r-134 potential problems

[bmorebuick88]

today i decided to go to advance auto parts and by a r12 to r134 conversion kit. i got home, opened the box and saw that it had three bottles. i put on the attachment and started to put some of the new stuff in my system, but when i looked on the guage it said full after about a minute, and i felt the can and it still feels like a lots left in there, so my question is could my old r12 system still have had some radiant(?) in there, or could it be air. im worried right now because i dont know what will happen if the two mix


when i bought the car back in march i took the guys word that it needed to be converted to a new system and that it was empty, so i never tried to turn on the AC before today, and that was after i put the new stuff in there. on the box it says it should take no more than three bottles to fill up, but i havent even used one whole bottle yet and its full, will anything bad happen to my car that i should be looking out for?

[maxwedge]

You can't just add those cans, the system must be evacuated and drawn down to see if it holds vacuum, then you can do the conversion, which by the way has about a 20% success rate as it can damage the compressor and 134 loves to find leaks in a 12 system.

[bmorebuick88]

Originally Posted by maxwedge

You can't just add those cans, the system must be evacuated and drawn down to see if it holds vacuum, then you can do the conversion, which by the way has about a 20% success rate as it can damage the compressor and 134 loves to find leaks in a 12 system.

so do you think i should just drain the whole system(how do you do that?) and just start over, seeing as though i still got two full cans and one semi-full can left? or should i just take it to a shop and let them handle it? the A/C seemed to work fine and was blowing cold after a few seconds.

oh yeah also when i had just the gauge hooked up, it was on warning, but i pressed the trigger and air was just flowing out, so i figured it was just air in the system and no radiant left. was that a bad idea. and thanks for your feedback.

[HotZ28]

should i just take it to a shop and let them handle it?

Based on the questions you have asked, I would say yes, you need to take it to a qualified A/C shop that has the proper equipment to handle the job!

[C man]

I would go with hotz28 suggestion. When doing a conversion you have to change out the o rings and oil. When my compressor killed itself it wouldn't take even one can of refrigerant like yours and the pressure reading was high. Needless to say I had to get a new compressor (you will too ), new condenser, metal shavings in the whole system, the required receiver/dryer, and orifice tube. I did mine in my a/c class at school with my teachers help. I had to flush system and then u have to evacuate system. Basically you need professional help or someone that is knowledgeable of a/c systems.