Hot day, open windows for a few minutes...C/C set to 65 and took alittle drive to see how it works...not to thrilled. its cool but not really cold...I beleive it needs a charge but before i get it looked at i wanted to get some feadback..the compressor is kicking on and is flowing through the system but i dont think its at peak performance ...how often does it have to get recharged ??

 

As I understand, the AC is a sealed system and should never have to be recharged. If you do need to add, you have a leak. Also, I was told to use the AC as much as possible, it lubercates the seals when it is on.

 

If you want you can visually check for leaks at areas visible by looking at the refrigerant line connections and look for a substance that appears to look like a cross between grease/oil/dirt/dust. If you find this, that is a leaking connection.

If not take it to a place that has a freon sniffer to find it. You will more than likely need to have the system evacuated and fixed then vaccumed/reserviced. I doubt you would be able to just tighten a connection and fix it.

Another, but far fetched fix, is check for a dirty condensor. One that has dirt, obstructions or any other type of filth will cause an improperly working unit.

 

Is it getting cold, but just not as cold as it used to be? I notice that my Maxima's AC was never that cold to begin with, compared with the old R12 type AC systems. And it's all but useless when the weather gets really hot (85+).

 

Although the ac system is a closed system, no seal can keep all of the freon inside and the moisture out. That is why shops do ac service. This is just a service to pull out the old freon, moisture, and oil. Then put in new freon and oil. I am guessing maybe this should be done about every 4 years.

 

I have a 97GLe and I have to say that compared to the old 93 camry I had the AC is definetely not as powerful. On any days reaching 80's here in NYC, I have to use the AC and sometimes the interior gets quite hot, but it takes a while for the interior to cool down some.

hmmm...maybe we are all having AC problems?
SO our AC system if I am getting this correct, does not need to be recharged at all?