they say that there are no stupid questions.

As I said in a previous post, I converted my a/c to r134a last summer and now the system is blowing hot air. I am going to recharge it myself for the time being because there are no major leaks to be found. Last year I had my local garage charge it after vacuum testing the system. Consequently, I have never charged it myself.

I know from previous posts that I should have 4lbs of 134 in there but the recharging can that I picked up has a gauge that goes by PSI. I was looking through the CSM but didn't find anything on what PSI it should be at, and I am leery of trusting any info about it because the CSM always refers to using r12.

What PSI should I be at? And here is my stupid question...
I'm having a senior moment. Where should I connect the charging can, the compressor or the POA? I'm pretty sure it's the compressor but I wanted to be absolutely sure before I screw something up.

 

The charging hose connects to the low pressure side, which would be at the POA valve area. I was under the impression the hose fittings were different size for the high and low pressure ports, just so that folks don't connect to the wrong ports. Connecting it to the high side could result in a burst can due to the high pressure output of the compressor.

Charging by pressure is dependent upon the ambient temperature, because pressure changes with temperature. A co-worker was just telling me he charged his AC using a can/hose/gauge that he bought for under $20. This charging hose had a rotating dial on the gauge - turn the outer part to the ambient temperature and a green area moved over the correct pressure range. Going from memory, the low pressure side should be in the 30-40 psi range, but again, this is dependent upon the ambient temperature. I would monitor the vent temperature while charging the system to help know when it's charged enough.

And about 4 pounds of refrigerant - that sounds like the amount of R12 for the factory system. When using R134A the charge has to be reduced by some percentage (I don't remember the number right off, maybe 20% or??), which would mean about 3.2 pounds of R134A.

 

Thanks. After checking the fittings again, I just figured that out. Like I said, stupid question. I'm just one of those people that hates to move forward on something unless I'm 100% sure.

 

There is such thing as a stupid question, this one is not.

 

Thanks. She's blowing ice cold once again.

 

Cool

 

Almost any question asking for help solving a real world problem won't be stupid.
The person asking might be, but if they is trying to learn something they are going in the right direction.

Roger.

 

Your key word for Today Roger seems to be Almost....

 

Almost is a very vague term;
Almost there might be the last mile of a thousand mile journey = very nearly achieved the object of the exercise.
Almost won a drag race = lost.

Roger.

 

Yup, just as close only counts for horseshoes and hand grenades...