It's been more than 100 degrees F in California for more than a weak.
My car, 2003 Maxima SE, has 85k miles on it and the AC already seems to be weak. It is not as cold as it should be. Even when the weather is not as hot, the AC only blows out "cool" air. It's not icy cold as it used to be.

I am thinking that it is time to be recharged. Could it be something else? I have a brand new AC belt and no problems with the car.
I searched the forum and i checked the sticky, but not much luck....

How hard is to charge the AC on my own?
1. What type of AC fluid/gas do i need to buy?
2. How much do i need? 1 can, 2 cans?
3. Can i buy it from autoparts store?
4. Has anyone already done it on their 2000+ Maxima?


Thank you!

 

My AC has been weak since day one. Good post.

 

re-charging is temporary solution.

 

Take a therometer and check it at the vent. It should read about 42 degrees. The fluid we have is not as cold as the freon that used to be used. Also do you have a UDP? As said if you have a leak in your system, it will leak again. Stores sell the can of recharge with a build in gauge, its relativly easy to ensure you have the proper pressure.

 

re-charge. Works for me.

 

What type of fluid do i need to buy?? I know there are a few different kinds, some used in older cars. (R12) What do i need to get for our cars?

Thanks!

 

Should be r134a but check the sticker under your hood.

 

maxima AC is only good till 100 degrees.

at least mine is so don't feel bad

 

my max ac is freakin cold when its like warm or cool outside but when its hot it freakin sucks -.-

 

Mine blows icy cold! I never turn it off.

 

lol.

if you can get yours to read 42ºF in 95 deg with 50-70% humidity under test and inspection conditions, ill give you $20

vent temp depends largely on ambient conditions. you need to run recirc, full fan speed, full cold and have engine speed at 2000 rpm.

if you do have a leak, itll only be a while before it leaks out again. you need to locate teh leak, and fix it... then add refrigerant.

 

Go buy yourself about 2-3 cans of R-134A refrigerant (The only stuff that is legal to use) and 1 big can of Ester Oil. You can't add the refrigerant without the oil. Some companies mix the refrigerant and oil together in one big can and give you a gauge to see what you're doing. Some companies put colored dye in the refrigerant to make it easier for you to locate leaks if any exist.

I think adding Ester oil to your system every few years is a good idea to keep the seals going for a long time.

 

A can of refrigerant is cheap like $18 at auto zone it's a quick fix takes about 15 min. I think my A/C is fine as long as a have the reticulate button pressed otherwise it doesn't seem to work at all which is normal for most cars.

 

and the only stuff that you should be mixing with the existing r134a anyway


lol


really? and why is that?

lol. i think youll lock up your compressor after about 3 years.

IF thats the problem with the system. and if the leak is big enough, refrigerant expenses will exceed his car payment after a while.


no... no it isnt.

 

Your A/C should still be cold without the recirculate button but yeah it's always helped blow more air and keep things colder in every car I've been in. The only time you can't use it is when it's raining and humid outside. Everything will start fogging up. In my experience.

I've been told that adding refrigerant without the Ester oil is not recommended.

Theirs different sized Ester Oil cans.

Why's this? As long as you have refrigerant in their or if you're adding some refrigerant.

If any of my info was wrong then please correct me. Don't want people getting the wrong facts.

 

Does anybody know what type of oil is used for the AC compressor? I went to Autozone and they have three different kinds of PAG oil with different viscosity. The car manual refers to Nissan Type-S or ND type S??? If the system has a slow leak, say a 12oz can every 5 years, does the oil leak, too? Or only the refrigenant is able to escape, but the oil stays in the system?

 

depends on what was leaking/how bad it was, etc. youll always add oil with a compressor or accumulator/reciever replacement. also if a leak was repaired and theres still an indercharge (but no longer a leak), you can add refrigerant without oil.


unless youre replacing the receiver or compressor, youll probably be only adding 2-3oz at most.



the reciever/accumulator acts as a resivior for excess oil. oil tends to stay in small amounts and float around the system with the refrigerant. when you exceed the oil capacity of the system, larger quantities float around the system. i watched someone add too much oil to a system and two days later his compressor started making noise. it was due to overoiling.

the system doesnt lose oil, and the oil keeps its properties for quite a long time, theres no need to add more.

 

this may be a dumb post, but you only need to add oil if you previously had a leak? I have seen it done, but no oil was used...

 

you need oil whenever you recharge the system with pure freon (without oil in it).

 

well i'll try to help you guys out i'm an HVAC TECH (aka heating and air conditioning) if its not cooling well the most likely cause is low on charge and recharging is only a temp fix but unless you have real guages reclaimers vacum pumps and other stuff like that just a quick boost from the cans you buy at checker or where ever are fine. Car acs have so much vibration on them they tend to leak on fittings and paying someone to find and fix the leak costs alot. and i have no idea what your talking about on adding oil unless you have opened up the whole system and done a tear down you shouldn't need to add any oil on minor repairs. just shoot in a can or two and call it good.
all cars now have R-134a i believe the last car to come with R-12 stopped in 1994

 

I highly recommend you take your car to a pro or get help from someone who knows about handling refrigerant. If you don't know the answers to your questions you could end up injuring yourself trying to add the R134a to the system.

 

If it's not broken why try to fix it? I have an 11 year old truck that has never had any problem with the AC system. There is no need to add any oil just for the sake of adding it. If anything you will cause problems that were not there to begin with.

 

I got the same readings (38 degrees) from a dash vent in both R12 and R134a systems. I don't know why people keep saying that R134a doesn't cool as well as R12. That has not been the case with my vehicles.

 

Man. I wish my car had a reticulate button. Cause the A/C in my 2nd gen doesn't work and my 5th gen is weak and takes forever to get cold. Anyways, I'll point out that most vehicle owners manuals recommend running tha A/C at least once for a few minutes every month especially during winter to keep the fluids in the system circulated which will prolong the life of the seals.

 

i just had my a/c compressor changed. got a r134a kit from autozone, how temporary is a temporary fix? my clutch doesnt move now, i'm guessing when i refill it will?

 

i put freon in and the clutch is catching and i'm getting A/C. Good looks everyone, I have A/C AGAIN!!!! YAY!!!!

 

it was probably cutting out on the a low pressure switch who did the comp change did they recharge it for you after

 

For what it;s worth, I had two different 5th Gen Maxima's, a 2000 SE and a 2002 SE. Both had, what I'd call, adequate air conditioning, but no better than that. On the hottest days, it seemed like it took forever to cool down the car.

I just recently upgraded to a 6th Gen, 2007 Maxima SE, and this sucker gets cold within the first two minutes. The automatic climate control system works great, getting through the fast-fan-and-recirc cycle rather quickly, even during our recent stretch of around 100° weather, reaching a comfortable in-cabin temperature, shutting off the recirc and reducing the fan speed down to a quiet 2 or 3 setting.

After six years in the 5th Gen's, where I got used to the less-powerful A/C, this car is literally a breath of fresh air.

Harry