JayCC

Hi, i've been asked how to regas the aircon in a 1.8 zetec mondeo, its an X plate.

there are 2 connector pipes, but he's unsure which one to open!

any help would be great, thanks

tabetha

You can easily identify which one is which if you know air con, as high side and low side, but if not surely it's not safe/legal to do it if you don't know a basic thing like this ?
tabetha

JayCC

its not me doing it, its a guy from work. all he needed to know was which bit to put the gas in.

focusv8

If he is commercial/industrial fridge eng. he will need an adapter as vehicle systems are not standard schrader connections.

If he knows what he's doing he shouldn't need to ask about which side to put the charge in.

Will he be leak checking as well otherwise he's wasting his time / money?
.

dojj

iTrader: (3)

mk2 or mk3?

if it's a mk3 then you'll need to spend 30 minutes taking the car apart as the osf wheel needs to come off and the wheel arch liner too to get to the second bit of the refill point

high side should be the thinner pipe from what i can remember

foreigneRS

spot on

how much is he going to add?

focusv8

He'll be adding just enough to get the evap temp correct.

Or the no brain way of weighing in the correct total charge.
.

foreigneRS

the amount to get the evap. temp 'correct' is different at 20 deg. C ambient to 30 deg. C ambient the correct amount is a function of the condensing pressure and the subcool and superheat. i doubt that he'll be checking all of those.

as you say, the best way is to remove all remaining refrigerant, do a leak check, and if OK pull a vacuum and fill with the manufacturers specified weight.

not difficult, but if you are asking which charging port to use it would seem unlikely that this basic method is being followed. if it was, it does not matter which you use, and is in fact best to use both.

i presumed that he wanted to know which is the low pressure side so that he can 'suck' in additional gas to a running system?

dojj

iTrader: (3)

wouldn't it be wise to vac out the system to see how much was left in there in the first place?
and then weigh in the correct amount, factoring in a dye charge as well to show p any leaks?

when my guy did our mondeo there was lots of lumionous green dye in the pipework after he's vac'd out 800 and a bit grammes
and then he put back 825 grammes as per the instructions

foreigneRS

if there was over 800g in there of a recommended 825g, it didn't need doing. check the label and see the tolerance

vacuuming the system does not tell you how much was in there, recovering does. although the portable equipment used is rarely accurate enough to bother with.

vacuuming out is to remove all traces of moisture and remaining refrigerant from the oil as it boils off at the lower pressure.

JayCC

basically, its empty.
he's going to be adding a full canister from Halfords.
he's said there is a valve on the left and a valve on the right of the engine bay. he just wants to know which one to put the can in as if you were looking at the front of the car..

i'm just a messenger.

dojj

iTrader: (3)

i was changing the condenser and drier so it had to come out mate

and seeing as he had put in 800g on the button about 6 months ago, i think it's pretty much sealed

he had a bottle on a set of scales and i'm sure you know hat that's all about, but he does our fridges for our vans so he's pretty clued up about stuff

foreigneRS

oh dear. if it's empty, do you think a can will stay in there? you would be best off finding and fixing the leak before wasting money and harming the environment.

i have no experience of these cans, and nor do i want any after being a proffessional in the business for 12 years, but i assume that they will only fit one side as they are different size charging ports. to be safe, presumably they need to connect to the low pressure side - that's the fattest pipe of the 2, with the smallest fitting.

sounds like he knows his onions mate, it's good if you can find someone like that to do your car

dojj

iTrader: (3)

he's had about 25 years in the business and has come across most things

the only thing he couldn't get his head around were them spring clips as he's never come across them before in the commercial sector

but he had his little laser thermometer out to check what was what and it all pointed to the condenser not doing what it should be doing, tripping the low/high side of the curcit and turning the ac off altogether

replacing the condenser and the dryier (as it might as wll be done now it's in bits) solved the prolem and it hasn't missed a beat since, even in the stiffling heat we've had over the past few weeks

JayCC

as far as i know its not got a leak, i don't know where you got that idea from?
i think its just been used up..

i guess some trial and error won't got amiss.

Jim Galbally

it's refrigerant, it doesnt get "used up"

foreigneRS

the fact that you said it's empty how else would it be empty unless it has leaked out, or someone has deliberately let it out?

it's supposed to be a closed loop system, that's the point. it's not a block of ice

it all works by the refrigerant absorbing the heat energy from the interior air when it is cold and at low pressure. you then pressurise it with the compressor which also makes it hot and get rid of that heat energy out of the 'radiator' at the front. and then it goes around the cycle starts again.

except that it will cost you more money in the long run, could end up doing damage to the expensive a/c system components, harm the environment if you release the refrigerant into the atmosphere, and could injure one of you either read up on it properly and take proper advice, or use a professional.

JayCC

as previously stated. i was after advice. its not my car, and i was asking on behalf of somebody else. i've passed on the info that basically its more of a specialist job.

i never claimed to know how air con works.

for example "the fact that you said it's empty how else would it be empty unless it has leaked out, or someone has deliberately let it out?"

ok, thankyou. i'm not sure if it is empty, i just assumed that when air con "ran out" it was empty. that was the best way for me to describe it.

i've told him that he needs to get it looked at professionally.

if either one of us knew how difficult it would be, i doubt he would have bothered thinking about doing it himself.

now we know i doubt he will.

i ask questions because i don't know the answers.

thankyou to all.

dojj

iTrader: (3)

the ac system is the same as the cooling system for the engine
you have the hot bit, cooling down and then passing onto a hot part of the car in order to cool that hot part down by absorbing the heat
then the cycle is repeated

and, in the same way, if the stuff keeping the engine cool stops working then it's because it's not going round as it should or there isn't enoug of it left to go round and make it cool enough

pretty simple when you think abot it but then it starts to get complicated the more you look into it

i'm sure a simple regas will run out as you need to find the sorce of the problem rather than attempt fixes until it's fixed

as355f1

Thing is if there ain't enough pressure in there from the can then it will not activate the triple switch for the sake of what it costs i would be tacking it to a garage with a air con machine as they should be able to perform a vacuum test on it for you to check for leaks

BRIGSPORT

iTrader: (2)

I was looking at these d.i.y. re gas kits in halfords the other day. I don't know how they get away with selling them,i really don't. At no point in the instructions does it mention you should be a qualified refrigerant handler to use it, and at no point does it mention that if your system is in the red part of the gauge, simply emptying a bottle of gas into it will not solve the fact that your system is short of gas in the first place.
What a joke!

JayCC

so its simple to see why someone who has pretty much no background in "air-con" or mechanics, would think it possible to do this themselves.

as stated, we asked, we got answers, he'll decide for himself what to do.

thanks to all again.

rs nuts

iTrader: (4)

my adivice is take it too a proffesional , as i have seen pics what air con gas does too you when it hits your skin and its not pritty

i had too go on a 2 day course too learn all about rechargeing air con in cars , and on a mondeo you have too charge it through the low and high ports , and at least chrage and add 10 ml of pag 46 oil too what is already in

foreigneRS

a vaccum test is not enough to check for leaks. the system is never under a vaccum when in use, and pulling the vaccum can effectively suck a loose joint back together which would show as no leak.

you need to check for leaks under pressure as well as most leaks occur when the system is pressurised (i.e. all the time it has gas in it and the ambient temperature is greater than -30 deg. C)

Valacar, nobody is taking the piss mate. Just trying to help by giving you full answers so that you understand it all and don't waste money or take safety risks. Would you rather we just said "take it to a pro" and leave it at that?