So my a/c in the Womble is cooling well when the car is in motion, but warms when the car is at standstill. Sign of low refrigerant? Sign of loose belt? Something else?

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Der Panzermann und Fraulein Fahrvergnuegen

1991 420SEL 201K "The Big Blue One"
1985 300DT 205K chassis/285K engine nee California emissions "Goldbug"
1983 300TDT 255K "The Womble"
1983 300 DT 214K "Sea Sprite"-Rear-ended a truck
1983 300SD 285K "The Donor" Gave his life so that others can live
1980 500SL Euro 105K "Der Panzer"

Sounds like it is slightly low.

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Jim

Does your aux fan come on? If not, that's another sign of a low refrigerant level.

i don't think refrigerant pressure has something to do with the aux. fan turning on and off. aux. fan is activated by a temp. switch that closes the negative ground circuit of the aux. fan when the a/c dryer gets hot which then turns it on.

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'85 300D Turbo - CA Version

If it's low on freon, the high-side temperature might not get high enough to activate the temperature switch when it should.

Yes, the aux fan does come on.

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Der Panzermann und Fraulein Fahrvergnuegen

1991 420SEL 201K "The Big Blue One"
1985 300DT 205K chassis/285K engine nee California emissions "Goldbug"
1983 300TDT 255K "The Womble"
1983 300 DT 214K "Sea Sprite"-Rear-ended a truck
1983 300SD 285K "The Donor" Gave his life so that others can live
1980 500SL Euro 105K "Der Panzer"

I believe you are suffering from the inadequate heat transfer capability of the W123 OEM condenser.
Do you have the original "tube and fin" or have you upgraded on the more efficient parallel flow
condenser?

In Arizona, like Texas, the PF is a must.

Ok, Techguy, It sounds like you have done this to yours... and since you are here close I would be interested in seeing it....and the parts numbers, and suggestions for ' easy ' conversion...... I have a 1980 240D manual trans.... Greg

Greg in reality it is not that hard a conversion. I converted a 300SD to the pf condenser and r134 and it blew cold. I installed the condenser and compressor then took it to a shop that builds hoses and they measured/fabricated what I needed. The easy part was mounting the condenser which I had purchased from Plantman. Unfortunately, I did not measure and record it but on the same hand I have seen alot of hot rods with the Vintage Air system and the condenser was not that big at all. I guess it has alot to do with the compressor that they put on that application. I have a 300D euro car in the yard and it does not have the r4 compressor and was running on 134. I don't know what kind of compressor it is but I imagine it is a better one than the good old r4 unit.

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Jim

That may be a reasonable upgrade to consider, but there must be something else going on to cause this problem. Is the car running with R-12 or R-134a? Have you checked the refrigerant pressure yet? I would identify the problem before considering changing the condenser.

low refrigerant will do it most every time.

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Jim

I was down to talk to Tray and the guys at CAA last week. They pulled a few
condensors (universal types) out of stock, we measured and I have the action
this weekend to pull my OEM and measure it. We will lenghten the condensor
to dryer hose, and we may need a short extension on the vapor hose as well.

I'm getting quite excited.

Is there perhaps a drop in replacement condensor? That would be ideal.

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'84 300CD Turbo 132k (Anthracite Grey) - WVO - My daily driver - Recently named coo-coo-coupe by my daughter.
'84 300D Turbo 240k (Anthracite Grey) - Garage Queen
'83 300D Turbo 220k (Orient Red) - WVO - Wifes daily driver

I'm not a certified mechanic, but I did stay at a HolidayInn Express last night.