No ac

[Shawn855]

Odd.....my AC worked fine last summer and now it doesn't. It only blows normal air. Also when I turn it on, it doesn't seem like anything kicks on, Wich would point to the AC condenser being the issue. The only work I did recently was change the battery, and my stabilizer links and bushings. Any tips? I have an apt tomorrow for a wheel balance. I'll ask them to check my freon level but I wouldn't think it's that since Freon is supposed to last 10 years no? 

 

2016 journey sxt 3.6l

[John/Horace]

I had a friend  who lost his Refrigerant in a new car after three weeks of ownership...stone impact clearly visible on condenser.

 

 Could be a bunch of different things . There are differences among car a/c systems that’s makes trouble shooting pretty involved. 

 

Low charge is probably what occurred, need to figure out what needs fixing.

Hard to see all of condenser coil but check closely for an oil stain on the fins. Classic tell tale sign of refrigerant leak, pressing on shredder valve will confirm no pressure left in system. A set of refrigeration gauges also would confirm that.

 

If no obvious signs of where refrigeration leak is than UV die needs to be added to system to pinpoint leak. Rear air systems would add even more stuff to check on. Shared compressor but two evap coils with pressure lines.

 

 

 

 

[Shawn855]

When I was under the car dojng the bushings, there were cables in the way. I believe they were transmission and AC line. But not sure. Anyways I went to unscrew the holding bracket for them, and the bolt broke. So I fiddled around with the lines and secured them to each other and on the frame using tiewraps. I don't think I tugged hard at the lines or anything and have not seen any leaks anywhere. But the way the bracket was, it held both lines together but kept them from touching each other. Now they are touching each other because of my tie wrap. Think that would be the issue ?

[jkeaton]

Is the compressor coming on? Have you checked obvious things like a blown fuse/

Edited May 27, 2020 by jkeaton

[Shawn855]

Yes checked all fuses. When I turn the AC on and check the condenser, the belt on it is spinning, but not the clutch (front part of it). 

[Shawn855]

At this point all I really need to know is if the clutch isn't spinning because of low refrigerant , or if it's an electrical issue. If it's refrigerant then I probably have a leak, and to refill it alone would cost $700 (from what the mechanic told me?) But if it's an electrical issue then at least I stand a chance at trying to fix it myself 

[John/Horace]

Lines touching wouldn’t likely cause this unless they are chafing and there is visible damage. Put piece of foam around refrig line and tie wrap again.

 

Press shrader valve pin slightly and see if has strong Low side pressure like 50 psi which is loud or if nothing or very slight puffing. Then lost refrigerant.

How many k’s on car ? Is there rear air?

Edited May 27, 2020 by John/Horace

[Shawn855]

Yes there's rear air. 80,000 kms. We have vicious summers and winters which supposedly could cause decline in freon levels? 

[John/Horace]

May be something as simple as what they call a winter leak. One pound out of three gone so low pressure switch not allowing start.

R134 has a tendency to leak more than the larger molecule stuff like Redtek.  Law says they can’t fill system with know leak hence the $700 quote. Nitro charge with die and goose chase for tiny leak.

[Shawn855]

I wish I had r134. My journey uses r-2234yf. Very costly. 

 

Anyways I picked up a recharge kit on the way home and turned on the vehicle with Max Ac and connected the hose. The meter showed no pressure. Then I pressed the lever to release some freon and the gauge jumped up to warning levels. Past the full mark. I'm at a loss on what's happening here. All the tutorials show that the meter should show a reading once it's connected but it's like my meter is only showing what it's at once I add a bit of freon...I don't wanna add anymore since I'm already at the warning level...

[Shawn855]

It's probably giving me a false reading on the meter because the compressor isn't running...and it's not running because the freon could potentially be low. Around in circles here.

[John/Horace]

R134 is no that powerful for cooling and leak prone in my experience.

 

How did you get kit for the different refrigerant ? Make sure it’s says compatible or you will have a mess.

If it’s low it will feed into system from can and release low pressure switch and allow compressor to run.

 

If you leave pierce valve all the way in and don’t back it off after piercing can no gas can be released into system.

It takes up to approx. 5 mins to draw one can into system.

[Shawn855]

Yeah but again, I'm afraid to overfill the system, since when I press the trigger, the meter goes from 0 to WARNING on the meter indicating it's overfilled...so I don't know which reading to trust. Going off the videos, the meter should give a reading while the vehicle is running, but their compressor is probably running whereas mine is not. 

