Wheelie King

iTrader: (19)

I have a '97 Maxima with 100K miles. My A/C is not blowing cold. Has anyone had luck with the recharge kits from the national chain autoparts stores? I used one once on a sentra and it was wasted money. I'll give it a shot on my max but if people have had better experience with one over the others then I'd like to know.

Any info will be appreciated.

killcrap

iTrader: (3)

i need vent temp and ambient and also high and low side psi's to determine the problem.

turn on car and turn on ac. put it to max and recirculate.. go outside and see if your compressor clutch is engauging.

feel the suction line. it is the line that has the low side port on it. rev the engine up to 2K and tell us how it feels. it should be damp/cool. almost cold, but not cold.

davey6693

Read the FAQ - there's a section on recharging the a/c there.

rlin78

My car was not blowing cold air, it was barely cool. I took a chance and went to walmart to get a can of freon, it worked awesome and now my wife is saying how cold my AC is. I never knew the AC was that cold because I got the car used. One thing to note is never try more than 14 OZ at a time even with the gauge, mine took the whole 14 OZ but later I read the whole system capacity was like 28 OZ, I wouldn't want to put that much in my AC system because I still had some pressure. The best way is to test the vent, if it is blowing cold air, you probably have enough freon, don't overload the system.

Chickan

iTrader: (12)

search for leaks.....

PoKKi

The AC on Maxima is also quite weak. The only thing I could think of is taking it to a shop and recharge the refridgerant. Like the air would be cool if i was driving at like 100km/h and higher but anything lower than that all I get is a bit of wind. I know my AC compressor is on because I can hear it and when I turn it on, more air does come through as oppose to using ECON mode. I think it's best to just take it to a shop and have them recharge it and do some inspection. Because I can get mine recharged for about $60 - 80 CDN which isn't bad at all.

CreativeDesignz

iTrader: (3)

freon does not loose cooling properties over time. if your a/c is starting to blow warmer you have a leak somewhere

CleanMAX98

iTrader: (5)

when i am driving my a/c whines if it is on but if i turn the a/c button off it stops a little and if i turn the fans off it stops completely, and no cold air comes out, what would this problem be?

ejj

iTrader: (5)

If the clutch wasn't engaging what would you suggest? Replace the compressor?

rlin78

I know where the leak is, it is the low pressure side seal because I can hear it leaking, but I don't want to spend the money to get it vacuumed. I will wait till most of the freon leaks out, then I will loosen the seal and put a new one in there. The freon I used also has sealant in it, maybe it will seal it too.

sterlingmaxima

iTrader: (16)

my ac is cold as hell you will freeze your *** off

killcrap

iTrader: (3)

go under your car, and spin by hand with the car off. if its locked up, get a new compressor. or there maybe a wiring problem.

Bobo

4th Gen Maximas do not use freon. That was outlawed years ago for environmental reasons. The refrigerant is R134a and that's what you should be using in your a/c system.

rlin78

You know I meant R134a, you can't get R12 in the stores anymore.

pakmax

I looked at the "how to" sticky for instructions to topping off R134a, but it doesn't have any pictures that show where the hookup points are. Can someone post picture of where I need to hookup the hose in the engine? It would be very helpful.

Thanks.

Chickan

iTrader: (12)

just find the port on the passenger side of the engine, right next to the power steering resevoir that has a big L on it.

Also: Haynes manual says to NOT use r134 that has an oil/stop leak/conditioner additive to it, as it will make future repairs more expensive as shops will not want to hook up their expensive machines to your car. They will either refuse to do it, make you buy all new components, or charge you a fee to drain your current charge.

Personally, I inspected my car and I couldn't find much of a leak, so I just used a can of Advance Auto r134 (only stuff they had that didn't have oil additive), and it took about 3/4 of the can to get it down to 45 degrees vent temperature while blowing full blast. On the way home, with it on a lower setting, my vent temperature hit about 40.2 degrees, which I'm more than happy with.

FishyMan

yes, pics would help. mines is cold, yet i just wanna add some into it, because over the years since having the maxima, i haven't charged it up.

im thinking bout just picking up r134 and just adding a bit in. SO NO ADDITIVES whatsoever?

that statement about how refrig, doesn't use up is interesting. does that mean it stays in system FOREVER and that it only escapes if it has a leak?

