Another A/C Problem, Undectable Leak

[nwohsy]

I have owned my 1995 2500 since 10/98 and every year the system needs to be charged due to freon leak. 4 weeks ago I had the system charged, I took it back after 2 weeks to detect any leaks, eveything was fine. Last week the A/C stopped and today I was told it was down by half with no signs of leaking dye anywhere around the system. has anyone else experienced this? My shop is very knowledgeable and fair (they didn't charged for the refill) . Is there a problem area that I should suggest they check? thanks.

 

[Fastmach]

Originally posted by nwohsy

I have owned my 1995 2500 since 10/98 and every year the system needs to be charged due to freon leak. 4 weeks ago I had the system charged, I took it back after 2 weeks to detect any leaks, eveything was fine. Last week the A/C stopped and today I was told it was down by half with no signs of leaking dye anywhere around the system. has anyone else experienced this? My shop is very knowledgeable and fair (they didn't charged for the refill) . Is there a problem area that I should suggest they check? thanks.

 

[Timinator]

Could the leak be inside the cab? The evaporator? It's pretty well hidden and would require some dismantling to get to it.

 

[TMc]

Just brought my 96 to the dealer for the A/C not being cold. I did the usual things to check it out ( make sure clutch was engaging, put dye in checked connections, made sure condenser was'nt choked up with bugs debris, checked freon level) Dealer determined it was the evaporator 850$ to fix. Don't ask me how they knew it was the evaporator, the receipt said they performed a black light test ???



I read an old post that the dodge weak link in the a/c system was the evaporator. Any way I'll be changing mine out next week , found one on the internet for $98 now I just have to rip my entire dash apart to replace it. Oh Joy !!



Good luck !!!!

 

[Cooker]

I'm interested in how well the evaporator replacement goes.



Mine supposedly has a bad evap. (bought it that way) but I have never done anyhting to check into it. I'm going to try throwing some freon in it to see if it will work at all.



-Ryan

 

[Cooker]

Well I charged the A/C tonight. It works again I will wait to see how long it works before I get too excited. It currently blows 60 degree air when the air temp is ~82 degrees. Not too bad IMO.



The next thing to tackle is the vents don't work right. The only ones I get air out of are the dash defrost vents and the floor, no matter what the switch is on. Hmmm?



-Ryan

 

[TMc]

Hey Cooker, the switching of the vent position, if I'm not mistaken is vacuum operated. With this being the case there was a recall on the checkball valve for the vacuum system, and with that recall dodge said that the vacuum system may be contaminated with oil, so they extended the warranty for this to someting like 100k/6 or 10 years. Check into it.

 

[Cooker]

Thanks for the info. I did a bit of checking on it today. Maybe I can get some work done for free because my truck does fall into the Recall. I'll make some calls Monday to see what I can get figured out.



-Ryan

 

[dasyure]

what about trying a stop leak like pro seal? I havn't run across one with a hole in a had part but I shure would try $15 before pulling the dash apart. just my 2 cents
Sean

 

[Missouri Mule]

A/C techs should have hand held gizmo ( freon detecting meter) which should beep very loudly when freon is detected. These meters have a senstivity control on them so they can detect leak when other possilbe leak locations are near by.

If they opened your door and had meter/dector it would sound alarm and they would know your evaporator was leaking.



You can use soap/water mixture to spray on connections/fittings, compressor,condenser... if it bubbles you found the leak.

Leaks also can be found by looking for dirt around connection/fitting, compressor.



The recall only applied to certain vehilces and as I recall owners got another 7 year warranty on pump check valve and any component that used vacuum to operated it.

 

[2shus]

I had the same problem with my 95, they said the evaporator was bad and it would only hold a charge of freeon about 2 weeks or less and they wanted $6-800. to fix it. I could not afford it so i went to auto zone and found a new leak sealer that seals leaks in metal and aluminum A/C systems. It was about $20. 00 but i figured i had nothing to lose. I know a little about how to charge an A/C system since i worked in a shop for a while years ago. So i bought it and used it and it has held for quite a while. We went to the mountains in Tenn. and used the air the whole time. Its called SUPER SEAL, the ultimate metal repair kit. The package says it seals leaks in evaporators,condensors,compressors,accumulators,receiver/dryer by creating a (scab) from the inside out. also visited their websit befor i used it to find out more about it. (www.efproducts.com) All i can say is i am very happy, my air has stayed ice cold. Tim.

