- posted
18 years ago
1997 Chevy S-10: My A/C unit has had a slow leak for several years. I needed to add a can of R134 every couple of months, not I'm adding 1 each month. Today it was low so I took the 1/4 full can of R134 and left it connected to the system. I went back out and the can was empty. The connector popped off with some force so I looked at the gauge. it was in the red! I immediatly let some gas out of the system. Now, as the compressor runs, the pressure dips to it's lowest point and the compressor turns off. Pressure builds back up and it kicks on again. It cycles, I've seen this before when it's low. The difference this time is that when the compressor is off the pressure builds up into the red on the guage. The compressor kicks on and the pressure goes back down. No cold air is felt at the vents. As I said, I've seen this cycling before but never with the pressure building so high. I don't want to add gas as I'm afraid the pressure will cause damage. Any ideas why this happen? Any ideas on how I might be able to repair it? I would have taken it into a shop but the 1st time I did, they told me it would be $700 to replace the whole thing (I think they were jerking me around as they could not tell me where it was leaking, that is, I think its possible only one componet might have needed replacing).