Lost my air...

[mhuppertz]

Yesterday my air was good and cold. Today the compressor is cycling, but the air is HOT! What could have changed over night???? It's not the CPS because cruise and everything else is working. If the compressor wasn't cycling I would think it was the wire to the compressor clutch or a fuse.... It's already hot here!!!

[Begle1]

Uh-oh... Your truck must have been reading about The Incubator behind your back.

Well, I guess the bad influence has taken hold. Best you can do is rip that think outta there so you can go faster.

[mhuppertz]

I'll puke from the heat!

[CAJUN 93]

i know this kinda oversimplifies things, but its a really simple system. either your low or empty on freon (i know it sounds kinda wierd to happen overnight, but it has happened), or you have an electrical component inop.

1st, hook some guages to it and see if it's still under pressure.

no-- shoot some freon in it and dye and look for the leak.
yes--get out the test light and start checking for voltage at the connectors until you find your problem.

try jumping across the low pressure switch (cycling switch) connector and see if the clutch engages.
yes- the switch is bad, replace
no--unplug connector on compressor and check for voltage on the body side.

voltage no-- work backwards along wiring up to and including the control head inside to find the break in the supply voltage.

voltage yes- supply 12 volts via a jumper wire from the battery straight to the compressor. clutch should click and engage. if it doesn't, replace clutch.

it doesnt usually take too much searching to find the bad component. hope this helps.

daryl

[mhuppertz]

Thanks Daryl!
That's exactly the kind of help I needed.
I'll post status soon...
Mark

[mhuppertz]

Ok, hooked up, found no pressure (high or low side). Put in a can of U/V leak detector, pressure came up. Put in part of another can, turned off the truck and I could hear a leak. Found the high side fitting on the compressor was loose! I cranked it down and my air got cold again.

How do I judge how much oil I need because some definately leaked out.

[CAJUN 93]

no real way to know. most systems take 3 or 4 oz of oil.you can buy those oil charge cans and inject them straight into the low side. i'd probably shoot an ounce or two in there just for good measure.

btw, half an ounce of oil shot out of a high pressure line makes such a mess that it looks like more oil than it really is.

daryl

[BEARKILLER]

Cajun,

It is my feable understanding that they will work fine with too much oil; but, the oil not being a refrigerant, cooling capabilities are lost in proportion to the amount too much of oil that is in the system.

Can you enlighten us on this??

Thanks.

[dpuckett]

From my reading in the FSM, I'd say it makes sense, BEARKILLER.

I had the high pressure line come off my compressor recently. But it was too late to save any refrigerant, it all went to the ozone layer. Could this be due to the increased pressure of the 134A refrigerant? I am getting some HC12 to put in it next week.

Daniel

[CAJUN 93]

sorry so long on the reply, haven't been at work . a little too much oil won't hurt anything other than as you stated affecting the efficiency of the system. way too much oil will kill a compressor as it has to compress it each time it cycles. it's better to err on the side of a little too much vs having too little.


daryl

[dpuckett]

while we're on the subject, how does one go about checking the level of oil in the compressor? My hose came unhooked, and I dont know if any leaked out. ALso, where can you get the oil specified in the manual?

DP