Awesome, thanks for the help. I'll get her installed tomorrow probably and should be back to normal operation and only out $100 hopefully! After 2 days of driving the coolant reservoir only dropped down a couple inches. So it seems like a pretty small leak. Must have taken over a week of driving to drop the reservoir to dry...somehow I didn't notice the small dripping under my car.

 

It happens to all of us who drive old cars eventually. Hopefully only once, because now you look at the coolant every once a while from now on but...



Murphy reminds us not to start counting chickens yet until the a/c starts working right.

 

Well, I guess I counted my chickens too soon . The new radiator works great, not a single leak now. But the A/C is still a no go.



So I'm going to buy a R134a refill can to check the pressue first (what should the A/C pressure be?). After that, how do I check the A/C relay for proper operation?

 

Soo...yea the A/C system and coolant are two completely different systems. The only affect that one has on the other is a bump in idle rpm with the compressor on.



You more than likely have a leak. It working again after you filled the coolant was probably a fluke . I would not recommend using that "magic in a can" stuff as shops will not work on it if they see any sings of it as it will contaminate their machines.



Normal pressure readings should be (depending on ambient temps)

Low side- 35-40

High side around- 220 +\- 10psi



But I doubt that you have gauges to read these numbers. Would be a great help if you did though.



You can test for power and ground at the compressor connector with the switch on, motor running. If you have power and ground there then it's a compressor issue. If you don't have power and ground there then the system is empty (leak) or you have a bad pressure switch, relay etc.

 

The car parts stores here sell DIY top-off kits with a gauge showing proper pressures for the refrigerants in the can. I don't know how they roll in kalifornia, but if you just want to see if it is low on refrigerant that's one way. I still think there ought to be SOME big chain service store offering free system checks, but then again once again it's the left coast out there and it might be regulated out of free a/c checks.

 

Well I topped it off with about a half can of R-134a until the pressure read in the good. And it's back to working. So now I've got to figure out if there's a leak somewhere. I didn't see any leaky spots while following the lines and connections.



The fans would both kick on and I could see the compressor clutch engage when I hit the A/C button. So everything was working fine; just low on refrigerant. But the whooshing sound wouldn't happen until I filled up the refrigerant. Then that normal whooshing sound would happen and cold air would blow. We will see how long it lasts! Hopefully there's no leak.



BTW, what is that whooshing sound that comes from the dash area with the A/C turned on? It happens about once a minute or so, only while the A/C is running?

 

If the freon was low then there is a leak, you can have a shop put dye in the system for you to help you trace it down. Small fee I would imagine.



I'm not really understanding the sound you are trying to explain.

 

The expansion of refrigerant from liquid to gas phase in the cooling coils makes a little hissing noise. It means your cooling coils are starting to get cold again.



My car is still rocking the original refrigerant charge (thanks Jesus). If it takes just a couple ounces every few years you're still coming out ahead vs. paying a professional to find a pinhole leak. If you have to refill it again in a couple of months, have a shop find and fix the leak.

 

Yeah, I'll wait it out to see how long this charge lasts. It is pretty difficult to get a good steady reading on the low pressure A/C port. When you hook up the gauge, it reads low, then you press the button to start filling the system and it jumps up to the good section, but it bounces around a bit. When you turn the A/C system off, it reads that the pressure is too high. But I think that's how it's supposed to work.



Yeah, it's a little whooshing/hissing sound that lasts a few seconds, then repeats again in a minute or two. Only when the A/C is running does it do that. Sounds like it's coming from the passenger side dash area.

 

So I checked the charge since it's blowing cold air (but not Ice cold air like it used to). I'd say the A/C is working about 70% of what it used to be. The charge still shows a good range 40psi reading when I press the button and fill the system with the A/C running full blast. Before I press the button to refill it shows low 30psi. When the A/C system is off it shows extremely high, 75psi.



Is this all behaving like the system should? Show low while not refilling A/C on max, show good while refilling A/C on max, and show super high with A/C off?



The bigger tube going to the compressor is extremely hot after the A/C is running for a couple minutes. The smaller tube is cold, but not ice cold.