Top Up Your Own Aircon System

[GT4 BOOSTER]

http://www.id-usa.com/video/aug04/system-c...sMedia-DSL).wmv

tested my surf air con today , pressure was just going into the green = refill .

i sprayed the gas in until it was in the blue section and i only used about 1/4 of the tin.

air con was much colder in an instant. all for just 10 quid . well 40 quid if i used it all.

[Flat Pack]

That looks handy, didn't know such a thing existed!

Thanks, think I'll give it a try as my aircon is pretty weak these days :)

[Jones~32]

Might have to give that a go, nice tip booster

[GT4 BOOSTER]

Halfords 40 QUID A TIN. ONCE YOU HAVE THE TEST GAUGE YOU JUST NEED A SMALLER 12 OZ TIN.

[jaxx]

Booster! nice one i keep looking at this stuff but a bit sketchy on how good it is?

first q.... how do you know if its R134a gas

as mine needs desperately doing! :!Removed!:

just found this

Pre '94 cars use R12 as opposed to R134A on the 94+. If your car and your engine are both pre '94 you can stick with the R12 (more expensive/harder to find) or convert to R134A.

car is a 94 'L' rev3 so i should be good

[Jones~32]

HALFORDS 40 QUID A TIN. ONCE YOU HAVE THE TEST GAUGE YOU JUST NEED A SMALLER 12 OZ TIN.

Cheers

[MIP]

Thats pretty handy, cheers. Don't spose there's a similarly simple way of DIY aircon cleaning? You get bacteria and what not building up in there I think?

[chris202]

Thats pretty handy, cheers. Don't spose there's a similarly simple way of DIY aircon cleaning? You get bacteria and what not building up in there I think?

Isnt there a way to boil a kettle up one of the pipes and the steam cleans the system out ? i recall reading something along those lines somewhere

[GT4 BOOSTER]

IF ITS R12 YOU HAVE A VALVE LIKE A CAR WHEEL , if its r134a its totally different , ie the valve sits way down in a recess.

you can remove algae from the condensor by boiling a kettle near the glove box with air con on for 20 minutes on recirculate , followed by 10 minutes on fresh air to dry out all your vents and tubes . this i tried on my gt4 after removing the whole glove box , my air con after had never been as cold , it never had the smell so i cant quote on that. If you do get the pong however ,switch off the air con 10 - 15 minutes before the journeys end , leaving the fan on fresh air and up high, this helps to keep it all dry inside.You can of course use a tin of air con freshener made by comma -- http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/COMMA-AIR-CONDITIONI...1QQcmdZViewItem , simply spray into vents whilst on recirc and the gas kills all the bacteria , its said however to return after 6 months , the kettle method however may keep it away longer , it may not .

[daktari]

If you`ve got an old kettle then you can boil up a 25% mix of dettol/water and follow the same procedure. I wouldn`t do it if you intend making a cuppa with the kettle afterwards though :D . Oh and the dettol smell lingers for a day or two. But it`s very effective.

[jaxx]

cheers booster, asked me old man and he confirmed its r134 due to the type of valves :)

got meself a tin and squirted it in, aircon pump fired up for the first time and bubbles started forming in the sight glass (good i think?) and cold air started coing through, not mega cold like on my yaris though?

also, as im not used to having aircon on the MR2 i can hear a hissing noise.. this comes from behind the dash where the exchanger is and you can also hear it in the engine bay?

is this normal or are the seals potentially bust? which may have caused the lapse in gas in the first place?

[Jones~32]

Jaxx - I get a hissing coming from mine occasionally too, I have no idea what it is Only does it every now and again....

[jaxx]

well i can never remeber the yaris doing it, and only makes the noise when the pumps operational

[Jones~32]

This is the first car ive had with A/C so I got nothing to compare it to

But mine only does it once the A/C has been on for a while, then it will go off, then come back randomly after that.... I can only hear it when the stereo is quite quiet, so just turn it up :D

[martin_longbow]

When I try to look at the link I get some message about a possibly fault network connection or a busy server from windows media player... and wont play. I assume you are all talking about a recon charge up system from Halfords??

Thanks about the detol/kettle thin. My Celica is quite cool but is a bit pongy this year on A/C and an Astra I picked up for my wife smells like very strong curry powder on heater mode and some other smell (hard to describe) on her A/C again it is cold enough but a bit smelly.

I have a wall paper striper which I think I will load up with detol/water and test it on her car first, if it refreshes the system then I may try it with my Celica

Thanks, usefull especially at this time of year

[GT4 BOOSTER]

wallpaper steamer is ideal as you get no splashes just pure steam , one of those kitchen steam blaster thingys is ideal too.

you will know when the steam is going through the system as water pours from under the engine bay after a while.

[Karma Supra]

Booooooooo R134 only :(

My car takes the hard stuff

My air con worked perfectly when I last used hte car two years ago... I'll be very suprised if it still does!

[GT4 BOOSTER]

karma the same firm does a diy conversion kit, it comes with new valves to match r134a type, also a tin of gas which converts it all to r134a.

http://www.id-usa.com/product.asp?CID=28&PID=217

here is a how to guide.

http://www.id-usa.com/how_to_retrofit.asp

[Karma Supra]

Now that is interestng ;)

Good work!

[knightrider]

paid to have mine done 2 day, bugger! and also found out its got a leak, also rob mine hisses like eck too,

[jaxx]

im thinking the seals are shagged :(

[knightrider]

ah but mine leaks from a welded join on the pipe so not the seals i hope not

[Bilal8210]

hey i mentioned this recharge kit a while back in the avensis forum....i found it brilliant and was realli easy to recharge...even better i can get hold of the can thats 40 quid for 17.50!!!

[reece]

paid to have mine done 2 day, bugger! and also found out its got a leak, also rob mine hisses like eck too,

How much was you charged?

[Hou]

where can i get a conversion kit?