AC system maintenance / repair / recharge

I was in a similar situation a few years back, had our dealership do an AC inspection and recharge, was around $165 CDN. That was about 4 years back, still working good.

 

Sounds like a plan It's getting hot

 

If you search on here, there is a motor for a vent door. Seems like it might
not be working or allowing it to block the vent, allowing some hot air to pass.
You should check that.

Why do you feel you need to replace the condensor? Is it damages or leaking?
It doesn't really wear out.

Have you sprayed water from the engine side to the front to get all the dirt and bugs out?

"If" it's low on freon, there IS a leak. It is a sealed system. You "may" just need to replace
all the "O" rings, evac and recharge.

You should put the gauges on it and get readings. Somewhere there is a chart that will
tell you what they should be under each conditions, temperature, humidity, etc.

Kind of a waste of money to just start replacing parts....

 

Sounds like one of the best plans I’ve heard heard anybody mention right off the bat first time.

You could save 8% off the price of those NAVAC gauges and hoses and the NYLOG over on True Tech Tools website.
You use my promo code that get you 8% off and to check out discount coupon box
LECHAIR all one word all capital letters.
And since it’s over $50 in components, shipping is free.

 

you need to add dye?

 

It doesn't detect it because it is not there....
The dye is nasty..... It's best not to use it. But some will cry that it won't harm
the system.....
There is NO reason any auto manufacturer would want to or need to add the dye.
Dealerships have the correct "sniffer" to dectect the leak.

 

A lot of work for what a single $10 can of R134a could solve.....

 

Actually, many of the car dealerships, don’t maintenance the refrigerant leak detectors for years some even decades.

And none of them on lab grade, refrigerant leak detection, reference bottles to calibrate and test their refrigerant leak detectors like I do.

tracerLine UV dye is the one die most all manufactures use and recommend in their OEM applications.
Extremely highly concentrated, nothing like the old days I would have solvent in them or other oils, and would take 1 ounce.

The new generation of dyes are extremely concentrated just 5 mL is enough up to 14 ounces of oil capacity.

In a little Prius that only has roughly a Hair over 3 ounces of oil capacity you basically only need one to 2 mL that you can almost not measure. This is how concentrated this dye is.

other methods are using a Ultrasonic leak detector either under vacuum, which is a poor method of looking for a leak or using 200 psi of dry nitrogen.

Most cheaper leak detectors under the $300 range lose their sensitivity quickly over a period of time to find extremely small leaks. And unfortunately when one shop refrigerant leak detectors use between many technicians. Sometimes they accidentally stick the tip in condensate water and suck water up and contaminate the sensor and they never know it.. so they look for leaks that they can’t fine because they’re using a refrigerant leak detector. That is no longer sensitive..

Real good refrigerant leak detectors start at somewhere around $500 and up.

No one single method always works all the time at the time of testing. Because sometimes leaks or dependent on a certain pressure range before they start leaking and then when you pull into your stall and you stop the pressure lowers and the leak stops.

Some leaks only happens when the car is going down the road and hoses in lines are vibrating from the rough road. But when you stop and you’re still with the hood up in the garage, the leak stops.

Some leaks only leak at a certain temperature. When the temperature rises, then it starts leaking some leak only when the low side gets cold aluminum contracts and shrinks, and then it leaks but when you turn it off in the middle gets warm, it expands, and the leak stops.

this is why if you have UV dye in the system days or weeks or even a month when that leak starts sometimes but not always it’ll leave a trace of dye at the lesk point

Not all leaks leave a refrigerant oil spot .

 

unfortunately, it’s going to be expensive because you will have to purchase a tracer line die injector tool for their EV only cartridges

Because you only need a small quantity once you are not a shop, so you do not need a large volume and you do not need many applications

tracerLine Products has little capsules with UV in it that are 0.03 ounce application dispensary capsules for electric compressors.

go to TracerLine Products website you can look them up and find the part number

 

Yes, that is a good alternative.

 

You’re learning

But be careful and don’t learn the expensive way.

