I hope some one can help with A/C question / problem.

[sbbamafan]

I have an RV on a 1991 E350 cutaway chassis. A bit over a year ago the compressor, drier, exp tube were replaced by tghe previous owner. This is one of the reasons I bought the RV. In the middle of last summer, it acted up and I was told that I must have gotten a bad compressor. I contacted the shop that replaced the unit for the previous owner. I told them that since I am 300 miles away, was there anything they could do to honor their warranty. They offered to send me a new compressor at a discount. I thought they were very nice although it turned out to be much of a discount (cost was eaten up in 2-way shipping, etc.). Anyway I had a local mechanic install the compressor and a new drier and exp tube. Within about a month it seemed not to be working well. They added freon and it seemed to work well...for a while. A couple of days ago it got hot again. Today I bought one of those DIY cans of R134 with a guage at Wal Mart. It only took, maybe 6 or 8 ounces and blew ice cold...for about 10-15 minutes...then hot again.

My question is since it is obviously not a huge leak (or it would have taken much more refrigerant to make it work) what else could be wrong? I'm somewhat convinced it is not a compressor issue since I have already tried 2 of them.

Thanks for your help.

[racerman_27410]

it could be the clutch on the compressor or the low pressure switch in the compressor.

do you have a gauge to check your low and high side pressures?

remember R134 systems will not blow ice cold while the vehicle is stationary like R12 systems used to.


my guess is you introduced liquid freon from the can into the system, which boosted the pressure enough to kick the compressor on for a bit, then once everything equalized the pressure dropped back down and cut the compressor off.

try adding the rest of the can of freon and see what happens or take the vehicle to a "real" automotive a/c repair shop and let them put some dye in to find the leak and diagnose the real problem.


if the freon can get out moisture can get back in and that means bad news for both the compressor and the filter dryer/accumulator.


Frank