Air Con Pump..Time to talk seriously.

[frank rabbets]

So the oil coming in the compressor will be enough for my whole system therefore I don't need to add anything to my rebuilt dry system on the car ?

 

[StarCruiser]

The time on vacuum will be from experience looking at gauges, or at least should be. I would normally expect a minimum of 20-30 minutes on a dry system that is just being baselined and re-gased from a partly filled state. It all depends on how much moisture has been absorbed into the compressor components and oil. Most static fridge components come filled with a small charge of dry air or dry nitrogen to keep moisture out so you are probably not wrong with 30-40 minutes. It can take ages to boil off any moisture in the system.

 

[Dave2000]

So the oil coming in the compressor will be enough for my whole system therefore I don't need to add anything to my rebuilt dry system on the car ?

Correct....if the guy who packed it ready for shipping done is job, very rarely I get a compressor in a box that is perfectly dry, find it is a couple of ounces short, query with the supplier, 'must of leaked out mate'.

Check it Frank as per my last, spending good money only to see it go bang is going to hurt.

regards

Dave

 

[frank rabbets]

Dave here's the invoice of the work the air con people did after I had put the new condenser and drier on. I'm beginning to think they thought I had replaced the pump as well. The invoice says "Air Con Regas and Lube" . It shows on the machine read out that only 27gm of oil has been put into an empty system. I have a case against them don't I?.

 

[Dave2000]

Hmmm ,it would appear that way but, did they replace any parts at all? Sometimes AC guys might put a condenser on and pour oil into it although it would be rare, normally if the machine has problems with the oil transfer pump. There is a slight possibility that the 27g is a misprint, it could be 270g which would be nearer 9 ounces, it is little too much but would only affect the cooling capacity and I doubt it would be enough to lock or damage a compressor.

There is also the defence that when 'vacing' only the smallest amount of oil comes out, the rest stays in low lying areas and stuck to the system 'innards', and if your system simply lost gas due to a leak they were simply recharging and oil was not needed?

Also note the system was running on auto, so it will be geared towards system protection with the 'trade off' being cooling capacity, unsure if you read my LC 80 thread on mud but we were pushing the LC system right too the edge with coolant capacity but using a 'manual' machine, serious cooling to say the least. One of my 'O' rings has developed a leak so need to get it sorted when I get five, under these circumstances for my own vehicle I would not add oil.

regards

Dave

 

[frank rabbets]

No they did not touch it Dave. I told the man I had fitted a new condenser and drier due to a leak and stayed with him all the time. I only managed to get 35cc out of the whole system so they defo did not put enough oil in. There argument will be that I should have taken it back to them when I had a problem. They say they do not actually work on air con systems but just do regas.

Thanks for your time on this Dave I feel completely confident now.

 

[Dave2000]

They say they do not actually work on air con systems but just do regas.

I think you have answered your own question with that line Frank.

I work on them and sort probably 95% of problems, occasionally something will turn up that I simply cannot suss out, after getting a 'proper' AC guy in he will normally find it is something to do with the electronics and replace an expensive module, then it will work. I simply cannot keep throwing (customers) money at a car in the vain hope I have found the problem, to my credit I have only called the tech out once this year, BMW would not do as it was told...electronics!

regards

Dave