[Brian R.]

AIR CONDITIONING PROBLEMS

BLOWS HOT AIR

Q: My a/c doesn't work any more. All it does is blow hot air, never cold. What could be the problem?

A: Refill your a/c with freon. Put in freon until the compressor starts and there are no bubbles showing in the sight glass. If adding freon with the a/c on doesn't immediately start up the compressor, check the pressure sensor.

Q: Do I have to add any compressor oil when I fill the freon?

A: No, the only time you have to add compressor oil is if you have replaced a part in the system. There are tables that show how much oil to add, depending on which part(s) were replaced.

COMPRESSOR DOESN'T KEEP SPINNING

Q: 2.0 Toyota Camry 4 cylinders

What's happened is that when i turn on my ac, my compressor does start working, but it looses grip. I'm talking about the pulley.

When you look at the pulley with the belt on it, there is another thing like a pulley inside it. when ac is off, it doesn't spin, and that's how it should be. but when ac is on, it grips and spins for a second or two, then stops. It grips for another second or two, and stops. this goes on forever. when it does grip and spin, the second fan behind radiator starts. (other one keeps running). when it stops spinning, so does the fan.

Any suggestions?

A: Sounds like its low on refrigerant and its cutting off because of the low pressure, short-cycling. It probably needs to be recharged.

ENGINE IDLES REALLY BAD WITH A/C ON

Q: I just had my A/C fixed & it is blowing cold air! Anyways when I run it my A/C it feels like the engine is going to fly out of the hood! My whole car is like shaking then when I stop at stops it feels like the engine is going to die! Like it doesn't have enough engine power to keep both of them running! Any help would be useful. Thanks

I have a 1991 toyota camry wagon. V6 engine. Automatic.

A: Let me tell you this much. Most of the time, it is only a matter of adjusting your intake (commonly known as idle). Now, when you stop, you said that the engine feels like it's about to die. That, to the best of my judgement without hands-on work on the car, is because when you turn on the AC, the clutches in the ac compressor grip and engine is losing power because it's being used to spin the compressor pulley. That means it needs more fuel now. The mixture of air/fuel is not right. This CAN be a real pain in the backyard. For an easy no-brainer fix, all you have to do is get a flat screw driver and increaser the idle. How do you do that? Don't make me die laughing, but look at the intake, (you can see it looks like a tube right behind the engine where the air filter hose is going and I think it should say EFI (electronic fuel injection) on it). Look from above it and you should see a screw with a flat head that's probably made up of plastic. all you do is open it up, that's turning left just in case you don't know. This increases the amount of air going inside the engine. Open it up until the engine doesn't shake and the car runs smooth. All this should be done with the AC turned on all the way to full. Next, when all this is done, turn the AC off and see if it shakes now. If it doesn't, BINGO!!!!

If it does, welcome to our world. Just keep tweaking and messing around with it until you get it to your liking.

WHAT REFRIGERANT IS IN 1993 CAMRY?

Q: Does anyone know what type of A/C refrigerant the 5S-FE 93 Camry takes and how much and where I'd pump it into? I know I'm not supposed to be messing with that, but I think it's out of refrigerant anyway, and I just need to recharge it.

A: The 93 will take R12 but check the label under the hood to make sure, just in case someone has converted it to R134A. You can't purchase R12 over the counter any longer without a certificate, so if it's still R12 you will have to take it in some place to have it recharged. Be prepaired to pay some heavy dollars for it.

Q: I can't find any label under the hood, and, quite frankly, I wouldn't know what to look for as far as a 134A conversion.

A: The ports for R-12 has thread on them. The ones for R134a are quick connect type. If it's not converted, you should still have R-12.

I just converted my 92 to 134a refrigerant. It was quick and easy. The low end is in the back left side of the engine bay and the high side(you dont really use it) is right up front. I got a kit from autozone for 30bucks. 3 cans of refrigerant, pressure gauge/filler, and the adapters. It took longer to find the low end cap then it did to fill it. Quick 15min job. Well worth it. I have Ice cold A/c now!

You can buy Freeze12 and use it as a replacement for R12. It is available in stores and you can install it yourself.

Q: On the 134a conversion...did you end up having to do anything with the actual condensor? I've seen stuff where you have to remove that and change oil in it or something to that effect. And does the Freeze 12 require anything special, or do you just pump it into the system? Can you point me in the direction of the low end cap? pics would be nice, too. thanks in advance

A: Freeze12 just pumps in.

looking at the car from the front, with the hood up, its at the very back of the engine bay, against the firewall, at the back left corner, and its about 8 inches or so down into the engine bay. its kinda down below the passenger side of the engine bay, all the way in the back left corner.

With the incompatibility of the fittings, I don't think you can mix the two propellants unless you really work hard at it.