92 Stealth R/T- A/C red warning light

My stealth has the little screen that shows you the airflow,fan speed etc. The other day while I had the AC on it quit blowing cold air and the little red dot came on. As soon as it came on it quit blowing cold air. A few seconds later the light went off and it was blowing cold(Very cold) air again. With the age of the car what do you think the problem could be? I know "zero" about AC systems. All I know is it is the old R-12. Could it just be low on R-12? For you people that have had this problem did you change over to the new stuff? Would it be wise to retrofit the system? Thanks for the replies!!

maybe a problem with the compressor/clutch? Are the AC lines on the drivers side of the engine bay greasy at all?

If it's blowing cold air on an off, you aren't out of freon.

Well the most common cause, and the cheapest, is the AC belt is loose and just needs tightening. So do that first, before you give some mechanic hundreds of dollars.

Worst case, your AC compressor is locking up and needs to be replaced.



I've also heard it mentioned theoretically that it could be a disconnected or broken wire to, or a broken revolution sensor. Although I havn't specifically heard of this ever actually being the problem. :dunno:


http://www.3si.org/member-home/stim5/tim_24-07.gif

3S manual on CD....FTW!

I would at least attempt to fix most problems with any one of my car's but when it comes to the A/C system don't you think the best fix is to take it to a pro thats knows what there doing? Have read several articles on changing the freon from the old to the new stuff. They all say it's a pretty easy procedure to do. It's come down to draining the old stuff,put the new adapters on and filling the system. Is it in fact as simple as this? If they don't make R-12 anymore isn't the shop going to have to retrofit it anyway? I found out at Autozone there is a company that makes brackets with a pully on it and people just take the old compressor off and put the bracket/pully on in it's place and replace the belt. You don't have A/C but most people don't think the car is worth the price of a new system. On my son's 95 Beretta the price quote for a new system was $850. I had a 95 Explorer that blew the compressor but all I had to do was buy the shorter belt and I just bypassed the compressor. Is the Stealths A/C system done this way?

Please reread my post. I said you don't need new refridgerant. You need to first check the tension on the belt before you do anything else. The red light comes on when the revolution pick-up sensor detects that the compressor isn't spinning at the correct speed.

Thanks for the info. Will check the belt and will get bact to you. Again,Thanks

Just out of curiousity... It sounds like you have the automated climate control... What temperature did you have it on?

The "red dot" might be a feature since the system automatically adjusts to maintain a constant air temperature in the cabin... Maybe post a picture?

FYI, they still DO make R-12 refrigerant. and there is no need to swap over to the new R-134 system. anyone who tells you that is a crook and is just trying to take your money.

one reason why some people might tell you to switch over is because R-12 refrigerant costs a bit more, and is more expensive to dispose of since its not environmentally friendly, whereas the new R-134 is very environmentally friendly.

but don't worry about the refrigerant now. take Igovert's advice and check other things first.

Well, I wouldn't call then a crook... Small mechanics would not have access to R-12:

"The following people can only buy refrigerant found suitable for use in a motor vehicle air conditioner (for example, R-12, R-406A, R-414A, R-414B, etc.), including "small cans" containing less than 20 pounds of R-12:

* technicians certified to service motor vehicle air-conditioners
(MVACs) by a Section 609 EPA-certified testing organization
* persons who buy refrigerant only for the purpose of resale to Section
609 certified technicians, such persons must provide written
documentation (that includes the purchaser's name and address) to the seller stating that the refrigerant is only intended for resale."

Therefore if no one on site has been certified to work on A/C on a motor vechicle they cannot legally purchase any quatity of it.

interesting. i've seen R-12 for sale to the public at places like AutoZone and OReilly's. maybe its not the real R-12 stuff? i dunno.

That is probably because it's legal to sell R-12 cans smaller then 20 lbs for "non-motor vechicle use" (I am going to leave the why is it at autozone question up to you).

Also there are R-12 compatible blended refrigerants as well... But they can only be used to top off existing R-12 because they aren't as energy effecient (or stable) as a "pure" refrigerant.