 

The freon I got mentioned r-1234yf replacement. It was 60 dollars for a small 6oz bottle (this new type of freon is very expensive). I bought it at princess auto. 

 

I guess I can try pressing in the low port with my fingernail to see if pressure comes out like you mentioned. I can also buy a proper Ac gauge that connects to both high and low ports but I'm afraid if it doesn't give a reading like this gauge did. Then it's wasted money (gauges are about 80 dollars  to test this type of freon). 

[John/Horace]

Pressure is higher with system off, drops when running. 
 

Sounds like you have pressure so not empty system. You have your answer. 
 

Could check if 12 volt signal is coming to compressor plug when a/c is turned on.

If not could be hvac control issue.

[Shawn855]

How do I do that? Disconnect the plug that connects to the compressor, then the vehicle and AC on, then take a multimeter to the plug prongs that connects to the compressor?

[John/Horace]

Yeah should be a signal triggering clutch on compressor from hvac system.

I haven’t had to work on my wife’s journey a/c yet, more familiar with older hyundai a/c.

 

 

[Shawn855]

Sounds good. I'll try this when it's not raining (Couple days). To connect the mechanic AC diagnosis machine to these newer ac unit's it's about $250 just to find the problem. The machines themselves are about 20 grand. So I'll be following your troubleshooting ideas instead hahah. 

[2late4u]

my advise is to take it to a repair shop,you have spent $60, so far and still not what is even wrong, i dont fool with ac work as there are to many variables of what could be wrong, but if you are not hearing or seeing the compressor clutch starting and stopping then you either have a bad compressor and or leak in your system either way you will have to have the correct tools and knowledge to fix it,good luck

[Shawn855]

I'm simply trying to do the bare minimum within my power such as checking the pressure and the power. Im going to test the power when it doesn't rain. Also the gauge showed 0 and it also showed warning. So it's either empty or it's in the warning. I'm going to try slowly releasing pressure manually. If no pressure comes out whatsoever then we know the system is in fact leaking and has none in it. If pressure comes out then I'm hoping to slowly release and then the compressor will kick on since the compressor won't kick on if it's too full as well. Hey, who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and save myself a $250 diagnostic fee, and $800+ repair? 

[OhareFred]

Make sure you wear gloves while your releasing pressure.

personally I don’t think it’s over pressurized, unless you somehow added a ton of Freon.  The ac recharge kits you get at auto parts stores will read zero, then high when you squeeze the trigger if they aren’t opening the valve. They are designed that way so you can’t put the wrong Freon in the system.  Are you sure you got the right type?  I’ve had hit and miss success with them in the past.  If your system is empty, repair shops are not legally allowed just to refill it, the leak must be repaired.  If your low/empty you have a leak, Freon doesn’t get used up.  It’s one thing to check voltage, connections, etc. but when you start messing with Freon you really should leave it to the pros.  You can get injured messing around with it.

[Shawn855]

Well I mean it specifies r-1234yf on the hood of the car and the connector ports for 1234 are a different size than r314 so yes I'm sure it's the right freon. But as you mentioned, I'm also thinking the valve isn't opening when the attachment is on it, otherwise I'd have been able to drain a bit of pressure by connecting the hose and unscrewing the empty bottle slowly but when I tried that no pressure was being released which is another reason why I want to try manually pressing the release Valve. 

 

I'm not going to go crazy head over heels into this issue but again, the bare minimum checks to at least give me a reasonable idea as to what's happening. 

[jkeaton]

I use those recharge kits all the time. and, yes, it does go into the "warning" zone at times, I just keep feeding it until the compressor stops short cycling. If yours is empty, it's going to take more than one can to get it to the point of operating the compressor.  You can also jump the low pressure switch to force the compressor on.

Edited May 29, 2020 by jkeaton

[Shawn855]

Ooooooohhhh how do I jump the low pressure switch?? That will help figure out what the issue is! 

[John/Horace]

This looks like low side switch, it’s on the same line as charging port. High pressure side on a/c can reach over 210psi-ish which is shrapnel making velocity potential. Wear your jock and your goggles.??

If some refrigerant charge still partly there and no air (moisture mainly) got into system might be ok.

If compressor starts up, start looking on high side, especially condenser coil across rad for hissing large leak.

 

 

 

Edited May 29, 2020 by John/Horace

[Shawn855]

Yeah i had found the plug itself and cleaned it off and reconnected it the other day, but how would i go about jumping it? Normally for other vehicles you can go to to the relay in the fuse box and jump it there, but my 2016 doesn't have a relay for that. 

Edited May 29, 2020 by Shawn855