2005 Lincoln Town Car AC recharge problem

I recharged my AC myself with one of those cans of EZ Chill R134a. Here's what happened: after about 5 minutes of releasing the refrigerant into the low side fill input, I got it to the roughly

50-55 psi pressure recommended for this, a 2005 Lincoln Town Car.

Now I have a new problem: the clutch clicks every 5 seconds or so, and, with the gauge attached, I see the pressure go up to 55 then down to about 15 with each click, then back up again and so on over and over again. And sure enough, the AC does not blow cold inside. I did everything "the can told me" and I know I released the refrigerant into the right place. Why is the pressure varying so much with the clicks and how come no col air? The can still has refrigerant in it. Upon initial measurement with the gauge, the pressure was barely 10-15 psi. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

Reply to
The Derfer
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The Derfer wrote in news:0cb9954d-71e0-4103-91b0- snipped-for-privacy@q40g2000prh.googlegroups.com:

You don`t have enough refrig in yet, that is why the cycling. you need to find some one that knows what he is doing if this confuses you. it is too complicated for your knowlage. KB

Reply to
Kevin Bottorff

When the pressure goes down to 15, what is the high side pressure? You may not yet have enough gas in the system, or a plugged expansion orifice. I'm betting on the former. And do you have any idea what happened to the gas you're having to replace? If you have a leak, adding more 134a is just being wasteful. I suspect you have a slow leak somewhere.

Reply to
Tim J.

What's happening is that the compressor clutch is engaging, and then it's being disengaged when the system pressures don't come up properly.

This could be because there is a clog in the system, it could be because there is too little freon in the system, or it could because there is too much. Or maybe a pressure switch is bad.

You need to be able to measure both the high and low side pressures in order to make a real diagnosis.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

It sounds like you don't have enough freon in the system yet, but I've also seen where too much freon causes this problem too.

Did that can of EZ chill have a stop leak built in?? It's possible your orifice tube might be clogged.

Reply to
m6onz5a

The can does feature stop-leak, for whatever that's worth.

Now I've emptied the rest of the can in there. The pressure goes up to 55 psi, clicks, goes down to ~15, then goes steadily back up, repeats this over and over. I don't have anything that will fit the high side to measure that.

Reply to
The Derfer

Or killing yourself. Messing with A/C systems can be dangerous if you don't have the right tools and know what you're doing. And it appears you don't...

Reply to
MM

I never knew that. Lucky I'm alive. Here's decent cheap gage set.

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My kid used it for years until he got a better one. Plastic knobs, one broke off. No big deal. In my experience you don't need gauges. As long as pay attention to freon capacity. But gauges work best for 2 reasons. They make you feel like a pro. And they provide a manifold for your cans and easier connectors than come with cans. If you start with an empty system and the system capacity is 30 ounces, put in 30 ounces. If that doesn't make it blow cold, there's other work to do. Most likely putting in a new compressor. I didn't see how much the OP put in from his can, or whether the system was empty, so tI can't say. But it sure sounds like he didn't put enough freon in.

--Vic

Reply to
Vic Smith

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