Air Conditioning

[mallymoo]

Hi guys<br><br>turned my air conditioning on yesterday and although the engine revs went higher as it usually does, it was not turning the air cold.  The air con has been working fine up until now.  <br><br>Any ideas?????

[wayne]

maybe a gas leak ? usual problem here anywhere near you can get this topped up /checked?? I think you can normally see a fluid level at the window in the reciever/  drier

[Ashaman]

No, the sight window is only useful if the system is running (you will see bubbles on a low R-12 charge).<br><br>If you have developed a leak, the trinary switch will prevent the compressor from kicking in as running it without a charge would damage it.<br><br>You need to do a pressure test  at the schraeder valve, the system might be empty/very low.  After this many years, most A/C systems are due for some maintenance, unfortunately!

[nitroman]

Ashaman is right.  You can test your system with everything off (even the engine) and it should read anywhere from 110-130-psi regardless of whether you test on the high or low-pressure side.  With the AC on the high-pressure side (smaller diameter of the 2 metal AC pipes) should be over 200psi, up to maybe 230 once the system has stabilized.  The low-pressure side will read about 35psi.  If the 2 sides still read the same but there is pressure (like the AC off test) then you either have a blockage in the system (usually the expansion valve) or your AC compressor is not kicking-in, although if you can't tell that when you punch the knob on the dash you might want to go talk to a pile of rocks.<br><br>I bought up approx $500 of R12 on the last weekend private citizens could buy the stuff, in the early 90's; and have been charging and repairing AC systems all my life.<br><br>BTW, if you live in hot environs DO NOT let them convert your system to R143a as it is only 1/3 as effective at conducting heat, which is especially noticable when the car is not moving or creaping along.

[mallymoo]

Cheers guys,<br><br>Sounds like a job for the professionals!!!!!<br><br>Obviously expensive too

[quiksilva]

yep its a job for a fridge/ac engineer, you wont be able to use r12 gas anymore and given the age of these cars im guessing it has previously been converted over to r134a. see if anyone you know has a mate in the game to have a look - pressure test and recharge should be pretty cheap to do if you know the right person, however if its a compressor problem -seals etc it could be a few quid, a good trick is to have your car down the local pub when your friendly landlord is getting his cellar cooler serviced and ask the engineer to have a look

[M100 TWO]

94 S2's were charged with R-12 you will notice the difference if charged with 1 34 as it is just not as efficient, there is a classic car air conditioning company that was hinting in the write up they will charge the correct gas for year of car, MAC Ltd uses R12 in older cars which is permissible if thats what they were filled with. They are at: Unit 8 Old Ends Lane Industrial Estate, Old Ends Lane, Stonehouse, Glos, GL10 3RQ.<br>Telephone 01453 828781 - email: sales@macairconditioningltd.co.uk [smiley=goodluck.gif]

[quiksilva]

got to disagree.... i work on chillers and close control a/c and if the above firm is doing what your hinting at then they would get in to a lot of sh*te with the authorities, they CAN recover the refrigerent but would not be able to top up/recharge.  in this country you will find that as long as the right components are changed (driers/hoses) the difference in a car between r12 and r134a is marginal

[Matthew Welsh]

Man, how draconian!  You can't refill a system with R-12 at all in the UK?  R-12 is no longer being manufactured in the industrial world as part of an international agreement.  However, R12 is still recoverable and as such, although supplies are dwindling, you can still legally refill your car with the "good stuff" here in the USA.  Also, what one does in the privacy of one's own garage is between you and your AC!  It should be noted that homes which use freon use R-22, which is not designed to work in the hot confines of an engine bay.  I do know a few people who have converted to R134a, and their AC never worked as well.  One guy even sold his van.  As he said to me, "I used to be able to hang meat in here."  Another lady converted her Honda Civic and her AC is pitiful now.  It takes a long tme to get cold and never does chill-down to the point it once did.  Perhaps you notice these things more in Florida were you REALLY need it.  BTW, it may interest you to know that the #2 illegal import into the USA after drugs is R-12, with over 900 million dollars (estimated) illegally imported last year.  It is still manufactured and used in many 3rd world countries.

