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'90 AC Recharge Problem


Guest Northwestsun

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Guest Northwestsun

Greetings All,

Thought I would try to get the AC in my '90 working better, as the compressor seemed to want to work only when car was in gear, and then only intermittently. The nice fellows at Midas evacuated the system yesterday without charge. I have 3 cans of 134a (car was previously converted, according to the note in the engine bay) that I'm trying to get into the system. Problem is that the Climate Control stays on ECON and the compressor, of course, won't come on at all! When I push AUTO the ECON light blinks a few times and then comes back on full. Consequently, the system won't charge. Code is appropriately B448c. Any ideas? :(

Continued gratitude for all the help this forum has been in keeping my Coupe running well!

Northwestsun :)

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Guest Northwestsun

Thanks so much Ronnie! I meant to check your site before I came out with this. Looks like you've given me the solution! Will get to it tomorrow or this weekend.

Dave

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Guest Northwestsun

Tar...nation!!! Them thar new fangled cars... (though it's 20 years old!). When they work right they're great - but when they don't...!

Ronnie, I jumped the switch, cleared codes, and the compressor came for a few seconds before shutting off, doing this repeatedly as I tried to charge with refrigerant. Made a slight squeal each time before coming on. Then it kicked out one last time and now won't come on at all. Cleared codes again, then swapped in the relay from the horn to see if that was the problem. Still no compressor.

Looks like I'll try the 12v jump next. Where exactly do I jump to? The site directions are a little unclear at this point (at least to me).

Also wondering if the compressor is just faulty.

Dave :(

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Guest Northwestsun

Looks like I got it. Only way I could keep the compressor running was to remove the AC relay and jump cavities #1 and #4. Compressor then stayed on to swallow 2 1/2 cans of freon. Removed the jumper, replaced the relay and the AC once again runs as it should!

Hope this helps someone else. It appears that the compressor became intermittent due to low refrigerant. I had Midas purge the system to give me a fresh start and got 12 oz. cans of 134a at the local auto store.

Dave

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Dave, I'm sorry that I missed you post asking how to power the compressor with a jumper. I just run a jumper from the compressor clutch directly to the battery. Glad to hear you were able to figure out how to do it with the relay. That might be easier than the way I've done it.

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  • 8 years later...

Yes that helped me very much. My system was dead empty. Jumping #1 and #4 at the relay got me started, but the compressor quit. I thought it might have seized, but it cycled as you described after I put the relay back in. It continued to cycle off and on until the refrigerant levels were high enough, then the compressor ran steady until I turned everything off after filling. Thanks for posting your experience.

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Was it a different thread I mentioned that after resetting the AC (disconnect neg term of battery for a few seconds) I can usually just connect a can and get the static pressure high enough (about 50 psi) for the compressor to turn. Then the compressor will usually run long enough to suck the rest of the can and be happy.

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