A while back, due to a stereo replacement and the Metra box not working, my AC was just blowing hot air. I figured out how to "rig" the AC amplifier to move the air mix setting to cold and leave it there, which since I live in South Florida, is just fine. However, at one point, I did something wrong and caused some refrigerant to be vented into the air. The AC works still, but its not always that cold. So, I bought one of those top-off containers at Pep Boys with the built-in gauge, and hooked it up to add back what I vented...only the gauge shows me already in the yellow area, i.e. borderline over-pressure. Is that thing bogus, or at least just not relevant to our cars? Because if I'm in the yellow now, I had to have been red before...yet I've never had AC work done on it since I've owned it, unless the dealer did some stuff, which I doubt, and it always worked OK.

 

Define "how to "rig" the AC amplifier".

There is a reset that you may not be aware of. It may not work for you as it implies it only sets to re-circulate when you turn it on, but I assure you.....it does more than that as I and others have found out.

If you hooked up the gauge/bottle correctly and read the directions.(I think you have to have the fan and a/c on full blast), and it's in the yellow, I'd start looking elsewhere for the issue.

I thought I read some threads awhile back where the rotating temp button would stop working.....search for that as well????

 

Make sure fans are on high when you try to add. Makes a huge difference. One way is to let car heat up, other is to jumper the relays. Gotta do both to get the fans on high. That, i believe, is the best way to duplicate running down the road.

Good luck.

 

You do know that there is a known problems with the controls, don't you? There are many that have found cold solder connections on the climate controls. The cold solder connections break over time and cause the controls to not work anymore. A new replacement board is expensive. Taking the dash apart again and re-soldering the connections (if you have the skill) is the best route.

 

^...........Al, stupid question.....but having never experienced the issue myself, is that what the issue turns out to be with people saying the temp **** isn't working any more?

 

Yes, it is sort of happening to me. I can jiggle the **** and make it work some more. I'm lazy. I will probably wait until it goes out totally before I fix it.

 

Honestly, take it to a shop to do a full evacuation and recharge of the system, incase it's contaminated.

 

Somewhere in the system, near the condenser, there is a glass that allows you to see the flow of the freon. Look in that glass and look for bubbles. If you see bubbles when the compressor is engaged, there is air in the lines due to a leak. If there is no bubbles, it is full of freon. Or, the freon has completely leaked out and in this case you wouldn't have any cooling at all.
By federal law, all a/c work is to be carried out by a licensed individual. This is because they don't want the cfc's to be released into the atmosphere.

 

I forgot to check back for answers, ha. I'm pretty sure that law doesn't apply to the R-134 freon in modern vehicles because they wouldn't be selling the DIY top-off kits in Pep Boys...but it doesn't matter, I'm licensed

Regarding the other replies...I guess I wasn't clear enough. Yes, I had the temp **** not working problem, I replaced that entire assembly with a brand new one, either the replacement box from Metra is also hosed (I'm actually skeptical that they sent me a good one) or the old fried one also fried something in my AC amplifier. I "rigged" it by forcing the air mix setting to cold by applying 12V to one pin and Grounding another. Voila, full AC but no heat. I can live with that.

While figuring out how to do that, I accidentally vented some freon. I bought the top-off kit to refill it but it said I was already in the yellow. That just seemed odd to me.

jds