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Re: Air Conditioning
Posted by volvop1900 (more from volvop1900) on Sun, 8 Sep 2002 21:57:36
In Reply to: , Kok Chen, Sat, 17 Dec 1988 12:00:00 

when there is almost no refrigerant left in the system, the compressor will 
not activate.  This is a safety measure to prevent other components in the 
system from failing under insufficient pressure (because insufficient 
pressure means insufficient circulation of oil, as this oil is moved around 
in the refrigerant).

usually a slow leak will drain the refrigerant from the system.

Most common sources of leaks are the (a)condensor (the 'radiator for the A/C 
system), because it is the largest component and faces the highest internal 
pressure; (b)fittings into and out of the condensor; and (c) lines that 
carry the refrigerant and oil, more often the high pressure lines.  Ofcourse 
failures in any aspect of the A/C system do occur, but in systems being 
consistantly used and not neglected over time, the above are more typical.

Now, continuing to use a system despite a leak (evident from sub-optimal 
cabin cooling) accelerates the leak and often leads to dammage in the system 
IN ADDITION to the original leak.   More work than simply finding a leak and 
repairing it is then required.

And, yes, GOOD A/C techs can do well with patching leaks.  It is often not 
necessary to replace entire components.  However, it may be hard to find A/C 
service from such specialilzed technicians.  Component replacement is more 
profitable and faster, IF you arent well practiced in handling such leaks.

If you need a new condensor, DONT go to the dealer, unless you want to 
overpay.  Even aftermarket suppliers charge too much.  We have a very good 
place for the lowest prices we could ever have imagined for A/C components, 
but they will only sell wholesale.  Have your tech.  call PWI at 1 800 MAX 
COOL.  How does $130 strike you instead of $485 ?  They also sell all the 
other parts for a/c too.

Used COMPRESSORS work fine and are a decent idea if you can find one at 
great savings with a warranty, such as from a wreckjing yard.

This is the accumulation of the experience I have had in working with 
several different a/c techs in repairing the used volvos and SAABs (and 
other cars) that we broker in our business (including 18 month a/c 
warranties).

About air conditioning failures, I learned something else salient today from 
our A/C tech...

newer systems that use R-134a by ORIGINAL design can slowly empty themselves 
of refrigerant WITHOUT any hole in the system (naturally, once emptied 
enough causing the systems not to come on).  Because the size of the 
molecules of R-134a is smaller than the size of R-12 molecules, they can 
very slowly 'leak' THROUGH the hoses and SEALED fittings.  On account of 
this, newer systems that are no longer cooling their cars can sometimes be 
fixed merely with a charge.  In our case, the 'newer' system was that of a 
93 240 volvo.  The tech pointed out that this system was well conceived, 
lasting about ten years.  He also said that he has repaired many 1997 
domestic car's systems this season, which are not so well conceived-- they 
loose their refrigerant sooner.

jay
86 9000 T
various others

Posts in this Thread:
StateOfNine.com
SaabClub.com
Jak Stoll Performance
M Car Covers
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