Where to Start?

ranger01 on Tue June 02, 2015 1:30 AM

Year: 2003
Make: Hyundai
Model: Santa Fe
Country of Origin: Canada

My situation is that I live in the arctic, and last summer the A/C in my vehicle stopped working. Buy the way, it can get hot up here. The A/C worked the pvs summer, but when I first turned it on last summer, no cool air. So, where we live there is no A/C mechanic and the one person who does ad hoc repairs says, not my thing, when asked about A/C. When I noticed the A/C was not working last year the first thing I did was to see if the compressor came on when the turned A/C on. Nope. Next I direct wired the compressor via it's solenoid and yup the compressor clutch worked the compressor was now working but still no A/C, so that was that. Note: Consider, it would cost $2k just to ship the vehicle south and back plus the cost of the A/C fix.

So, here's what I did, on my last trip south I bought an A/C recharge kit (comes with the gauge ect), plus, a cylinder of leak stop and a cylinder of oil, pretty much everything I could think of. OK folks but what do I do now, where do I start, I haven't a clue! In the kit (RedTek) is this 'oil level' check thing but not a squeak about how to use it in the instructions.

Help!

mk378 on Tue June 02, 2015 8:07 AM

Never ever use leak stop. It seldom stops leaks, but will clog up your system requiring a total replacement. No one will work on a system contaminated with leak stop because it will ruin their equipment.

The first step is to check the pressure, if in one off-season it has leaked down so far that the pressure switch won't let the compressor engage that is a rather large leak that will need to be found and repaired properly. On the other hand if the pressure is good but the compressor won't engage, you have an electrical problem. However your test by jumping the compressor and still getting no cold suggests against that.

To work on a system you really need a proper gauge set with two gauges so you can see the high side while the system is running. But you can put the single gauge on the low side with the compressor off to see if there has been a leak-out. Again, never use stop leak.

Edited: Tue June 02, 2015 at 8:11 AM by mk378

TRB on Tue June 02, 2015 3:31 PM

Quote
Originally posted by: mk378
Never ever use leak stop. It seldom stops leaks, but will clog up your system requiring a total replacement. No one will work on a system contaminated with leak stop because it will ruin their equipment.

So True!!!

-------------------------
When considering your next auto A/C purchase, please consider the site that supports you: ACkits.com
Contact: ACKits.com

mk378 on Thu June 04, 2015 7:36 PM

Also RedTek is a HC widely sold in the consumer market in Canada because apparently some sort of license is required to buy actual R-134a.

Edited: Thu June 04, 2015 at 7:36 PM by mk378

ranger01 on Sun June 07, 2015 2:04 AM

Ok, so given there is no AC mech withing 2000km, how might I properly fix a leak myself. You say never use leakstop, but what if it's the only option? What about the tin of oil I bought, should I put it in?

Cussboy on Sun June 07, 2015 9:34 AM

Quote
Originally posted by: ranger01
Ok, so given there is no AC mech withing 2000km, how might I properly fix a leak myself. You say never use leakstop, but what if it's the only option?

Let's just say that if you do add the leakstop, there's a darn high chance that you will never need to look for an AC mechanic (or where that AC switch is) EVER AGAIN !!!

Edited: Sun June 07, 2015 at 9:35 AM by Cussboy

TRB on Sun June 07, 2015 1:09 PM

Repairs can be done without using a deadly leak stop product. Stat with a mixture of soap and water and spray all the a/c connections and joints. Look for any signs of bubbles. To repair it correctly you will need some tools. Are you willing to invest in the needed equipment?

-------------------------

When considering your next auto A/C purchase, please consider the site that supports you: ACkits.com
Contact: ACKits.com