Before I got the car it had been in a front end collision. The system
is marked as having the newer freon. The air had worked great years
ago before the previous owner had that accident. The problem is that
on a hot day the air will start working okay then stop. Online an air
conditioning company owner in Florida posted to someone else that that
was usually due to there being moisture in the freon as a result of
the system having been open and not later purged. That the moisture
would freeze at a ****t in the system and block it all up. I went to a
local tire shop I like that does air and asked them to put a vacuum on
the system and then completely recharge it (as suggested by the
Florida guy in his post). They did and the receipt, somewhere around
$100, had a clear caveat that the work was being done at the owner's
request and might not correct the problem. Well, it didn't.
There are some things I'm wondering: a) when recharged after that
accident years ago could they have just slapped on the labels
indicating upgrade to the newer freon and charged with the newer freon
without making that required internal orifice change? b) could this
'old freon' compressor just be incapable of cooling with this new
freon even with the proper orifice change? c) could the compressor be
overheating and shutting down the system as a result of a) or b)? d)
is there some other unusual cause of this failure other than possible
resistance somewhere in the off/on line to its clutch, e.g. at a
dashboard switch. e) if a wasp had gotten up into the drain and made
one of those cardboard-like nests, could that cause this kind of
failure by slowing the water drainage?
The failure takes a varying period of time to initiate depending on
the temperature. On a really hot day it might take only 5 minutes.
One minute the hoses to the compressor are cold then very quickly
after the failure the hoses are not. I couldn't get a view of the
clutch to see if it was spinning and presently the car is down.
Sometimes I would drive like 20 miles after the failure and upon
making a turn the air would suddenly come on again. I've checked and
cleaned the connections at the compressor.
I'd like to go into this repair informed and make fewer costly
mistakes. Thanks.
Bill
