Ac Blowing Warm

therick · August 17, 2009

Over the last 5-7 days my AC gradually started blowing warmer and warmer. Now its basically useless.

Probably coolant right?

If so, is it easy to do myself?

thanks

fbachman · August 17, 2009

Over the last 5-7 days my AC gradually started blowing warmer and warmer. Now its basically useless.

Probably coolant right?

If so, is it easy to do myself?

thanks

When you switch the AC to "on", do you hear/feel the compressor "kick in"? If you are low on refrigerant, the system has a safe-guard in it to where it will NOT let the compressor run if you are too low.

My understanding is that the refrigereant also doubles as a lubricant for the compressor, and, hence, no coolant, no lube, and, after a while no bearings. So it'll stay off if it loses its charge.

ShoddyHog · August 17, 2009

Over the last 5-7 days my AC gradually started blowing warmer and warmer. Now its basically useless.

Probably coolant right?

If so, is it easy to do myself?

thanks

Refrigerant actually, not coolant.

You can get one of those R134a kits and charge it yoursef, but it sounds like you have a leak. Best to have it checked out at a shop you trust and have the leak fixed.

As mentioned, there's PAG oil in the system...if it is blowing warm, don't run it till you have it fixed.

therick · August 18, 2009

Compressor is not kicking in. Im leaving it off.

So you think that the gradual switch from cold to warm is definately a leak?

fbachman · August 18, 2009

Compressor is not kicking in. Im leaving it off.

So you think that the gradual switch from cold to warm is definately a leak?

Well, if the comp is NOT kicking on, then I suspect refrigerant is low. Could be some other issue as well, but, given the symptoms, low refrigerant is high on the hit list as a first pass.

I agree with ^^^^ . Find a good shop that does AC, and let them diagnose it. Although leaks can be a pain, they have clever things they can do with dyes and things of that nature to get to the bottom of it fairly efficiently and quickly.

AC is one of those things where I find it's best to let a pro tackle it, rather than than ME (for example), crawling in there and fixing 5 things that weren't broken and leaving the original problem 3x worse than it was when I started. (I'm GOOD at that )

Just my $0.05.

Spurshot · August 18, 2009

Unless you want to spend quite a bit on equipment and spend a lot of time reading to learn A/C repair, just take it in as recommended above. I went the route of learning it and buying hundreds of dollars of equipment. I like my independence but it has been somewhat expensive and more importantly, very time consuming. But now I'm at a level of competency to fix the most common problems with a/c. I may be ahead a bit on expenditures at this point and may get quite a bit ahead if I keep the old truck around.

therick · August 18, 2009

Thanks for the info and advise fellas...I will definately take it to a pro.

rhavermann · August 18, 2009

Same thing happened to me in my oldsmobile. Obviously its a completely different vehicle but symptoms sound the same. The compressor locked up and I had to get a new one. It was something like a $500 fix. Hopefully it is not as bad for you.

By the way, make sure the compressor is not locked when the AC is off and the engine is running. I didn't think it would be a problem as long as the AC was off, but it stayed locked and basically melted the belt which ended up snapping on the way to the mechanic. A bit of stupidity on my part, but be careful!