My a/c kicks on, does one rotation, then back off immediately. It's got the right amount of r134a.

I read about the shim gapping issue and upon checking it out it appears the gap is actually too small, which seems to be the opposit of what is common.

What comin things should I look for beside this if anything? It kicks on pretty frequently but definitely does not stay on. Maybe the 14mm bolt it too tight?

Thanks for any input

I have attached a kinda crappy pic. But you can see the gap.

https://i.imgur.com/Ymqz3m9.png

 

If your AC is cycling on and off rapidly, then it's probably more a pressure issue.

The magnetic clutch works on a pressure switch. It's more difficult to get the AC charged without the right equipment, but can be done if you use the appropriate process... to an extent.

When you say it has the "right amount of R134a" what do you mean exactly? How did you check this?

 

When it kicks on, the pressure gauge reads the correct pressure.

 

What are your pressure readings? What is the humidity/temp? Definitely sounds like you may not have the correct amount of freon in it if its cycling rapidly.

 

About 45psi with the car off. 35psi when the compressor is on for about 1 second

 

Interesting, with the car off, I let out freon until it was down around 35 psi with the car off. Started it up, clutch stayed engaged, and then I recharged it to the proper level. Seems to be working well now.

 

Sounds like just an incorrect amount of freon. I work at a dealership so having a ac machine that tells me how much freon is being sucked out and how much is being put back in is kind of nice.

 

Then maybe you can answer this;

When I was recharging, all was normal and the air was cold. For some reason, it would not charge over 25psi with the clutch engaged and engine idling at ~1000rpm. will it hang there for a while if I am recharging? Should I keep charging it? Or is there some specific reason it would stop there and not continue to charge?

 

Were you charging through high or low side? Even with our machines, I get that problem from time to time. I can't say I honestly know why though. Every car has a min/max spec for freon. As long as you can get it between those two points your good. Anything slighty under the min shouldnt affect performance too much.

 

low side, and ok ill just leave it and see what happens over the next few days.

 

Did you recharge your system?
How do you know it has the correct pressure? (are you using a gauge that comes with a recharge kit?)

$20 bux is if you said yes to the two above questions, you over charged your system. My advice is, turn on your AC, then purge the system little by little until the compressor kicks back on.

 

I purged it for a bit. Here it is with the compressor on:

https://i.imgur.com/C2AS6ej.jpg

It still cycles every 10-15 seconds. Normal?

 

aw, yea. It's really hard to put in the correct amount using those things.

 

Ok, one last question (BTW I speak from personal experience).
Was your A/C compressor working perfectly fine before you recharged your system?

If the answer is Yes, keep purging

Basically your compressor is kicking on, the system sees a "too high pressure" signal and kicks it back off. I'm betting everything on black!... you over charged the system.

 

It must have been overcharged before I got it. It hasn't worked since I got it. I purged it and it seems to be getting better. But I still don't understand why the gauge that came with the recharge kit reads so low. In my experience those gauges have always worked fine.