Quote:
Originally Posted by Manual Life
84 300D
After a year and a half I finally got around to charging my A/C. It's so nice to have it and enjoy the quiet of windows up.
And, I assume if I doubled up on the fans for the condenser I would have cool air full time. As it is it warms up a little at idle and I am thinking this is the result of switching from R-12 to 134.
If that's not the problem let me know and what I can do. If it is the problem has anyone doubled up on fans? If so which fans?
Otherwise it works very well. I am happy to see how cold it is. I heard rumors that even a good a/c system didn't get very cold on these old cars.
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I'm assuming this is still the original question.
It sounds like your system is operating normally with/without R-12 and you're considering options to make it better.
Yes, going back to R-12 would help. But as you've possibly already experienced it's not straightforward to source R-12. You can buy it on e-bay, craigslist, etc, but caveat emptor. If may say R-12 but be some variation with 12 in its name. You may be able to buy real authentic R-12 in some autoparts stores locally but you're supposed to have the EPA certificate. Purportedly easy to get online for minimum cost. You'd need to flush the system to get incompatible oils out, then re-charge after proper leak testing (vacuum as a rough test, then pressure as a final check - my system held vacuum, but leaked under pressure so I'll vote for a pressure test prior to installing hard-to-source R-12). I tried 3 shops in San Antonio (including Carlisle) and none of them wanted to put R-12 into my car.
Adding smaller diameter fans to a 134 conversion might help if it increased the volume of air across the condensor. This is probably a last ditch band-aid attempt.
Cleaning the existing evaporator of dust/crud might help since you'll get better airflow across the cool surface. There are posts on how to do this.
Modifying the vent flaps to do "re-circ only" might help since you're cooling previously cooled air.
Making sure the radiator and condensor fins are clean/clear might help (a swarm of monarchs or snouts in Texas will clog that pretty quick).
Since A/C feel is sort of subjective, I'd recommend putting a thermometer in your driver's side vent and finding out what the output temps are (low cost, no-tech meat-thermometer style available at Autozone or elsewhere is fine). Nothing appeases the opinionated A/C crowd like numbers and data. That way you'll have a reference of how good your current cooling is and what temps you might expect.