A/C system 2001 ford taurus

I have a 2001 taurus, my manifold gauges tell me that my 'low' side is ranging between maybe 25 and 44 (compressor is short cycling) and the 'high' side is 105 to 110 (again, a range between as the clutch engages).

the static pressure (with vehicle turn off and a/c off is around 'low' side 70 and 'high' side around 100.

questions; what is the normal static pressure? high and low...

is the short cycling due to the clutch relay or something more serious?

should i put in a little more freeon to see if it stops the short cycling (as i know that too low as well as too high freeon levels can cause the short cycling) or would this be ill advised?


can someone please give me some assistance and answer my questions?

thanks in advance!

signed,

burning up in freakin colorado with 95 degree days in rush hour traffic.

cK.

You are describing a low charge condition. The only way to properly charge the system is to have it recovered, evacuated and recharged with the proper amount of refrigerant. You can get a DIY kit, but you will have no idea if you are overcharging the system or not.

Understood, thank you for the information. However I go about it, I just can not find an accurate answer on the internet to my question. So... if anyone knows the correct answer I would really appreciate it, it is as follows;
what is the "normal" static pressure? high side and low side...??

As I stated in my original post, with the vehicle running and A/C on
(Max/High) my 'low' side is bouncing from about 23-25 up to 40-44 (while clutch is short cycling)
while my 'high' side is about 105 'or so'.

with vehicle off and A/C off my 'low' is 70 (ish) and my 'high side' is approx. 100 (ish).

Can someone please tell me what the "normal" range would be, I just need to have this information in my head.

thank you (anyone)!

Even the "static" pressures will vary depending on the temp and the humidity. The pressures should equalize between the high and low side. General rule of thumb would be that the static pressures will be "around" the same temp and the ambient air.

So, it seems that all the "A/C" posts i have read in the "automotive forums" web site have all got definitive answers to questions exactly like mine. I understand that ambient temps affect the compressors operation and readings on the gauges. However, there are still standards to go by, so far what i get from your responses is that there is no answer to my questions and that each and every A/C tech just wings it each and every time they work on a unit. Sorry but I don't believe that... there is a standard that it begins at, everything has a standard to begin with, your answers to my post's are completely aloof and what i need less than anything right now is speculant. I was looking for something more expansive for an answer, something to shed some light and make my task easier. Your answers totally lack any sort of usefullness and sound very lacking in knowledge of the subject. I did a bit more reasearch (so, fat lot of good posting a question did me when i had to do all the leg work to find the information) and found that (you may want to make note of this for yourself) there is a standard; If you hook the gauges up and your low side is reading 25-40 (cycling) and high side is 100 then you do indeed need to add refrigerant- the high side should read about 225 to 250 while the low side reads 45 (or so). this is with ambient temps in the ranges between 78 and 90 degrees... it is a huge variation of temp ... but "normal" operation "high" pressure should be about within the 225 and 250. (this is with the system and car on.

the "static" pressure is much higher due to the pressures not circulating through the system (basically the freeon moving throughout will cause a higher reading at those valves due to it being at it's constant expanded state.) I got this information from an A/C tech and this is the dumbed down version for us laymen who know very little ifanything at all about these systmes.
so... with gauges in place I began to add freeon slowly into the system and when the pressure went up to about 32 (or so, hard to tell with the tiny tick marks between the large whole numbers) the clutch's cycles went longer, when it hit about 35 the clutch remained engaged (as it should) and the a/c began blowing cold air, SO WHILE KEEPING A CLOSE EYE ON MY "HIGH" SIDE READING I ADDED MORE FREEON UNTIL IT GOT TO ABOUT 225 WHICH PUT MY "LOW" READING AT SLIGHTLY ABOVE 35 (MAYBE 38-39??) AND MY A/C IS NOW WORKING PERFECTLY.

Please people, lots of us are average guy's who are trying to save some money working on our own vehicles, maybe we can't do all our own work anymore because of the higher technology these days. anyway, we need reliable information from people who know what they are talking about, and we need it as simple as possible. May i suggest, if someone doesn't have a good answer then maybe they shouldn't say anything at all, it may save the other guy a ton of time.

thanks!

Why not just charge it to factory spec (Standard) as it is written under hood on your a/c sticker....Just recover and evac and weigh in the factory spec charge and accept the pressures this yields,,,,makes life so much easier than guessing at pressures and temperatures..

finally! a useful, educated, intelligent idea (response)!! thank you, i was not aware of this sticker's existance. that is exactly what i needed, that "standard" is exactly what i needed to get the job done. I am now riding very happily in nicely chilled air! what a difference i made to have this information!

thanks again Brcidd!!

No a/c tech [cares] about static pressures. I hook up my AC machine, and I look to see if it has freon in it. And that's all static pressure is good for.

Now, dynamic pressure is where I make my money. After starting the car, that will tell a tech all he needs to know to make a Diag.

You should have had a repair shop just evac and recharge your system. That would tell you a few things: 1) how low on freon you were compared to a full charge, 2) if you have a leak, and if so, if it can be detected while in a VACUUM HOLD.

I've been doing AC Repar for 16years.....you just can't beat having the proper amount of freon in a system for correct diagnoses.

hey thanks Levithan9... but with all due respect, i'm not an a/c tech so static pressure is important to me. i don't have an "a/c machine" nor a vacume, so for me the manifold gauge readings were important. i have zero money to pay to a service station tech, all the quotes i was getting just to hook the damn thing up to their mahcine began at $50, and went up from there for the cost of freeon per pound. it would have been $150 just to charge it and thats only if they didn't "detect" a "new" leak or some other problem with another part of my system. I just can't find an honest mechanic any more, so i didn't trust taking it in anyway. so i choose to do what i can to safe the $$$ and the hassle of dishonest mechanics. i have been running it now for over a week and it is blowing colder now than it did 2 years ago when i was told that i need a new compressor, the clutch seized, and I don't even know what my $1500 even bought me. because the paper work says compressor on it, but i was told all they should have done was the clutch itself, and then i was told whenever you change out a compressor the rest of the system should be replaced as well, drier, accumulator?? etc... but they didn't do that and the thing was not blowing very cold air at the time, so did they even charge it all the way since; here i am 2 years later needing a charge??? hell i bought the car brand new in 2001 and that compressor lasted 9 years and i only needed to have a charge done 5 years after i got it which was because it was blowing just a little less cold than i thought it should, it was down less than 1/2 lb. of freeon that time. so why after only 2 years do i have problems with a supposed new compressor???
here is what i do know for sure, i hooked up the gauges, read that pressure, shot some freeon into her staing in the "safe zone" on both high and low, and now she's blowing ice cold and running like a champ!

anyway thanks for your input i'm sure your a great tech, but i do just fine on my own as long as i have the correct information.