CleanMAX98

iTrader: (5)

can anybody help me on the problem i listed in the above thread??


o and i walked to my car this morning only to find that i have a blown tire!!! arghhhhh

bravehart

I use to be a HVAC technician, AC systems are closed systems meaning once it is operating properly you will never have to open it again. Unless you have some sort of leak you should never have to add refrigerent nor any type of additive.

FishyMan

ah cool, i dont have to worry.

FishyMan

wait... my 89 old civ needs a recharge as the spy glass shows it bubbling up and weak during hot days.
it runs r12 though, so does that mean something else?

thanks.

Bill73083

I brought my max to a local shop and got it recharged for about $80.00. It works better than it has in a long time, now.

CreativeDesignz

iTrader: (3)

yea it means its going to cost about 600 bux to convert it to R134a and get ur a/c back working the way it should

killcrap

iTrader: (3)

if you see bubbles, it could mean undercharged, over charged or air non condensibles. you really need a gauge set to find out the problems. but if its weak on hot days thats weird. since the ac works better when its hotter out. more heat transfer is going on. and to everyone out there, our cars are on freon. freon is DuPont R12. R12 in general is not freon. do not confuse the 2. our cars need r134a, at 24oz of r134a and about 6-7 oz of ISO 46 viscosity PAG oil.

FishyMan

i rather charge it w/ r12 on my civic.. im pretty sure its UNDER as its SUPER cold at night, but maybe during the day it was too hot.

sterlingmaxima

iTrader: (16)

they dont use freon any more it is 134a

BlackMazi

I supposedly got mine recharged at Jiffy lube for $149 but its still not cold on hot days. I'm never going back to that trash anymore.

FishyMan

so r134? if so? how?? just let r12 out? how bout the oils?

CreativeDesignz

iTrader: (3)

You need a conversion kit for the R134a. u cant just put it in an R12 system. its going to cost a rediculous amount of money. probably worth more than the car to convert it to R134a.

FishyMan

damn that sucks.. :P ill try find someone who can do the r12. if not oh well..

killcrap

iTrader: (3)

if you got a 30 lb keg of r12, your all set. here go to this

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...sPageName=WDVW

be pre prepared to spend about $500

KFL

iTrader: (3)

I did my friends 97 max 2weeks ago recharge. Autozone 2 bottles of polar something had a polar bear on it...His system was luke warm,Was simple, turn on car measure with gauge to see level at.Tip shake the bottle over and over.

FishyMan:Prices really depend on where you go, yes the system must be drained hmm Napa should be able get r12 if you want.
I did a conversion 2years ago on a 90 accord cost way less than 150, include new hose etc. I would suggest just having a shop drain the freon. And just pick up a conversion kit they are around 50bucks diy..

Geophrum

First like others have said check for leaks..

i did this a long time ago with my old 96 Max
hope it helps


http://www.cardomain.com/ride/328792/7

crux06

No cold air.Had to take my 99 Max to the shop today to have AC diagnosed.
Tech said compressor is shot leaking all over. Wants $800 to replace it. Is this a reasonable amount?

CleanMAX98

iTrader: (5)

no!!!!!!!!! ljckdfcvuefcjhefkcgyi

Max747

look for an air temp (air coming out of the supply vents) of about 60 degrees on a normal spring day.

CreativeDesignz

iTrader: (3)

DUDE u can get a whole entire new A/c system installed and still have 100 bux left over for that much. A/c Condensor, drier, and compressor will not even run that much. tell that tech to blow it out his azz

ti2tmax

iTrader: (18)

When I bought my Max from the dealership the AC didn't work on the test drive so I had them recharge it before I took it. It worked for two days, then blew hot air. tried a recharge kit and that worked for ten minutes or so. I assume I have a hefty leak in the system. Should I just go to a professional and get an estimate, and get it fixed? Or should I just take it out and get a different belt and enjoy a slight performance gain? The AC works like it should, it just doesn't blow cool or cold air.

CreativeDesignz

iTrader: (3)

if u want a/c get it fixed if not then take the whole thing out. but if u decide to sell ur car someone is gunna want to buy it with a/c

DAVE Sz

iTrader: (2)

We're not supposed to use any r134 with oils in them, just the r134 itself according to above posts.