Its time to fix the A/C

[Guest Durahansolo]

I've had my 89 Reatta since 2003. When I first got it, it had the R-12 system in it which worked pretty good in my opinion. My dad one day decided that my air conditioning wasn't cold enough and said that he wanted to have it switched to 134a. I'm thinking he knows what he's talking about saying he's always fixed all the cars whenever something was wrong with them, so I allow him to do so. He takes the car to a reputible neighborhood guy that allegedly knew what he was doing and put on the orifice for the 134a. He charged the A/C and it worked for about 4 days and then I started getting the common Compressor Disengaging error AKA B448C. This happened all happened either summer 2003 or 2004, dont remember which.

Every since then, everytime i turn the A/C on i get that error and it switches to ECON which is the air from outside i believe. It will not blow cold air at all. We went to a local business i believe it was last year to have it recharged. They recharged it and it blew cold for a whole day. The next day I got the error again and it would switch to ECON. We've tried charging the system ourselves and it has not worked. Recently I went and bought some of the UV Leak Detector but it would not even take into the system, so it could still possibly have some freon in it i guess.

I'm trying to figure out where the best place is to start looking before i take it in and get charged an arm and a leg to get it fixed <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> and find out it was the compressor. Since it is possible that its an electrical problem or a problem with the computer. I was thinking I might take it to a shop to have the system evacuated and recharged because my dad isn't sure if the first guy that did the swap actually ever did that or just added the 134a. I've already tried clearing the codes and unhooking the battery cables which neither have worked.

[Guest spongebob]

i got the same code..turned out to be a short in the wire loom.

BUT if the refrigeration guy didnt do a complete job doing the change

( look at the invoice, should be a oil change in there)

over from the good stuff to the 134, give the repair bill to Pop, and

tell him to keep his fingers off the buick..

[Guest Durahansolo]

I remember reading your post about wiggling the wire loom and it worked. Where is this loom located? btw I doubt anybody knows where the invoice is saying my dad was the one who took it and its probably been thrown away by now. I just wish i had known then what I know now about the A/C, i woulda told him to leave it alone lol.

[Guest spongebob]

theres a large bundle of wires running up from the frame (a flat connector) up on the drivers side..it bends around the front of the engine, you'll see two wires coming out of the bundle that goes to a connector on the tranny..what i did was wiggled that bundle and my a/c worked..

[Guest tomt]

Durhan:

First, get a notebook and keep all receipts pertaining to your Reatta. I don't do this with my regular car, but the reference is valuable and helpful if you sell later. I had a Buick dealer convert my A/C and replace the compressor as it leaked. The NEW compressor quit in 11 months and was replaced free of charge. I believe but can check the receipts that i paid around 485.00

[DAVES89]

Only problem is, he now has a corrupted system. Every a/c shop is going to excavate the system and then replace parts. I'll bet before the final job is done he will have spent $700.00. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> ouch!!!

[Vincent Vega]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Only problem is, he now has a corrupted system. Every a/c shop is going to excavate the system and then replace parts. I'll bet before the final job is done he will have spent $700.00. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> ouch!!! </div></div>This is correct. Although,the shop won't need a shovel. They will need to evacuate the system ( <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> teasing.) Conversion is a bit more complicated than changing the ports and charging it with 134a. You need to find out what they did do. Minimum would be:

<ul style="list-style-type: disc">[*]completely clean and flush [*]evacuate [*]change ports [*]leak test [*]add oil [*]charge system [*]reset system [*]test

Go to AC Kits dot com for a full description of the process.

[Guest Durahansolo]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Durhan:

First, get a notebook and keep all receipts pertaining to your Reatta. I don't do this with my regular car, but the reference is valuable and helpful if you sell later. I had a Buick dealer convert my A/C and replace the compressor as it leaked. The NEW compressor quit in 11 months and was replaced free of charge. I believe but can check the receipts that i paid around 485.00 </div></div>

That would've been perfect for my situation if my dad would've had an actual company or the buick dealership to do the initial conversion, unfortunately for me, he had some local guy that works on cars out of his garage to do it. So pretty much no receipt <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> . I think i'll have my dad go ask him, or perhaps i might ask him since he lives near my house if he evacuated the system of R-12 and went through the proper steps of adding oil and such before he did the adding of the 134a. I doubt he'll remember since it was 2 years ago.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Only problem is, he now has a corrupted system. Every a/c shop is going to excavate the system and then replace parts. I'll bet before the final job is done he will have spent $700.00. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> ouch!!! </div></div>This is correct. Although,the shop won't need a shovel. They will need to evacuate the system ( <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> teasing.) Conversion is a bit more complicated than changing the ports and charging it with 134a. You need to find out what they did do. Minimum would be:

<ul style="list-style-type: disc">[*]completely clean and flush [*]evacuate [*]change ports [*]leak test [*]add oil [*]charge system [*]reset system [*]test

Go to AC Kits dot com for a full description of the process. </div></div>

Yea and since i believe the company (I think i went to Northwest Tire)only did a recharge, that wouldn't have helped much either.

