Sorry I meant your second radiator fan that fan is supposed to turn on when the a/c is turned on.. If it doesn't turn on that could mean why it's not so cold sitting and once your moving the rushing air cools it down.. But that doesn't explain why it shuts off and on I know mine did that when the r134 was low and just about done I think when it's empty it does this.. When did you buy the car? We are all discussing leaks in our system somewhere so sounds like your in the same boat.. after putting leak detector in the system (run the system to allow it to circulate) get a black light and look for leaks in the valve bodies of the lines and the hoses for the a/c system

 

Yeah both radiator fans are turning.

Mechanic friend thinks (by my description without having looked at it) that it's low R134a. I'm skeptical but he's gonna check it out Thursday morning. I'll let you guys know what he finds.

Bought the car new in 2004.

 

Ok so in my case he just added some freon and it's back to blowing cold. Glad it was something cheap and easy.

 

don't be so sure it will leak out in a couple of weeks.. Your a/c is a sealed system that being said your mechanic didn't find the leak aka fixing the root cause he just filled the system back up put a band aid on it.. You have to wonder where the r134 went if its a sealed system.

 

It's never been refilled before, so either a leak just developed in the past few weeks, or it took 9 years to slowly leak to the point where it became ineffective. I'll be monitoring it of course as time goes on. Not like I have a choice when it's 100 degress lol.

 

hmm..quick question. i went to a bunch of mechs to look @ my a/c system and these are the solutions/issues that i've heard:

1) compressor will not run as it automatically turns off when freon is low. need to jump start compressor or else i won't be able to refill it as the compressor will not run and the freon from the can will not go in the system.

2) i need to put gas in the system to put some pressure to make the compressor run. we need to inject it through the HIGH and LOW pressure valves.

3) give me $120 and i'll fix it for you (eg. find leaks, refill system, make sure everything runs fine, etc)

please give me some insight on each scenario. who should i listen to?

should i just DIY this and refill the a/c system with freon myself?

thanks guys!

 

Sorry for the late reply

1) the compressor turns on for a while than shuts off when pressure builds so I don't see why it wouldn't take the r134 Freon is now illegal or at least in California..

2) what!?!?

3) sounds like he's trying to get a quick 100 bucks from you.. If your hose is leaking the hose alone is 150 although I've been told you can take the crimp off and use a high pressure hose clamp and just clamp the hose on the fitting.. The valve cores are cheap about 15 bucks if it's a shop make sure you get it in writing that he will fix the leak if it's not a shop I wouldn't trust it...