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Old 08-11-2009, 08:44 PM   #1
sdnativesurfer
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Default A/C question

My A/C was blowing super cold yesterday, today I turned it on and nothing but hot air.

I can't imagine how all my freon would leak out overnight and I didn't hear the A/C compressor kick on......

Any suggestions?
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Old 08-11-2009, 09:00 PM   #2
alpentalic
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You can get a pressure gauge and check the pressure. No pressure, no cold air, no compressure respone.

Do you have an aftermarket TMIC? I've posted this already once today, but bigger TMIC's can rub a hole in your IC line and the gas loss will be quite quick.
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Old 08-11-2009, 11:57 PM   #3
sdnativesurfer
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alpentalic View Post
You can get a pressure gauge and check the pressure. No pressure, no cold air, no compressure respone.

Do you have an aftermarket TMIC? I've posted this already once today, but bigger TMIC's can rub a hole in your IC line and the gas loss will be quite quick.

I am running an STI TMIC this seems like really solid advice. If it did rub a hole will i be able to repair the hole with brazing or will I need to replace the hose?
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Old 08-12-2009, 01:14 AM   #4
Waking The Fallen
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Easier to just replace the hose.. First thing is to check the pressure on the low side, should be around 60 or more psi off. If that checks ok then check the fuses, if the fuses are ok make sure the relay is clicking, make sure the compressor didn't lock up, and you can check the high and low pressure switches.. If the compressor is turning and still blowing hot air then the blend door is messed up
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Old 08-12-2009, 01:25 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Waking The Fallen View Post
Easier to just replace the hose.. First thing is to check the pressure on the low side, should be around 60 or more psi off. If that checks ok then check the fuses, if the fuses are ok make sure the relay is clicking, make sure the compressor didn't lock up, and you can check the high and low pressure switches.. If the compressor is turning and still blowing hot air then the blend door is messed up

Very good advice, I went for a drive earlier and tried it again and just to reiterate the problem, when I turn on the AC I do not hear the compressor turning on. You stated make sure "the relay is clicking" Can you please explain a little more about this. Does the relay go from the switch in the cabin to the compressor? Or is the relay a separate component which delivers power to the compressor?

Thanks again you guys rock~!
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Old 08-12-2009, 02:34 PM   #6
alpentalic
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sdnativesurfer View Post
Very good advice, I went for a drive earlier and tried it again and just to reiterate the problem, when I turn on the AC I do not hear the compressor turning on. You stated make sure "the relay is clicking" Can you please explain a little more about this. Does the relay go from the switch in the cabin to the compressor? Or is the relay a separate component which delivers power to the compressor?

Thanks again you guys rock~!
Without looking at my car, I expect that the relay is in the engine bay with the fuse box, but may also be under the dash. The relay will take a signal from the switch (either positive trigger 12v signal or negative groud signal) and relay a signal (most likely 12v) to the compressor to turn it on. When you turn your turn signal on and hear a clicking, that is the relay turning the signal on and off. You should hear a similar click as the relay tells the compressor to turn on. However, I know that even if the compressor is getting power from the relay, it will not turn on if there is no pressure in the system. This keeps the compressor from burning out.

Start with checking the pressure first and we can go from there.
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Old 08-12-2009, 04:05 PM   #7
sdnativesurfer
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ok, so here is the update:

The relay is good (I switched it with the horn one to test it out.)

There is no pressure on the High side, I didn't need a gauge I simply pressed in the valve and got a tiny psst for a millisecond and then nothing.

This was with the motor off

I then started the car turned on the A/C and waited a few minutes

Then checked the High side again and still no pressure.

I never heard the compressor turn on I am guessing the Low pressure switch was preventing it from turning on.

-What do you guys suggest I do next??

recharge the system?

perform some sort of leak test?
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Old 08-12-2009, 04:44 PM   #8
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The compressor will not turn on if you have low freon. Find you leak , fix, evacuate & recharge - presto - cool air.
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Old 08-12-2009, 04:52 PM   #9
alpentalic
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You mentioned that you had that STI TMIC. Take a look on the passenger side of the firewall and see if the TMIC is making contact with the low pressure side of the AC line. Check for rubbing and leaks there first. After that, you're on your own. They make kits that you can find at almost any autoparts store that will help you find the leak.
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Old 08-12-2009, 04:52 PM   #10
sdnativesurfer
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Davidwrx View Post
The compressor will not turn on if you have low freon. Find you leak , fix, evacuate & recharge - presto - cool air.
Any suggestions on how to find the leak? I saw there is a kit that has a UV dye anyone have experience with this stuff? Can anyone suggest another method?

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/cat...randName=Quest

I used to work for an A/C company and we had a Sniffer device that could detect a leak. To bad I don't work there anymore...

Is the UV dyed freon the most common way to find a leak?

Or do people charge their systems with nitrogen and spray soap on their connections?

I am leaning more towards the UV dyed r134 this way I might be able to locate a loose connection and be able to fix it then charge it without having to get a vacuum pump to evacuate the system.


