Is your AC not working?
Many times, when your AC stops working, all it takes is recharging your AC by adding freon to your car. Although there are times when more serious issues are occurring that will require a deeper look into the cause and problem with your car’s AC unit, more times than not your problem can be solved with the simple addition of freon.
To get you and your car cool again, here’s how to check the freon level in your car and steps to recharging your AC by adding more freon.
Signs Of Low Freon
There are multiple signs that can tell you if your car needs more freon. It should be easy to tell when your AC stops working, especially in hotter climates, but here’s some simple ways to start your diagnosis.
#1 – The AC is not as cold as it used to be. You might still feel cold air coming from your vents, but you can tell the air isn’t as cold as when you first turned on your AC. Some or most of the freon may have leaked out of your unit.
#2 – The AC isn’t cold at all and is just air. This can be a sign that all of your freon has leaked from your car. Whether this happened suddenly or over a period of time, it still could mean all you need is an addition of freon to your AC.
#3 – You can’t hear the AC clutch when you turn on the AC. You know the clicking noise that occurs when you turn on your AC? If you can’t hear that sound anymore, it could be a sign that there is no freon in your unit. The clutch won’t engage when there isn’t enough freon in your unit, so adding freon to your car can make your AC clutch start engaging again.
#4 – You can see visible leakage in one or more areas. Whether you see a greasy leak around the compressor, the AC lines or even in the interior of your car, this could be a freon leak.
#5 – There is visible ice on the AC compressor. When there is no freon left in your AC lines, all that will be left is water. Without freon the water will freeze, and the first place you’ll find water freezing is on or around the compressor.
Why Does Freon Need To Be Added?
It is a completely normal occurrence to have your AC leak freon, and over time your car will leak enough to cause your AC to not work as well, and in most cases will stop working entirely. In order to get your AC working again, many times all that is needed is the addition of more freon. Before taking your car to the mechanic, it could be wise to find out if your freon level is the only thing affecting your AC, and you can do all of this yourself.
How Much Does Freon Cost?
Freon doesn’t cost a lot, and you’ll be surprised at how low the cost will be to purchase freon/refrigerant and do it all yourself. There are just a couple more tools you will need to get the job done, but take a look at the list of tools below and check out the combo refrigerant and recharger hose & gauge kit as it makes this process simple for anyone.
What Tools Are Needed?
– Protective mechanic gloves – Make sure you wear protective gloves while you work with any chemicals such as freon like R-134A refrigerant.
– Protective safety glasses – Protective eyewear is a must have, and these safety glasses are a prime pick because of the foam gasket that gives extra protection to your eyes.
– Best Combo R-134A Refrigerant + Recharger Hose & Gauge Kit – This complete combo kit will allow you to recharge your AC with ease, and the recharger hose and gauge can be reused on any can of R-134A refrigerant for many future uses.
– For future use, additional R-134A refrigerant – The combo kit above includes a 6 ounce cans of R-134A refrigerant, but if you want to be able to recharge your car’s AC in the future (or help out a friend), you can hook up these 6oz cans of R-134A to the same hose & gauge combo from the kit above.
All the links above will take you to Amazon where you can check out these products for yourself!
How To Check The Freon Yourself And Recharge Your AC
An important note to consider is if your car takes R-134A refrigerant. The easiest way to tell is by the year your car was manufactured. Before 1994, cars used R12 refrigerant which you currently need a special license to purchase and use. If your car was manufactured in 1994 until the current day, it will use R-134A freon which can be purchased and used by anyone.
Another thing to note is that there are many other reasons for your AC not working. Little or no freon present happens to be the most common issue, so in this guide we will be covering the most common fix for recharging your AC. If you follow these steps and your AC still isn’t working, more than likely there is another problem that needs to be fixed, and the issue goes further than simply needing more freon.
With that said, here is your step-by-step guide to checking your freon level and recharging your AC by adding more freon.
Step 1 – Open the hood of your car and locate the low-pressure service port.
The AC compressor can only compress gas and cannot compress liquids, so it is critical that only freon gas enters the AC compressor. Some liquid freon may flow out of the accumulator through the evaporator coil into the accumulator where liquid refrigerant and oil is stored.
The low-pressure service port is located between the compressor and the evaporator. An easy way to find it is to locate the larger of the two AC lines. The low-pressure service port on the larger line also has a smaller valve than the high-pressure port which is found on the smaller of the two lines. Many times, the cap on the valve of the low-pressure service port will have an “L” on it.
If you’re using the combo R-134A with recharger hose and gauge kit from the list of tools provided above, the quick-connect coupler will only attach to the low-pressure service port. This makes it easy to avoid making mistakes when recharging your AC.
Step 2 – Turn on your car and the AC.
Turn the key and start the engine. Turn your fans to the maximum air setting. Turn on your AC. If you have a “Max AC” feature, turn this on as well. If you have a “recirculation” feature, turn this on as well.
Step 3 – Run a low-pressure service port AC diagnostic.
With the car still running, attach the coupler from your recharge kit to the low-pressure service port. Simply remove the cap from the port and push the coupler onto the port. Make sure the can of freon is disconnected when testing your freon level.
While pressure is engaged, at this point you will take your reading. Use the gauge that is attached to the hose to find out how much freon is in your AC unit.
If the gauge shows refrigerant levels in the red zone, it means you have too much freon in your system, and this requires an entirely different service that may require a licensed technician. If your pre-diagnosis was correct, you should expect the gauge to show your system having low or no freon.
Step 4 – Set up for the addition of freon.
Disconnect the coupler from the low-pressure service port. Shake the can of R-134A freon for a few seconds and connect it to the gauge. Then reattach the coupler to the port the same way you did before.
Step 5 – Add the freon to your system to recharge your AC.
Start by holding the can upright. NEVER point the can upside down as this could cause liquid freon to enter your system. You want to add freon in a gas state.
While holding the can upright, squeeze and hold the trigger to release freon and begin shaking the can up and down while upright. You want to give it a few shakes up and down, then rotate your wrist 90 degrees shaking the can from an upright position to a sideways position a few times. Alternate between an upright up and down shake and a wrist rotation shake, never pointing the can downwards.
Step 6 – Check the freon level on the gauge.
After about 10 seconds, release the trigger and hold the can in an upright position to check the gauge. The needle should be moving from the LOW zone into the green zone. If the needle still isn’t quite in the green, squeeze the trigger again and repeat the shaking process from step 5. Don’t repeat the process for so long that the freon level gets into the red zone. Too much freon is just as bad as too little freon, and it can be a more difficult process for removing freon from the system. Too much freon can also damage your AC compressor.
*Important Advice* – Sometimes it will take a few minutes for freon to get through your entire system to provide an accurate gauge reading. It is recommended that if the needle has moved closer to the green zone to drive your car for a few minutes and then take another reading, as this will be more accurate.
Step 7 – Enjoy your recharged AC system.
As soon as you’ve added enough freon into your AC system, it should make your car AC colder immediately. As stated above, it could take a couple minutes of driving to get the freon all the way through your system. Take a short drive and note the difference in temperature of your AC. If your AC clutch wasn’t triggering before, you should have definitely heard it click on during your recharge process, and your AC will now be recharged.
Enjoy Your Recharged AC And Keep Cool
As you can see, with a few easy to purchase tools and a little bit of time, you can solve the common issue of not having enough freon in the AC system of your car all by yourself. Although there can be a variety of issues going on with your AC system, this is by far the most common issue and easiest fix. Keep cool and enjoy your recharged AC.