A/C Condenser

ThundahBeagle · May 10, 2021

Last year my AC went out. Charged it with freon and it worked for a couple weeks. Charged again and worked for a while, then petered out. Noticed tell-tale wet area at Condenser weld, passenger side.

Bought a brand new AC Delco condenser recently and installed it this past Saturday. Charged with freon but getting no cold at all. Any ideas off the cuff? Common problems with these? Things that are easily overlooked? Something special to double check?

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Please and thank you.

MikeBMW · May 10, 2021

10 minutes ago, ThundahBeagle said:

Last year my AC went out. Charged it with freon and it worked for a couple weeks. Charged again and worked for a while, then petered out. Noticed tell-tale wet area at Condenser weld, passenger side.

Bought a brand new AC Delco condenser recently and installed it this past Saturday. Charged with freon but getting no cold at all. Any ideas off the cuff? Common problems with these? Things that are easily overlooked? Something special to double check?

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Please and thank you.

Go to a shop and have the freon evacuated and new freon put in.
One cannot just top off an empty system without professional tools.
Also, make sure you installed the transmission line into the condenser, properly else you'll see transmission fluid everywhere.

CamGTP · May 10, 2021

Air can not be present in the AC system, otherwise it will not work. Thus the need for the machine or a vacuum pump on your own set of gauges.

Pacfanweb · May 11, 2021

Yeah, you can add freon to a system that's just a little low, but once you break it open you have to have a vacuum pulled on it before adding anymore. You can't add to one that has atmospheric pressure inside already, you'll never get enough in there to work. Plus, the moisture is terrible for the system.

Get it evacuated and then charged. Typically the books will tell you to pull a vacuum on it and hold it there for 30 minutes before charging. Don't know if that's the case with these in particular or not..

I did have the condenser on my 15 Sierra fail a couple years ago. Bought a new one from Autozone, replaced it in about an hour, took it down to one of my dealerships I do work for and had one of the guys evacuate/charge it. Been perfect ever since.

Good luck!