HELP ! A/C Still Not Cold at Idle

[frafreg]

Still no luck with my Escort. Not cold at idle. I vacuumed the system for an hour with no leaks, and added 36 ounces of R134A yesterday. The system originally used R12 and required 2 lbs 4 ounces. Here are my readings @ 90 degrees.
A/C OFF = Low side 110 psi High side 110
A/C ON @ idle = Low side 55 psi High side 175
A/C ON @ 1500 rpm = Low side 70 psi High side 220
I can't believe that after replacing everything and flushing the system, I still have a problem. Everthing seems to be working properly except it stay cold at idle even though the compressor and the condensor fan is on.
Bad compressor?

[danielsatur]

Try to clean and use a light power wash in front of both the Air cond condenser + radiator.
Are both fans working?

[frafreg]

Originally Posted by danielsatur

Try to clean and use a light power wash in front of both the Air cond condenser + radiator.
Are both fans working?

I only have one fan and it is working good. I tried blocking the condensor with some cardboard and the high side pressure went up quite a bit. It seems like the more R134A I put in, the higher the low side pressures becomes. Before my compressor seized and I replaced everything, I only needed 24 ounces of R134a, and it was cold. Now, I put in 36 ounces, and it is hardly cold at all. The compressor never shuts off even with that amount of R134A. I'm thinking that maybe the compressor is no good but I don't have the money to replace it again. I'm confused because I have done everything by the book. There are no leaks in the system. After pulling a vacuum, I watched the guage for about 15 minutes and it didn't budge.

[danielsatur]

What year Escort, and how many miles?
Is the engine running Hot?
Is there two speeds for your coolant fan?


The Low pressure side seems high with engine idle and air cond on high!
Recover, vaccuum, and recharge system. ''Big Lots has 134a for $8 a can''

The high pressure tells me, that the compressor is working.

[frafreg]

Originally Posted by danielsatur

What year Escort, and how many miles?
Is the engine running Hot?
Is there two speeds for your coolant fan?


The Low pressure side seems high with engine idle and air cond on high!
Recover, vaccuum, and recharge system. ''Big Lots has 134a for $8 a can''

The high pressure tells me, that the compressor is working.

This is a 1990 Escort with 93,000 miles. The engine deos not run hot. I don't know if there are two speeds foe my coolant fan but it is definitely moving fast enough and pulling plenty of air through the condensor. These are my readings after recovering, vacuum, and rechargeing the system. I paid $9.26 per 12 ounce can at Walmart. Wish I had spoken to you sooner and went to Big Lots.

[AzTumbleweed]

Pretty sure that all of these have two speed fans. I believe there was a single speed if they didn't have A/C.

[frafreg]

Originally Posted by AzTumbleweed

Pretty sure that all of these have two speed fans. I believe there was a single speed if they didn't have A/C.

The engine actually runs cooler when the A/C is on so if it is a two speed fan, it's probably running at the high speed. I'm working from a Haynes manual and a Chliton manual but they don't give much detailed information about the a/c at all. I also use the free online manuals from Autozone. I noticed in the schematic that there is an a/c controller. Once again, it's a block diagram. How do you test both fan speeds?

[danielsatur]

The second speed on fan should help keep the Air cond condenser, radiator, and engine cool with the Air cond on High.

How's the idle (rpms) working with the Air on or off?

Going from R12 system to 134a on an older car isn't going to be as efficient as a system that was designed for 134a.

[frafreg]

The second speed on fan should help keep the Air cond condenser, radiator, and engine cool with the Air cond on High.

How's the idle (rpms) working with the Air on or off?

Going from R12 system to 134a on an older car isn't going to be as efficient as a system that was designed for 134a.[/quote]

The idle is at about 850 to 900 rpm out of gear, going by what I see on the tachometer in the dash. It idles very smooth and the idle kicks up between 50 to 100 rpm when the a/c compressor kicks on.
I agree that R134A isn't as good as R12 used to be.

[AzTumbleweed]

For some reason the cooling fan runs on low speed. If the engine gets really hot it'll go to high speed. My radiator was clogged once and that's the only time mine has ever run on high speed. I used to work in Death Valley and even when it was in the 120's it only ran on the lower speed. The only info you might find in a Haynes manual is the schematic. It shows two hot wires going to the cooling fan. One is low speed and one for high. I believe that if you disconnect the temperature sending unit with the engine running then the cooling fan will start running on high. That's one way to check it.

[frafreg]

Thanks for that information. I'm starting to think this may have something to do with the orifice tube, or the compressor I got from the junk yard which may not be putting out at low rpm. When I replaced the accumulator, it came with hoses attached and the hose coming from the condensor to the evaporator had the orifice tube already inside. Could the orifice be the wrong one even though the hose fits? There are different types of orifice tubes, fixed and variable. This might be a long shot but could the orifice be wrong?
Also, where the heck is the a/c drain tube located? I want to clear it out so the condensation drips out. Thanks.

[AzTumbleweed]

I changed my orifice once and it had so much 'gunk' in it that it could hardly flow. Might not hurt to change it. My car has never worked that well since I changed over to R-134a. But I won't complain. I just turned 320,000 miles and it runs like a champ. I have never figured out where the drain tube is even though I've looked

[frafreg]

The orifice tube is new. It came with the new hose I bought. I agree about R134A. R12 waw much better. It cooled off quicker. I look forward to running my Escor many more miles. I only have 93,000 miles and I drive it real easy. I've been under the car a few times already and I can't find the drain tube. The Haynes manual is not help either.

[kevinande]

Did you ever fix the problem? Depending on the temperature outside, the readings on your gauges will vary. In addition overcharging the system is far worse than undercharging it. If this car was originally designed to operate on R12, then the cooling will not be as great on R134, that can be fixed with a new condenser (larger), but may not be worth the trouble on a 20 year old escort? In addition did you properly evacuate the system before installing the refrigerant? lastly certain parts from the bone yard are not recommended, A/C components fall into this category IMO. Good luck.

[denisond3]

I agree it could be the compressor from the JY. A compressor can work okay, or only partly, or not at all. It can be filled with the muck from deteriorated hoses and dead lubricant of the system it came from; and as soon as you start up a system whose compressor was dirty inside, the muck will propagate through the system. It may come out with a flush and vacuuming, I dont know.
I also agree an overcharged system wont cool well.