GB Conti01
New LVC Member
Was up im new and have ? . I own 01Conti and cant find where to recharge my a/c. Can anyone help me plz. Thx
a/c
- Thread starter GB Conti01
- Start date
I have a 97 and mine is right in front of the cabin air filter, which is right next to the black canister and strut tower brace on the pass side of the car. Also typically the hose will only fit on the low-pressure fitting so you cannot accidently connect it wrong. When you recharge it be aware that the ambient tempature effects the pressure. The bottle usually tells you what range their gauge is calibrated. However I would recommend you to check/charge when the vehicle hasn't been run in a while. Since the engine puts off quite a bit of heat which is hard to compensate for. If you look on-line many of the companies (use the same company you got the refrigerant from) have a more complete chart to use for a broader tempature range and more exact within the range the gauges are "set for." I got the large arctic freeze bottle & gauge for $25 at advance auto. It mentions advanced leak sealing, eliminates moisture & acid as well as cooling up to 50% faster. I also believe it says ultra synthetic and mentions increasing cooling capacity as well. Below is a link to their website it doesn't list the larger size bottle I purchased but it does have most of their products and faqs & instructions.
http://id-usa.com/how_to_faqs_recharging.asp#2
http://id-usa.com/how_to_faqs_recharging.asp#2
JLewisinSyr
Active LVC Member
A/C low side is on the passenger side, right next to the strut tower.
When buying refridgerant, unless you have replaced your compressor, don't buy any with oil in it. Too much oil in the system will cause your A/C system to fail.
In regards to leak sealant, be careful, this stuff can also cause things to seize if too much is used. So if I were you, I'd buy a large can of just pure refridgerant and a second smaller can with sealant. Use only a small amount of the sealant can and refill the rest with your larger refridgerant only.
When buying refridgerant, unless you have replaced your compressor, don't buy any with oil in it. Too much oil in the system will cause your A/C system to fail.
In regards to leak sealant, be careful, this stuff can also cause things to seize if too much is used. So if I were you, I'd buy a large can of just pure refridgerant and a second smaller can with sealant. Use only a small amount of the sealant can and refill the rest with your larger refridgerant only.
The oil is proportional to the amount of refrigerant being replaced. I used the can I mentioned in my 97 continental and used the same stuff -leak sealant I believe (arctic freeze) in our 99 sable, 00 moutaineer & 98 towncar over a year ago. You could always have the rectifier & orafice tube replaced and the system cleaned out and emptied with a vac to get out all the old oil, etc... but thats a bit much and a bit expensive I think. Also take a look at the bottle besides cooling faster I believe the bottle mentions increasing capacity of the system as well. So in this case more oil & refrigerant would make sense. There are other brands I have seen as well auto-zone has one which says synthetic faster cooling increased capacity as well. But this AF has worked really well for me over the past year+. Also while you're doing this if you haven't in a year+ I would replace the cabin air filter. Besides restricting the incoming air and straining the blower motor it also like a home air filter has the potential to hold onto a bunch of dirt, pollen etc and potentially bacteria. Napa has a coating on theirs which prevents bacteria from forming and growing on theirs. But if you could I would try and get one with an additional activated carbon layer which also filters smells, ozone & etc.
JLewisinSyr
Active LVC Member
I'd love to know how refridgerant can add capacity. It may compress more, but volume is volume. Also oil doesn't leak out of the system like refridgerant does, so adding more oil is just adding more volume to the already at capacity system. Don't believe everything you read on these refridgerant bottles, laws are very lax when it comes to advertising of this stuff.
MichiganTeddyBear
Dedicated LVC Member
the most important thing to remember here is this:
These are SEALED systems. they dont consume or loose refridgerant during normal use. if you need a recharge, you have a leak, there is NO other explanation. Also, if you need a recharge, you probably have at least some percentage of air and moisture in the system (usually none for both). These both reduce the effeciency of the system, and can cause problems.
a lot of the replacement refridgerants (especially those to replace r12) can actually be dangerous, as they are can be extremely flammable (they use essentially propane or butane in the mix).
These are SEALED systems. they dont consume or loose refridgerant during normal use. if you need a recharge, you have a leak, there is NO other explanation. Also, if you need a recharge, you probably have at least some percentage of air and moisture in the system (usually none for both). These both reduce the effeciency of the system, and can cause problems.
a lot of the replacement refridgerants (especially those to replace r12) can actually be dangerous, as they are can be extremely flammable (they use essentially propane or butane in the mix).
GB Conti01
New LVC Member
Thx for the help. Now that I know where its located. I will have to go back to Michigan again and get another bottle, hose and gauge because they dont sell it in Wis.
. I will let you know how it goes.
. I will let you know how it goes.I don't know technically how or if it adds capacity all I know is it does cool much better/quicker than it did before. 3 of the vehicles I mentioned were simply topped off due to being on the verge of low charge and causing the compressor to kick in more than normal. The towncar however was up to normal charge range and was simply "depressurized" due to a bad gasket on gauge/hose. It was then refilled. My car had r134 not r12 freon to begin with and r12 & r134 operate at different pressures. So if you're going from r-12 to r134 I believe you want to make sure and get all the r12 out.