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Hi Dustin,<br>
<br>
You're welcome. Don't scare him half to death. If the compressor is
running, it at least means the sensors are happy. If it's cutting out
frequently, that doesn't necessarily mean it's low on refrigerant. In
that case, it could be overcharged. It might be a good idea to have a
pressure test done by a reputable mechanic though. Good luck.<br>
<br>
It just so happens that my mechanic called me while I was typing this
reply. I got out light. It's possible that there was some blockage in
the system and it's possible that I overcharged it. He couldn't tell
for sure what was the cause of the problem. All we know is that after
he evacuated the system completely (using a vacuum device) and
recharged it properly, it's working again. Cost was $ 102.<br>
<br>
Yea! $ 100 is better than $ 500 is better than $ 1000. Considering
the potential problems, I doubt I'll be using the cans any more.<br>
<br>
Gonna have the wife's car checked for pressure just to be sure
everything is safe.<br>
<br>
Sincerely,<br>
<br>
Ron<br>
<br>
<br>
On 8/15/2013 2:48 PM, Dustin Strickland wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:CAHWNiXys_qoDknUzpxvh2WOY=T2q_sHr_WPL2Z=-uaEA4mrgsw@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">Thanks for the tip - my grandfather has been
religiously using those cans over the summer for about 3 years, though
so far he has suffered no ill-effects. I'll pass it on to him that he
should get it checked so that his hood doesn't explode off the front of
the car when he's sitting at a red light on a hot day</div>
<div class="gmail_extra"><br>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Aug 15, 2013 at 2:40 PM, Ron Frazier
(ALE) <span dir="ltr"><<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:atllinuxenthinfo@techstarship.com" target="_blank">atllinuxenthinfo@techstarship.com</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote"
style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">Hi
all,<br>
<br>
OK, yes, definitely not Linux related, but I thought you guys might
want to know this and, well, I'm not active on car forums.<br>
<br>
I've learned the hard way that diy ac recharge kits can be dangerous.
How hard the hard way is has yet to be determined.<br>
<br>
So, I traded one car and got another used car last year. The ac seemed
to be running intermittently, so I get the handy r134 recharge kit from
autozone with the built in low pressure gauge so you can tell what
you're doing.<br>
<br>
Instructions say, basically, adjust the pointer on the gauge for the
outside temperature, connect hose to low side ac port, run compressor,
squeeze trigger and periodically shake the can. You should be done
when gauge is in green zone and air is cold. So, I watch the gauge and
keep squeezing the trigger. It never leaves the green zone. I keep
doing this for a while ASSUMING the magic gauge will let me know if
there is a problem. After a while, things are stable and the gauge is
not varying much. Air is cold, so I disconnect everything and go do
the same procedure on my wife's car.<br>
<br>
Note, the instructions say DO NOT OVERCHARGE!, but the clear
implication is that you're not overcharging as long as the gauge is in
the green.<br>
<br>
Fast forward to a couple of days ago, my ac is again intermittent on a
hot day, so I repeat the procedure. Same results on the gauge. But,
not the same results under the hood. Now the compressor literally runs
only for 1 second or so. A couple of times, when it tries to turn on,
I hear this grinding noise and see smoke. Pretty sure that was the
clutch slipping. I turn the unit off and take it to my mechanic.<br>
<br>
He calls me later and tells me my high side pressure (which is not
measured by the diy kit) is around 400 PSI and he's surprised that the
whole system hasn't exploded. Wow, that was fun to hear. He's going
to evacuate and recharge the system and we'll find out if anything has
been damaged.<br>
<br>
So, APPARENTLY YOU CAN OVERCHARGE with a diy kit and you'll never know
it.<br>
<br>
Try googling diy ac recharge overcharge, and you'll get some
interesting results. One forum post says you can only know if you've
charged enough by weight, not by pressure.<br>
<br>
So, now I have to pay $ 100 to evacuate and recharge my car ac. Then,
I have to do the same to my wife's car, because I don't know if it's
safe or not. Then, if I've damaged something, I have to figure out
whether I want to pay hundreds more dollars to have a working ac again
or just sweat it out. I'm really hoping the system will still work.<br>
<br>
If it's that easy to screw the system up and it's that hard to tell if
you're doing it right, I almost think these products shouldn't be on
the market.<br>
<br>
Hard lesson learned. It could have been a lot harder. I guess I could
have caused an explosion. Hopefully, the high pressure sensor would
have just disabled the system before that.<br>
<br>
If I have to replace the compressor, drier, and expansion device
(usually done together), this looks like a good source online. I've
never used them, just read the website, but they have a complete kit
for my car for $ 300.<br>
<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.discountacparts.com"
target="_blank">http://www.discountacparts.com</a><br>
<br>
Like I said, just passing this along. Maybe my story will save someone
else some grief.<br>
<br>
Sincerely,<br>
<br>
Ron<br>
<br>
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
(PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to
call on the phone. I get about 300 emails per day from alternate energy
mailing lists and such. I don't always see new email messages very quickly.)
Ron Frazier
770-205-9422 (O) Leave a message.
linuxdude AT techstarship.com
Litecoin: LZzAJu9rZEWzALxDhAHnWLRvybVAVgwTh3
Bitcoin: 15s3aLVsxm8EuQvT8gUDw3RWqvuY9hPGUU
</pre>
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