[Ashaman]

I'll throw my comments in as well, R-134 just doesn't cool as well (particularly in a system that wasn't designed for it!).  <br><br>Having said that, given that the Elan is a long-term keeper for me, I gave into the inevitable and converted it to R-134a last Spring.  I was actually pleasantly suprised, as it cooled very well!<br><br>Unfortunately, kicking it on this year produced air barely cooler than ambient, so it appears I must have a leak....ugh...time to break out the UV dye!<br><br>FWIW, I am considering trying Autofrost this time around also.  I have always wanted to try it....<br><br>Joshua Lawrence

[Doug]

[quote author=Ashaman link=board=help;num=1084917684;start=0#9 date=05/20/04 at 14:55:22]Unfortunately, kicking it on this year produced air barely cooler than ambient, so it appears I must have a leak....ugh...time to break out the UV dye![/quote]<br><br>or you could just get a DIY from the auto store and recharge it.  My old/sold Subaru used to leak a bit, but I think it was just from the hot weather and the high pressures it develops in the system under freeway driving. The A/C was cold as ice, and a top-up with the 134 bottle was all it ever needed.  The stuff is cheap enough that I never though of doing anything else.<br>

[Rudz]

hey guys,<br><br>i need some help & advice on the a/c compressor. my compressor is producing a ringing sound like a pinking engine sound. i think it may just be the clutch tho cos it seems to be causing this noise whenever i rev it up a little. i can actually see something vibrating loose on the inside of the compressor pulley. would it come as a seperate replacable part or would i need to replace the entire a/c compressor (ouch!) ? the compressor seems to be cooling still but it keeps blowing the fuse. any part no and/or model of compressor would be useful.<br><br>thanks, in advance .... Rudz

[quiksilva]

rudz<br>my motor isnt fitted with a/c so it would be hard to tell what make etc is in there, possible GM (maybe a V5) but try these guys http://www.ackits.com/forum/ as a few of them are dedicated automotive a/c engineers and seem to be based on your side of the pond<br>qs

[M100 TWO]

Rudz, in the worst possible case Lotus Factory are selling compressors at £273.63 part number is A100E6113F list price is over £1000.00 hope this is of some help<br><br>John

[elantriumph]

Hi there,<br><br>about the AC case; I am planning to remove my system completely-(as I don´t want to have it on my car/engine bay as part of it it always where I really don´t like them to be... don´t like AC anyway like the car for being ähhrr quick....; anyone good ideas about removing it properly with regard to the interesting chemicals contained...<br>also a complete AC system is for sale within next few weeks (I hope..)<br><br>Really great website by the way. <br><br>Regards<br><br>Axel<br>

[LXADO63]

Can anyone please tell me whether the AC system is Lotus, GM, or Isuzu?  My AC stopped blowing cold last month so I took it to a Lotus specialist in Ft Lauderdale FL and was charged a little over $800  for the AC service- I would not recommend this place to anyone as they padded the bill significantly and the AC stopped blowing cold again 2 weeks later.  I took the car to a generic local shop that does AC service and was told they couldn't work on it- Can I take the elan to an Isuzu or GM dealer for AC service- or am I stuck with the south Florida Lotus specialists?  Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated.

[Ashaman]

I had the compressor off before to drain/change the oil, I seem to remember it was a fairly common model used by GM.  Although I cannot now remember WHY I am remembering that...  The receiver/drier was a GM part, never checked the expansion valve...<br><br>At any rate, the major components are used by GM in some models.  But either way, the parts from Lotus aren't that bad.  I think I paid ~$80 for a new receiver drier with a R-134a calibrated trinary switch.<br><br>$800 sounds absurd, IMO.  Even if that included a NEW compressor, complete flush, and a thorough retrofit to R-134a.<br><br>What is the problem with it, is it just leaking?<br><br>I am now running Envirosafe.  Very cheap, excellent performance...~$40 & 3 hours.

[LXADO63]

The $800 was for just a AC recharge and a new condensor fan (charged $300 for that part alone).  FYI, if anyone is considering taking their elan to E*ro Toys in Ft Lauderdale FL, feel free to contact me and I'll tell you abour my 'service' experience with them.  I will never go there again, lets just leave it at that.   I am not sure what the problem is with the AC, I am guessing it may have a leak somewhere.  I am glad to hear that it could be looked at by a GM/Isuzu service shop rather than the Lotus shop around here.  Thanks for the help.

[LXADO63]

Help- more trouble with the ac system. The ac had a leak around the receiver/dryer so I ordered a new receiver/dryer and switch (Lotus part- from Dave Bean Engineering in CA). However, once the parts arrived, my mechanic (lotus authorized) informed me that the parts are not compatible with the elan. Apparently the receiver/dryers from lotus made for the elan only have 2 ports on them instead of the 4 that were on the cars as they came out of the factory. Ashaman mentioned in a post above that the receiver/dryer had a GM part number- does anyone have that part number?