Suggestions?
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Old 08-12-2009, 05:03 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sdnativesurfer View Post

-What do you guys suggest I do next??

recharge the system?

perform some sort of leak test?

well i would take to mechanic
and ask to perform a leak test(that is all you authorize, here is why.)

to perform leak test, the mech will have to re-charge syst with freon/oil/ultraviolet dye.
they will find the leak with an ultraviolet hand held lamp.
-now tell them to recover the refrigerant(that you just paid for)
-fix the leaking hose/part/compressor
-take back and recharge the ac system

shouldnt be more than $120 for leak test and then since you already paid for the freon/oil
once you fix the leak
only around $60 to recharge systm and you are done.
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Old 08-12-2009, 05:10 PM   #12
sdnativesurfer
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AliBenn View Post
well i would take to mechanic
and ask to perform a leak test(that is all you authorize, here is why.)

to perform leak test, the mech will have to re-charge syst with freon/oil/ultraviolet dye.
they will find the leak with an ultraviolet hand held lamp.
-now tell them to recover the refrigerant(that you just paid for)
-fix the leaking hose/part/compressor
-take back and recharge the ac system

shouldnt be more than $120 for leak test and then since you already paid for the freon/oil
once you fix the leak
only around $60 to recharge systm and you are done.

Hmm, I was looking for more of a do it yourself fix. I am guessing I will just add the UV dyed freon and buy the UV light. and see if I can find it.
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Old 08-12-2009, 05:38 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sdnativesurfer View Post
Hmm, I was looking for more of a do it yourself fix. I am guessing I will just add the UV dyed freon and buy the UV light. and see if I can find it.
forgot to add that!
certainly can do yourself


just need one of those $100 ac guages(the one with 3 guage heads on it)
and make sure you do not over charge the syst with dye/oil/freon combo
also
if you do have a leak, you will have to buy freon/oil twice.
bc you cannot recover the freon without one of those $1k ac charge machine that shops use.
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Old 08-12-2009, 07:26 PM   #14
sdnativesurfer
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alpentalic View Post
You can get a pressure gauge and check the pressure. No pressure, no cold air, no compressure respone.

Do you have an aftermarket TMIC? I've posted this already once today, but bigger TMIC's can rub a hole in your IC line and the gas loss will be quite quick.

You win!

You were dead on correct, after some more inspection I noticed that the low pressure line was in fact very close to the TMIC when I moved the line back I saw the indentation in the line as well as picked up some oily residue. BINGO found the leak!

Now part two to this thread.

HOW TO FIX IT?

I am comfortable brazing and think I might as well give it a shot before I order the $70 hose from my local Subaru dealer.

Anyone see any possible negative outcome to brazing the leak?

I plan on using a small torch and some silver solder and flux.

Since you all did a great job on your write ups I figured I would include some photos for you viewing pleasure. Hopefully they will help in the future if someone else experiences this problem with an aftermarket TMIC (I am only running an STI one)




Last edited by sdnativesurfer; 08-12-2009 at 10:20 PM.
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Old 08-12-2009, 08:31 PM   #15
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you cant braze that.

Do yourself a favor buy the STi line, it will clear the intercooler.
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Old 08-12-2009, 08:36 PM   #16
alpentalic
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^ What he said. If you braze it, charge it and it fails, you're out 30 dollars of r-134. I tried to patch mine using JB weld thinking to myself, that crap will hold anything. Yeah, it worked for a day. I picked my STI line up from Prodrivenauto, who is a vender on this site. It was $100 paypaled, which was a lot less than the $170 that Carter Subaru in North Seattle wanted.

On a side note, I should really think about reading my posts before I click submit. I apparently can't spell for *****.
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Old 08-12-2009, 10:17 PM   #17
sdnativesurfer
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Originally Posted by alpentalic View Post
^ What he said. If you braze it, charge it and it fails, you're out 30 dollars of r-134. I tried to patch mine using JB weld thinking to myself, that crap will hold anything. Yeah, it worked for a day. I picked my STI line up from Prodrivenauto, who is a vender on this site. It was $100 paypaled, which was a lot less than the $170 that Carter Subaru in North Seattle wanted.

On a side note, I should really think about reading my posts before I click submit. I apparently can't spell for *****.
Damn, I already used some JB weld on it hopefully you didn't use the putty stuff like I did and *hopefully the putty will do the trick, if not, oh well I guess I can go buy a new line.

Here are a few more photos----



Last edited by sdnativesurfer; 08-12-2009 at 10:24 PM.
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Old 08-12-2009, 11:14 PM   #18
alpentalic
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sdnativesurfer View Post
Damn, I already used some JB weld on it hopefully you didn't use the putty stuff like I did and *hopefully the putty will do the trick, if not, oh well I guess I can go buy a new line.

Here are a few more photos----

Well if you haven't recharged yet, you haven't wasted your $30. I used some sort of two part epoxy and it didn't work. I really would eat the difference and just get a good line.
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