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24 Feb 2008 12:33:15 | Jason Miller
If you have an older car it may have R12 refrigerant in the air
conditioner system. You can still buy R12, but it is very
expensive. If you are ready to convert your system to R134, here
is a brief explanation of the procedure with a few insider tips
to help you. To begin you will need a conversion kit with all
the necessary materials. It will include: 2 new adapter
fittings, 2 -3 cans of R-134, and a hose with adapter. Once you
have all the materials, you can begin the process. The first
thing you have to do is have the R12 recovered with a
refrigerant recovery machine. (It is illegal to just open the
valve and let it out in the air.) Now that the air conditioning
system has no pressure, it is time to install the new valve kit.
At this point some people freeze up (no pun intended) because
they are afraid of mixing up the adapters on the high and low
pressure ends. Don’t worry, they are different sizes. The bigger
one goes on the low pressure side of the system and the
refrigerant hose will only connect to the low side valve. It is
pretty hard to mess this up. Now that the adapter valves are
connected, it is time to start the car and put the air
conditioner on high. Turn the blower fan to its highest setting
as well and open the windows. Grab a can of R134 and hook up the
hose and T valve that came with your kit. With the hose hooked
up to the can begin to twist the T valve until it punctures the
can. Then open the valve to let some freon out and purge the air
in the line. Turn the can upside down and hook it up to the low
side adapter valve. Now slowly open the valve and let the Freon
flow into the system. At this point the compressor will begin to
cycle on and off. Don’t panic, this is normal. Keep adding Freon
until the system begins to cool. You can feel the low pressure
line begin to get cool and condensation will accumulate on it.
(Do not grab the high pressure line. It can burn you.) You
probably will not need all 3 cans and be careful not to overfill
the system. If the air conditioner is still not cooling after
the second can, something is wrong. You may have a leak in the
system or some other difficulty. Do not be tempted to keep
pumping Freon in the lines. If the low side line is cold and
dripping with moisture you are done. If you have a air
conditioning manifold gauge set, the low side should have a
pressure of 40 – 50 psi. Good luck and stay cool!
About Author :
Jason is the webmaster for Red Hill Supply - Online Automotive
Air Tools
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