CrawlnCoupe

i have been trying to get the ac working on my newly acquired jeep cherokee. i filled the system up, and got the ac to work. but it only seems to work when the truck hasnt got up to temperature. once its up to temp, it doesnt work anymore. also when it started working i noticed the electric fan would pulse every 10 seconds or so as the engine would warm up, once it gets up to temp the fan stays on the whole time but the ac quits working. im lost, any help would be appreciated.

JeepingDan

Did you do a deep suckdown before you charged it? What did you use to fill it? Here's a couple pics on how I did mine. it took 6oz of mineral oil and 36oz of 134a

CrawlnCoupe

hmmm, no i didnt, i filled it with 134a until it wouldnt take anymore. whats the cheapest way to have something like that done? i would pefer to do it myself to save money.

4.3L XJ

If that is truly what you did, then I am guessing it is over charged and will not work properly. You are probably going to need to let some out. Fortunately R134A doesn't have to be recovered.

When you charge this system, there is a sight glass on the filter dryer on the passenger side frame rail just behind the radiator. That little glass will tell you when you have enough refrigerant. It needs to be "flashing". That means that you see occasional little bubbles go past it. If you don't it is over charged. If there is a lot of bubbles, you need to add refrigerant. From what you describe there is too much refrigerant in the system and it works initially and then the evaporator core fills with liquid, which is not cold. Also, your auxiliary fan should be working when the compressor is on. I think you have a issue there too.

solderjunkie

word

You could always pay an a/c tech to charge it properly...

Overcharging (or not enough oil) will destroy your compressor. When the compressor grenades, it spreads burnt nasty metal shrapnel through the whole system.

You saved what... $40???

I see it every day. People want to save some petty-amount of money, and destroy thousands of dollars worth of machinery... and then gripe at me about how much it costs to fix.

CrawlnCoupe

thats fine if it's infact only $40, but the fact is most of these places try to rape you with the cost to refill or repair the ac system. the ac quit working on my old jeep and they told me it was gonna cost $600 to fix the system. i dont feel like blowing money on something that isnt needed, but i will call a few shops today and find out what there gonna charge to recharge everything.

solderjunkie

Obviously, it IS needed.

You didn't pull the old refrigerant or vacuum the system. You just filled it until it wouldn't take any more, so you don't know how much is in there.

Find an a/c shop... stay away from quick-lubes and garages. Just go to one that does a/c work, they will usually have a "special" for evac, recharge, and leak-test.

CrawlnCoupe

no it, ISNT, if it costs me too much i'm not gonna do it, im not doing this to spend half of what i got into this truck, just to get the ac system working. i was trying to get it working, if it doesnt cost me a fortune. but im gonna call a few shops today and get some prices, i'll keep you posted on what they say. we'll find out how close to $40 we can come.

CrawlnCoupe

well first shop said $165, you gonna paypal me the other $125

Jsny1010

i would say 165 is high... if its R134 most of the fillers come with gauges to tell you when its full, however like mine is R12 so I have no idea, but the shops around here charge around that for Checking for leaks, and doing a full fill up (around $120) id look around I think its Jiffy Lube that does A/C too

BudgetXJ

How much did the stuff you used to overfill the system cost you? Subtract that from the total as well. Plus your time as well.

$165 does sound a bit steep though. Up here, I used to work for a radiator/air conditioning shop. We'd charge $125 to properly evac and recharge a system and we would warranty the charge for 2 years (just the recharge, if it needed repairs we'd charge for that but not the recharge again). I'm sure that if you look around enough, you will find a cheaper place.

solderjunkie

Don't be that way.

I've been working at dealerships too long... it used to be $20-$40 + refrigerant.

I see w-a-y too many people try to save a buck and screw their car up beyond anything they would have spent just fixing it properly.

I'm going to politely bow out of this thread now.

CrawlnCoupe

i called a bunch of shops today and got the lowest quote at $85, i might just do that.

CrawlnCoupe

ended up just grabbing some cans at advanced auto. drained the line on the system, and put 42oz into it, had a gauge on it the whole time and it stopped around 25. ac works great now, but seems like sometime when its all the way up to temp, it kicks off, im thinking it might need a little more 134a, anyone know how much these things take? also the fan is working fine now, the fan stays on the whole time the ac is on

Firestorm500

Cycling off is normal. It does that so the evaporator core doesn't ice up.