Air Conditioning

[Lara's Toy]

1st posting - I apologize if I'm not in the correct area..... We bought a 2000 Tahoe in Wisconsin about 4yrs ago and have been living in Texas for the past 3yrs. Both AC and heater worked perfectly fine for the first winter and summer and heater continues to run fine. Since we've been in Texas, we have had to refill the freon at least twice. Once, the first summer 2006 we were here and again this past summer 2008. I guess you could say we have not had any real problems other than running out of freon. I was told that freon should last at least 2yrs which it did the first summer we were here. This year however it seems to have already run out. It worked perfectly fine during the summer but now it only blows out luke warm air. Living in TX, we have crazy weather, cold one day hot the next. I had not used the AC in probably a couple of months and just this weekend I tried turning it on and could not get it to cool, front or rear. This summer when we refilled the freon they said they checked for leaks and said it had none. What else could cause it to run out of freon so soon? OR Could something else be causing this other than low freon? There are no noises associated with this. Thank you in advance for any help you may be able to offer.

[txab]

If you're adding 134a then you have a leak. Who has been working on your system so far? Is it a competent a/c shop? A shop that performs a/c work should be able to find and fix any leaks your system has, if they take the time to really search. They should've added a dye to the oil in the system. This would help in locating the leak. Common places to leak are: hi & lo side ports, hose fittings/connections, compressor seal. You can look over your system yourself and visually look for leaks. Look for oily, dirty connections/fittings. The main thing would be sure and have shop that is known to do good a/c work. Never let anyone talk you into adding refrigerant with a leak sealer, it will be the death of your system.

 

An added note. It might be something other than low 134a levels this time. That's why a proper diagnosis is important. Hi and lo side pressures need to be determined before proceeding.