[thegimpster]

Hi all. I'm new to the Mustang world. I'm a V-Dubber, but my wife bought a 95 'Stang the other day. We got the car for $2100 so I figured there was some stuff wrong w/ it. The door hinges on the driver's side need replaced and some other small stuff. I forgot to check the A/C at the time, but got home and it doesn't work. I started checking it out. The compressor was unplugged. Cleaned the corrosion off hooked it up to 12v and got the compressor going. Hooked it back up to the system. Checked the low pressor switch and cleaned it up. Now it works, kind of. It runs for a second or too and then shuts off for about five seconds. I know there is a leak in the system because i have charged it a few times and it has gone back down. So I ran the ac full blast while charging it and it does the same thing.

My question is basically is the compressor bad, or does it keep kicking off because of the lean and my little can can't supply enough volume or R134a to keep it going and the pressure switch keeps shutting it off.

 

[heavy metal]

welcome to the site,enjoy!!!! it sounds like the compresser is good,just need to fix the leak so it will hold enough freon.

 

[StalkerStang]

It should cycle on and off. But as said above, fix the leak, fill to proper specs and then see what happens. You can usually count in seconds how long the clutch stays on and then off and find out if its in good shape or not.

 

[thegimpster]

I can hook the compressor strait up to 12v and it will run just fiine. If i charge the system up before it will get kind of cold. Not really cold, just kind of. I am going to try to get one of those leak finder kits today and try that

 

[thegimpster]

Did a little more work on it today. I put UV leak dye in it, cant find any leaks w/ it. I hooked my gauge (one of those cheap wal mart ones with the r134a tank) up to the low pressure side and the gauge shows that w/ the compressor off it is a little on the high side and then when the compressor kicks on the gauge drops down all the way to the low mark and then the compressor kicks off when it gets a little low. It seems to be holding a little 'freon', maybe. So any ideas what it could be?

 

[thegimpster]

well, its not the low pressure switch. I swapped that out today and it didn't do any good. So I'm kind out of ideas right now.

 

[shinerstang]

How much R134A are you using to charge the system? It should be 2lbs, 2 ozs. total charge. That would be 2 cans R134A, and 1 can oil charge.

 

[thegimpster]

I have put 1 can of normal r143 and one can of uv stuff, no oil though. Should I dump some of that in too?

 

[shinerstang]

Start over again by draining the system, and put it all in as listed above. You would need to set your AC on max, fan on high, and add 1 can of R134A, 1 can of oilcharge, then the other R134a. In that order. Let it run for about 10 minutes and you should be fine......

 

[thegimpster]

Do you know how to drain the system? Do I need to get a manifold gauge set or can i do w/o one? Could I just use a orangewood stick or screwdriver to push the ball valve and let all of the refridgerant out and refill?

 

[thegimpster]

the compressor is also making a slight clicking noise, its not really bad, and you have to listen for it to hear it. Does this mean the compressor is going out too. I have been googling my butt off learning about a/c systems trying to figure this out.

 

[shinerstang]

You can just drain it with a screwdriver. The system is probably binding because you didn't add the oil charge.

 

[StalkerStang]

Not to mention venting refrigerant is highly illegal.

 

[thegimpster]

I thought the big deal about r143a was that it was "eco-friendly"

 

[thegimpster]

I added oil to it, and nothing changed. I did noticed a kind of yellow tint coming from the halfs of the compressor. I wonder if that is the UV dye i put in there leaking out the compressor body. It is still holding pressure though. It just looses pressure when it is on and then drops out. when the pressure builds back pressure and comes back on.

I started taking the bubbling crappy tint off of the back glass. It pretty much sucks. I have all of it off but the stuff at the bottom. I got sick between the amonia from the windex, the steamer, and the heatgun.