[padgett]

Note step 1 - Flushing the system to remove all of the old R-12 oil is a really good idea. Just evacuation won't. Now originally you had to remove all of the old oil but recently it has sounded like this is not always necessary when converting. What is the truth ?

[Guest spongebob]

Note step 1 - Flushing the system to remove all of the old R-12 oil is a really good idea. Just evacuation won't. Now originally you had to remove all of the old oil but recently it has sounded like this is not always necessary when converting. What is the truth ? [/quot

r12 uses mineral/alkybenzene oil, and 134 uses polyolester oil..

[Guest mongeonman]

I think ESTER oil is compatible with r12 and r134 oil.

[Guest spongebob]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I think ESTER oil is compatible with r12 and r134 oil. </div></div>

polyolester is for HFC freons..r12 aint, i wouldnt use it..refrigeration oils are designed to work with a particular freon..the oil travels with the freon, so if you were to use a ester oil with r12, it may not either get where the oil is needed or may not come back to the compressor..like i said, i'd rather use what is specified..

[Guest TheNewDamage]

Just a side note but my understanding is that the type 134A freon does not blow as cold as the older type R-12 freon. The newer one is just more "environmentally friendly". I still have R-12 in my '91 corvette as well and will keep that type as long as I can.

[Guest mongeonman]

I retofited my air conditionning yesrterday ,put in r134 and ester oil,it blows cold even if it is 32 celius here.I replaced all the parts my self but got it filled by a specialised shop,and glad i did.It only cost 112.00 canadian dollars.

[padgett]

32C in Quebec ? 78F/25.5C in Orlando right now. Been cool and too dry so far this year. Must be the whales.

[Guest Durahansolo]

Bringing back this old topic since I got the car fixed and still have no A/C. Today I was reading in the service manual on the B448 code (Page 8D2-61) and i got down to #2 *Remove Low Refrigerant Pressure Switch Connector* which i did and then *Jumper Harness Connector* I'm going to assume this means to connect a wire between the bottom low pressure switch harness and *Note Status*.

Before I messed around with jumpering the two, I pulled out my handy continuity tester and hooked one side to the battery and touched the switch harness, one terminal was a ground and the other did nothing on either side (Assumed it should've been Positive lol). Is the other terminal only on when AUTO is engaged to turn on the A/C? If the other wire is supposed to be positive then jumpering the positive and negative would cause a short and then on step #3 the testlight shouldn't light and would probably blow a fuse if it wasn't already blown.

[Reatta45]

Low Refrigerant Pressure Switch…

Is a SWITCH, jumping across it is the same thing it is doing IF there is sufficient refrigerant pressure inside the system to close the switch.

[Guest Durahansolo]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Reatta45</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Low Refrigerant Pressure Switch…

Is a SWITCH, jumping across it is the same thing it is doing IF there is sufficient refrigerant pressure inside the system to close the switch.

</div></div>

That is understandible, but shouldn't the other terminal that connects to the switch have polarity or does the harness carry the same polarity from one terminal to the other when connected to the switch?

[Ronnie]

It is a SWITCH. It interrupts the supply of power to a device. There is no need to worry about polarity. Put away your test light and get out your jumper wire.

As was stated before, put a jumper in place of the switch to complete the circuit to the compressor. Put the A/C controls in auto on the lowest temperature setting. If the compressor runs you either are low on freon or you have a bad pressure switch. To know for sure which is causing the problem you will need a set of A/C gauges to check for proper pressure.

If the compressor does not run you have problems other than freon pressure.

[Guest Durahansolo]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Ronnie</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It is a SWITCH. It interrupts the supply of power to a device. There is no need to worry about polarity. Put away your test light and get out your jumper wire.