You are correct in your observation Prius and many other small capacity vehicles, the smaller the capacity, the more sensitive they are to 28 g

The Prius and many other, and actually most use critically charged microchannel, condensers, and Evaporators

1 ounce or 28 g has a very great effect on the operation of the Prius

This all depends on ambient temperature and sun load

I have a video posted showing a Prius that the very instant you hear the compressor engage the high side pressure immediately hit 440+ psi, engaging to protection, and immediately disengaging the compressor.

In the video through my manifold gauges, I open up the service valves and remove 1 ounce, 28 g of refrigerant on the next compressor engagement. The compressor stayed running but it was somewhere around 350 to 370 psi. This was on a cool day..

I opened up the Refrigerant Valve manifold to another hose with the equivalent length of 1 ounce of liquid refrigerant removal.
And I think at this point the pressure dropped below 300 psi. The vehicle started cooling even though this refrigerant levels were still way too high and the compressor stayed spinning..

At this point, you can still damage the compressor because it’s so overcharged later on it would burn out. But at this point the technician or the do it yourself person who is just using the low side port maybe would think it was done correctly because the compressor would still be spinning. The dash would still be getting cold air coming out of it, but the compressor would eventually fail.. Guessing is not good

On the contrary, the other way around on a cool Ambien today.
I have videos of Prius compressors operating system, where the refrigerant level was nearly halfway empty. I had a clear sight glass filled with Refrigerant.. coming out 39°F out of the dash and if this was a Car in Garage in the, Technician was shaking the cans adding by guessing or a do it yourself person. They would think that 39°F out the dash in a clear sight glass means the system is full and good to go. ?. BUT ITS NOT !

What would happen as you the customer who just paid a fake hack shop who guesses by topping off refrigerant because they go by pressures and clear sight, glass, and temperature out the dash as their method of correct charge.

You the customer would drive away and then on the next hot day when it hit 85°F
Because of the sensors in the system would indicate that the AC system is not keeping up to your desired temperature you have set on your dash and it will start over spinning the compressor at 6000 or 7000 RPMs because the refrigerant is low because it was charged by Guessing on a cool day.
And up to a certain temperature, it will keep you happy, thinking that everything is just fine and dandy. At the meantime the compressor is not getting enough refrigerant back to it to cool it off and the oil stops being re-delivered to the compressor. The refrigerant is an excellent solvent. It carries the refrigerant out of the compressor but let’s say only 90% or 80% returns. .
And this action continues as the day gets hotter. Let’s say now 90°F as a customer you are not happy so you turn the air conditioning all the way down to minimum temperature..

So now the car’s computer keeps it’s pending at 7000 RPMs starving for a cold refrigerant back to the compressor and even more oil start staying back up in the evaporator loading and filling up the Evaporator with the remaining oil from the compressor until it burns out.

Guessing technicians who filled Prius, high temperatures and pressures in a clear sight, glass are often the main cause of compressor is burning out.

There is only one 100% sure way to properly keep the three phase high-voltage electric compressors alive where they will outlast the life of your engine and transmission.

That is still never allow them to go low on refrigerant in the first place. Always keep them 100% filled..

And as long as no other outside exterior force, or anything else causes the compressor to go bad, because compressors do not die they are murdered

Most all compressors will always outlast the life and the entire vehicle outlasted engines out last the Transmission’s.

Compressors only die, because of neglect, or some outside source force that is the root cause of the compressor failure

A compressor failure is a symptom of a problem. It is not the problem..

And usually the technicians who are the old-school whack off the cans shaky cans of guys with the hairy palms and go blind are the ones responsible for all the compressor failures

But they live in denial because they both that the car was calling just fine when they did it that means nothing. A 8 year old with a single hose with no gauge can get a Prius the blow cold. There’s a lot of individuals boast on how many compressors they have changed that are the whack off shaking can kind of guys with the single hose..

The reason they had to change so many compressors, because they were the cause of the compressors to go out in the first place, because of the unfortunate customer who use them as their technician.

 

^Why I leave it to the pros.