Tuesday, July 26, 2005 - 03:10 am, by: Gil Harding
Hi Everyone,first post newbie from UpOver in England. Has anyone any experience of changing the condensor and is there any pitfalls to avoid,ie what you need and any special skills needed?. Great site
Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 01:40 am, by: Gil Harding
Problem Iv'e got is that the London importers of the condensor are secondhand units and what if the condensors faulty after refit,another £80 gassing literally up in smoke?.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 08:41 pm, by: peter lang
Gil, just a thought have u asked any ac shops for a listing of new non genuine condenser also it should be leak tested before it is filled with gas anyway
Gil, before they put new gas in it, they will need to vac the system. To do this, they will fit an air conditioner vacuum on to your compressor and suck all of the air and moisture out of the system. When the system is under a vacuum, they can tell if the system has a leak because the pressure will rise. That way, they/you aren't paying for gas that will go out of the leak because it hasn't been charged yet. Once they are satisfied that the pressure is stable, then they will charge the system up with gas.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005 - 05:58 pm, by: Gil Harding
Thanks Troy,I used a mobile regasser last time and obviuosly he didn't carry this equipment as it would have saved a lot of bother,I def use a bona fide next time
Wednesday, August 03, 2005 - 03:47 pm, by: Troy Tappenden
Gil, if the last guy didn't vac the old system, then you could have some real trouble on your hands.
Everyone should be made aware of this information:
When we talk about getting moisture in an air conditioner system, we aren't talking about driving your car in the rain while you have the a/c system open. Moisture in an a/c system is just normal outside air, the humidity of the air is the moisture that I am talking about. So there doesn't have to be a lot of water in the system for it to be a problem. When moisture is mixed with automotive air conditioning oil, it turns the oil acidic. This can corrode the tubes from the inside. It is possible that if you had a leak in the system previously and the guy didn't vac the system out, then you could have corroded a hole in to condensor, which could be why you are replacing it because it has holes in it.
This can be treated however. Once you have a new condensor on the car you will need to take the car to a certified air conditioner mechanic. Tell them that the last guy did not vac the system and just re-filled the system with gas. If the a/c mechanic thinks it is worth doing, he can flush the system with dry nitrogen. The dry nitrogen will absorb the moisture. The system is then vacuumed, and the system is filled up with nitrogen again, then vacuumed, then filled and vacuumed once more, then, once it has been filled and vacuumed 3 times with nitrogen, then you can fill up the system again with the correct gas, which should be R134A, not R12, which is the old gas. With all of this done, you might be able to stop the system from corroding if it is not to far gone. The a/c mechanic should also change the compressor oil to make sure that there is no moisture still in the oil, as the oil will also still be acidic.
Best of luck Gil, I hope everything is not this bad, and it is simple and cheap to fix, but everyone should be aware of the dangers of using Bodgy Brother to fill up their air conditioning system...
Monday, August 08, 2005 - 03:22 am, by: Gil Harding
Thanks mate,really informative.I will use a bona fide regasser next time as I understand now that a bona fide would on vacuming found a increase in pressure which would have indicated a leak,I haven't found a supplier of a new unit yet but there seems quite a few who do secondhand,which worries me even more,on the weather front here in the it's getting cooler all the time so I have a while to investigate a bit further,Thankyou tho.