With it being summer and all, everyone seems to be having problems with their A/C so i thought id make a how to. Its pretty basic but hopefully anyone experiencing a/c problems might have a read throught his thread.

An A/C recharge kit might be the solution for you:
If your a/c is not blowing any cold air
If your a/c is blowing cool but not cold air
If your a/c is clicking on and off every 15 seconds

Before we start, let's take a moment to talk about shop safety. Be sure to read, understand, and follow all the safety rules that come with your A/C recharge kit. Knowing how to use your recharge kit properly will greatly reduce the risk of personal injury. And remember this: there is no more important safety rule than to wear these — safety glasses


Lets Proceed

Purchase your recharge kit.
There are many different brands/styles and pricepoints. For the best accuracy purchase one with a gauge attached. When choosing, something to keep in mind is future purchases of replacement cans. Not all replacement cans are interchangeable because of the design of the charging hose. Some use threaded plastic connections on aerosol type nozzles while others use a sealed threaded designwith a piercing tip inside of the trigger. Another thing to keep in mind is if you want to purchase a can with additives like stopleak. Theyre only designed to stop minute leaks in rubber hoses, gaskets and O-rings.



Step 1:Turn on the engine and set A/C+Fan to Max Cool and highest speed


Step 2: Check to see if the clutch on your compressor is engaging. If it is not we will try and resolve the issue in the issue in step 5C


Step 3: Find the low pressure port and remove the service cap


Step 4:Attach the charging hose onto the port. Ensure that it has a secure connection by hearing and audible click when its fully seated.


Step 5: Read the pressure
Step 5A:If your clutch is always engaged then take note of the reading as is.
Step 5B:If your clutch is cycling on and off then it will have two readings. For our purpose we will only take note of the readings when the clutch engages.
Step 5C:If your clutch is not engaging at all then proceed to add half a can of refrigerant until the clutch starts engaging on its own. If it still doesnt attempt to engage then there might be a problem elsewhere.

NOTE:If your gauge does not come with an adjustable ambient temperature lens then take note of what ambient temperature the manufacturer specifies to use the gauge. My kits gauge is designed to be used between 75F-85F. If yours is adjustable then adjust the lens to the appropriate temperature.


In my case my clutch was cycling on and off so i had two readings. We will only take note of the reading on the left (clutch engaged), disregard the reading on the right (clutch disengaged)


Step 6:Charge your A/C sytem. Shake the can before use and proceed to shake the can every 10 seconds while periodically stopping to read the pressure. Different manufacturers have different colored charts on the gauge face. In my case, Green was low, Blue was the target zone, Yellow was overcharged, and Red was the danger zone. Charge it until you reach the target zone.




Note: If you are overcharged you will need to remove refrigerant.
It has been ruled that r134a does not deplete the ozone layer hence why it is available for purchase without a license. With that being said, heres two things to know if you plan on "removing it" at home.
1.It is generally not a good idea to vent the refrigerant without vacuum evacuation because you can introduce non condensables such as air/moisture into the system thereby contaminating it.
2.It is illegal under Section 608 of the Clean Air Act to knowingly vent substitute refrigerants during any service, maintenance, repair or disposal of an appliance. It is illegal to intentionally vent all CFC, HCFC, and HFC refrigerants including, but not limited to, R-12, R-22, R-134a, R-404A, and R-410A.

Will that stop you? problably not...

Step 7: Remove the charging hose, replace the service cap and enjoy your Cold A/C. Try to store the charging hose in a bag in a cool dry place to avoid the o-rings from drying out if you plan on reusing it in the future.

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'00 Ranger, supercab, flareside, 2wd, 3.0, auto, 3.73 open, Bilstein 4600s, 31x10.5x15 BFGs, 15x8 procomp 152s