As was stated before, put a jumper in place of the switch to complete the circuit to the compressor. Put the A/C controls in auto on the lowest temperature setting. If the compressor runs you either are low on freon or you have a bad pressure switch. To know for sure which is causing the problem you will need a set of A/C gauges to check for proper pressure.

If the compressor does not run you have problems other than freon pressure.

</div></div>

This is what I thought initially but when I searched for it in the forums, all of the posts didn't go into great detail about it (Probably since this was in the book). The only thing that confused me about it was the very next step which talked about connecting a test light from the jumper to battery ground (and the jumper would be a ground as well)which I guess should not light unless somewhere the wiring got crossed and it became a positive connection. I'll give it a try when I get home. We have thought there was something wrong with the compressor for quite awhile now, but if it could be something else then we want to rule those out before we replace it.

Thanks guys

[padgett]

Just a quick mention that trying to troubleshoot an a/c issue without guages is going to devolve to guesswork. Fortunately, the Reatta has a set built into the BCM that can be used with the caveat that the electrics need to be working properly. Further the pressures are expressed in degrees C and not PSI. They can be used quite effectively once you know what they should be reading.

For instance with R-134A and the engine off, both high and low side read about the same, around 25C (do not expect both to read quite the same, the sensors are pretty crude and not calibrated). If much lower you need to start with the charge. Keep in mind that the low pressure switch is a different device than the low pressure sensor).

Running in 85F weather expect 40-60C on the high side and 0-10C on the low side. If you start seeing negative temperatures on the low side, it needs more freon but it will take real guages to get it right. Too much is as bad as too little.

[Ronnie]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> The only thing that confused me about it was the very next step which talked about connecting a test light from the jumper to battery ground</div></div>

That test is to see if there is power coming to the pressure switch from the A/C controls. I assumed you had already done that by reading one of your previous posts.

[Guest Durahansolo]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Ronnie</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> The only thing that confused me about it was the very next step which talked about connecting a test light from the jumper to battery ground</div></div>

That test is to see if there is power coming to the pressure switch from the A/C controls. I assumed you had already done that by reading one of your previous posts.

</div></div>

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Durahansolo</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Before I messed around with jumpering the two, I pulled out my handy continuity tester and hooked one side to the battery and touched the switch harness, one terminal was a ground and the other did nothing on either side (Assumed it should've been Positive lol). Is the other terminal only on when AUTO is engaged to turn on the A/C? If the other wire is supposed to be positive then jumpering the positive and negative would cause a short and then on step #3 the testlight shouldn't light and would probably blow a fuse if it wasn't already blown.

</div></div>

I was saying I tested to see what polarity the terminals were before I jumpered them, one was negative and the other did nothing so I assumed it was only supposed to have power current flow when the A/C AUTO was engaged. Since the compressor disengaged before I got to jump out and check it when I got around to it, it still wouldnt read as positive or negative.

[Ronnie]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I was saying I tested to see what polarity the terminals were before I jumpered them, one was negative and the other did nothing so I assumed it was only supposed to have power current flow when the A/C AUTO was engaged. Since the compressor disengaged before I got to jump out and check it when I got around to it, it still wouldnt read as positive or negative. </div></div>

I don't mean to sound negative but I'm not sure I understand what you are trying to tell me. I hope you have a positive outcome with your A/C problem.

[Guest Durahansolo]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Ronnie</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I was saying I tested to see what polarity the terminals were before I jumpered them, one was negative and the other did nothing so I assumed it was only supposed to have power current flow when the A/C AUTO was engaged. Since the compressor disengaged before I got to jump out and check it when I got around to it, it still wouldnt read as positive or negative. </div></div>

I don't mean to sound negative but I'm not sure I understand what you are trying to tell me. I hope you have a positive outcome with your A/C problem. </div></div>

No Problem Ronnie,

I'll figure it out when I get home from work.

Also, If anybody wanted to know where they sell the HI Side/LO Side A/C Check Gauges I noticed that they sell them at Harbor Freight for 62.99.

[Guest Durahansolo]

Mechanic looked over the A/C system today and did some work on it and it blows ice cold at the moment. My dad drove it for a good 35 minutes and its worked so far. Hopefully when I go to start it tomorrow it'll still be cold, otherwise we'll know there is probably a leak somewhere. He Evacuated the system and used the gauges to fill it. There was a price drop on the a/c gauges at harbor freight A/C Manifold Gauge Set 42.99 online and my dad said they are 39.99 in the store, I might buy a set just in case.