubing so I replaced the condenser with a new unit. Then the stock hoses were the wrong size for the condenser and they looked like shit anyway so I replaced them a few weeks later, and also replaced the drier again since the dessicant sack was probably full after running around open.
That was all last year, and a couple of weeks ago I checked the system and it had developed and held a vacuum in the lines so I figured everything was good. I got a can of 134a from wally world, turned the AC to max and started charging. When the system got mildly pressurized the low pressure switch kicked in, the clutch engaged and the electric fan started running. Other than another problem I had with the vacuum harness on the back of the climate control panel, everything has been working properly, with more-or-less cold air coming out of the proper vents, although there are a couple of issues with it.
First issue is that the compressor makes a shitload of noise. I mean it sounds Chewbacca or something growling when I start moving from a stop, with frequency and pitch following the engine RPM. Apart from the growling the engine bay has a tremendous amount of noise coming out of it like the fans are falling apart. People in parking lots look at me when I drive past. Maybe the compressor needs to be oiled? Any ideas or suggestions?
Another thing is that the air blows cool during the day but doesn't really blow cold until nighttime. It seems that the 15 degree difference in ambient temperature makes an exaggerated difference in the AC but maybe its just that the vehicle is cooler and it needs less energy to cool things down. Does this point to anything? I have checked the low pressure side with the gauge, and when the engine revs up the pressure drops and the low pressure disengages the clutch, then when I let off the throttle suddenly the pressure jumps up to the yellow zone and the high pressure disengages the clutch, so it seems to have more or less the right amount of freon.
Thanks
That was all last year, and a couple of weeks ago I checked the system and it had developed and held a vacuum in the lines so I figured everything was good. I got a can of 134a from wally world, turned the AC to max and started charging. When the system got mildly pressurized the low pressure switch kicked in, the clutch engaged and the electric fan started running. Other than another problem I had with the vacuum harness on the back of the climate control panel, everything has been working properly, with more-or-less cold air coming out of the proper vents, although there are a couple of issues with it.
First issue is that the compressor makes a shitload of noise. I mean it sounds Chewbacca or something growling when I start moving from a stop, with frequency and pitch following the engine RPM. Apart from the growling the engine bay has a tremendous amount of noise coming out of it like the fans are falling apart. People in parking lots look at me when I drive past. Maybe the compressor needs to be oiled? Any ideas or suggestions?
Another thing is that the air blows cool during the day but doesn't really blow cold until nighttime. It seems that the 15 degree difference in ambient temperature makes an exaggerated difference in the AC but maybe its just that the vehicle is cooler and it needs less energy to cool things down. Does this point to anything? I have checked the low pressure side with the gauge, and when the engine revs up the pressure drops and the low pressure disengages the clutch, then when I let off the throttle suddenly the pressure jumps up to the yellow zone and the high pressure disengages the clutch, so it seems to have more or less the right amount of freon.
Thanks