Hi guys,

Looking to start a discussion about the length of time it takes the A/C to start blowing cold cold cold....blah.......

From an engineering standpoint, why does the wife's '02 Explorer start blowing cold almost immediately and both of my 123's have taken some street time to start blowing cold (cold like you know you're on the right track)? It can't be the 134 vs R12 debate. The Ford runs R134....so I'm throwing it out there. And just for the record, my 123 will blow 35F on Freeze 12, just takes awhile to get there. Yeah I know the system is 25yo and the evaporator is probably dirty. What else?

i think these car's A/C systems have not been their strong point. Flame on kids:

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84 300DT Puke Yellow. Totalled after 438,000
84 300DT Orient Red. 169,000 (actual mileage may vary)
2002 Explorer EB (wife's)

The AC system was not your car's strong point.

The W210 factory 134a system starts cooling nearly instantly.

It's not the refrigerant necessarily, but simply the systems themselves. The Ford system was designed to be large enough to do the job plus a little extra. It's simply a higher capacity cooling apparatus.

The apparatus they put on the Mercedes, for whatever reason, is simply trying to do a job bigger than it's capable of, due to being designed to a less stringent requirement than that which we'd prefer it to be fulfilling.

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~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

Ask any German driver if Frostbite type A/C is/was ever at the top of His/Her list
of most important attributes for an automobile.

Wasn't until somebody dragged somebody else (maybe Werner Von Braun was the dragee) out to Death valley at Summers height that word filtered back to
Deutschland that a refrigeration system would be appropriate in a luxury Auto.

RANT: You can,with a little effort,have your MB deliver Frosty Air Instantly...
1.Parallel Flow Condenser (As Large As YOU can STUFF in front of the Radiator).
2.NEW (NOT REMAN) High capacity Compressor.
3.Clean,Clean,Clean:Evaporator,Condenser ,RADIATOR,System Hoses,Etc.
4.Nylog for the New O-Rings.
5.NEW SEALED Receiver/Dryer.
6.Vacuum Overnight.'Holds vacuum? Then:
7.Pressure test with Nitrogen. O.K.? Then:
8.Re-Vacuum after Nitrogen is out.
9.Fill with the proper amount of R-12 and Lubricant.
10. Make sure you have "Long Johns (or Janes)" on.

__________________
'84 300SD sold
124.128

I've always found my AC to be adequate.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

I can start my F150 out in the driveway, leave it sitting there, come back in 5-10 minutes and the cab is freezing. {with temps in 90's or 100s}
Drive the Mercedes home, start with the interior cold, leave it sitting in the driveway and in 5 minutes it's up over 60 degrees. That is all of them with each type of refrigerant.
Condenser and evap are simply inadequate......

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Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

Hmmm. So then along the lines of Compressignite's post above it should be possible to retrofit almost any Mercedes from a Ponton on down with a custom A/C system that really will live up to the requirements of life in oh, say, Phoenix AZ for example.

- Peter.

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2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

Of course it is possible. That doesn't mean that it will be inexpensive.

Exactly. I have always found mine woefully inadequate but I have too many other places my money needs to stretch to.

__________________


~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

The window tint on the back half of the car helped. The dark Orient Red paint in the summer doesn't help.

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84 300DT Puke Yellow. Totalled after 438,000
84 300DT Orient Red. 169,000 (actual mileage may vary)
2002 Explorer EB (wife's)

The AC on mine is great when moving. When stopped the temp creeps up to 60*F on hot days. No, it's not the rad fan(s), both electric ones work and the belt fan is new.

The system in my 99.5 TDI (which got a new $900 compressor in 2005) blows only slightly colder. The big difference is at idle. When underway there is almost no difference. The Benz does seem to cool the interior quicker. Perhaps because the dash is 1/2 the size?

-Jason

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1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.

NEVER! I repeat NEVER test a system with vacuum... test with nitrogen FIRST!!!!!
if you test with vacuum, and it does not hold you have just ruined your drier!
look. think learn!
testing with vacuum is stupid stupid stupid.
it's only at most 14.7 psi differential from atmospheric pressure.
a HUGE leak will not show up with vacuum on a crappy charging manifold.
IF IF IF IF IF IF IF you have a DIGITAL micron gauge, AND AND AND you have experience with charging rates and vacuum rates of drop, you can get a feel for a tight system, BUT nitrogen is WAAAAAAAAAAY safer and easier to test for a leak.
PLEASE get it through your heads. DO NOT TEST FOR LEAKS WITH VACUUM!@!!!!!!

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Anyone want to develop a 2 to 3 minute timed electrical relay that would automatically turn the aux fan on when the A/C is turned on? Kinda of like jump starting the A/C cooling process.

Think this would help?

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84 300DT Puke Yellow. Totalled after 438,000
84 300DT Orient Red. 169,000 (actual mileage may vary)
2002 Explorer EB (wife's)

I don't think it would help. Instead, insure that your refrigerant pressure and temperature sensors are working, and start the fan when appropriate.

Huh? The electrical fan in front of the radiator starts on its own when the temperature switch is triggered by the heat sensor in the receiver/dryer. You can't turn it on manually. My idea would be to design a circuit that would starting the condensor fan cooling process immediately but temporarily to get the condensor cooling faster.

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84 300DT Puke Yellow. Totalled after 438,000
84 300DT Orient Red. 169,000 (actual mileage may vary)
2002 Explorer EB (wife's)