 

[nwohsy]

well the saga continues. the shop recharged the system using a stop leak. the a/c worked 1 day then gave out. it seemed too short a period of time for the freon to leak out. but being that it is 95+ degrees around here this afternoon and my shop is closed today. i decided to buy a refill kit w/ guage. i put the guage on the system and noticed the compressor was cycling on and off. a look at the guage showed it would cycle from off and show 25 psi, then it would click on and shoot up to 65 psi and then click off. the safe range of a fully charged system is 25-45 psi. 45-65 is the caution overcharge area. 65- up psi is the danger overcharge area. is there something in the line which could create a blockage? or did they just pump up the system too much? i did notice that the low pressure line remains somewhat cool up to the point where it conects with the condenser (right where the fixed orfice tube is) what is this fixed orfice tube, and what does it do? can it be creating the blockage and pressure buildup? thanks for all the responses so far. as soon as i get this pressure thing sorted out i'm going to give that super seal a shot.

matt

 

[R.ebel]

A/C

nwohsy, The fixed orfice tube is located usually on the outlet of the accumulator [or inlet to the evaporator] and has a fine mesh screen to keep any debris from plugging the orfice.



Operation goes something like this; Starting at the compressor the freon is pumped up to a high pressure in a gaseous state, it then travels to the condensor [in front of the intercoller] where the high temp & pressure gas is cooled to its saturation point and becomes a lower temp & pressure liquid. The liquid freon then travels to the accumulator [a storage area] where there is usually also a desicant bag to absorb any moisture. Moisture that gets in an A/C system reacts with the freon and forms an acid which will eat holes in the system piping The liquid freon is then sprayed through the the orfice tube at the inlet to the evaporator where it expands and absorbs heat changing back to a gaseous state and heads to the inlet of the compressor. Then the whole process starts over again.



If you charge your own system be sure to purge your hoses with some freon as you connect them to the A/C system. Failure to do so does two things;1)It introduces air into the system which is a non-condensable gas that causes system pressuers to be abnormally high 2)The air contains moisture which is bad because of the acid problem but can also cause ice blockages to form in the low side of the system.

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[DieselDog]

I have a G. E. electronic freon detector that can sniff out a leak through DRYWALL !! I did a/c work for 15 years and can tell you the tools exist to find any freon leak !! If your shop can't find a simple leak on a car a/c sysem, it's time to find a shop that actually has the tools for the job.

After all, they have no problem taking your money, RIGHT???



Good Luck!!



P. S. Adding that red dye to your system is what shops do when they don't have the right tools for the job!!

 

[Koa Man]

Super Seal

For those of you that have used Super Seal to control your A/C leaks, how is it holding up? A friend of mine used his meter and said my evaporator is leaking. He recommended that I change the evaporator and accumulator. He is ASE certified. Charged up my A/C and it lasted only four days before it started blowing warm air again. If this Super Seal stuff works, then I'll use it instead of going through the trouble of tearing apart my dash and replacing the A/C parts. TIA for any input.

 

[2shus]

still blowin cold!!

Mine is still blowing cold months after being installed. You just have to follow the instructions carefully and don't try to install the super seal if your system is completely full, you have to leave room to run at least 1 can of R134-A in after the super seal. Here is their website: www.efproducts.com you can read up on it there. I am very happy and only spent $20. 00. Good luck.

 

[nopowerforme]

Hi All I also own a 1995 2500 bought it used and the A/C never did work right Had it charged several times and it never lasted very long. Had a shop in Moscow ID put a vacuum on it and it held all weekend , he charged it and it only lasted a day.



He worked on it for three or four days had three different people look at it, he put two tubes of dye in it after looking for the leak using a black light, freon sniffer and a lot of looking they never did find the leak. But they never charged me anything except fot the initial charge



I also am interested in the leak sealer PLEASE keep us all posted on wether it holds up or not.



I want to be

 

[LandShark]

Cooker: You say that you think 60 degrees is OK for the AC air. That may be OK in Michigan, but would never cut it here in Texas. My (never been serviced) AC blows air in the low 40's. Even that is not that great when it's 105 in the shade and you own a black truck!

 

[Koa Man]

Super Seal installed today

Put the super seal in my AC system today. What a mickey mouse connector! Made out of plastic with a taper fit that would not stay on. Finally decided to use a hose clamp instead and it worked great in holding on the container. I don't know why they didn't just make the container with a coupler. Anyway, my AC mechanic friend topped off the system with R134a, checked the pressures and checked the temp in the dash. It was blowing at 50 degrees on max. He said it will probably blow colder when the truck is moving due to air movement over the condenser. Now I just need to see if this thing works. According to their website, if your system will hold at least a partial charge for two weeks, it WILL work. Mine would hold a partial charge for about 10 days. I'll post results after a month.

 

[2shus]

super seal

Before I put the super seal in my truck it wouldn't even hold a charge for a week! I figured for $20. 00 I didn't have that much to lose! Still blowin cold since April.