Recharge my own A/C?
 

Hello all:: I have read a few similar posts relating to A/C issues on my 2006 S Coupe to know that i'm not alone. It never blew as cold as I thought A/C should, but since I don't use it much i didn't really care. Now I moved to Los Angeles, (and I'm out of warranty!) and guess what - I care! Do I just buy the kit at a Pep Boys or Wal-Mart (gasp!) and re-fill my refrigerant for $20 or something? It blows, just not much cooler than the outside temp. (or as Wayne and Garth would say, it certainly does *suck*) The cooling system is otherwise fine, but the last thing a struggling screenwriter needs is to hand over my car (and my wallet) to a desperate dealership in these current economic times.

Advice?

Thanks!

As long as there's still R-134a in the system, you can "top it off". It's just when the system has been opened that you need to worry about vacuuming the system and other things.

Just make sure the can you get only has R-134a in it. Don't get a can that has "sealer" or any other crap it in it as that can make things worse in the future. Also, the MINI system doesn't take much, so you probably will only use part of the can. Follow the directions on the can and you should be set. Remember, overcharging will make things worse, so also try to get a refill can with a gauge on it to monitor the pressure.

Great! Thanks! Is it the valve on the front driver's side corner of the engine bay?

Yes. Remove the black cap off the smaller value and connect the recharge can to that. The other connection is the high side, which you can't connect to.

A very timely discussion for me; my AC just stopped blowing cold air about 15 minutes ago. It was nice and cool this morning, now it just blows ambient air. I'm hoping a simple recharge will suffice - what else should I check? It still drives and runs fine, and there's nothing obviously wrong under the hood.

If the charge gets too low, the system should not turn on to protect itself (running the compressor without refrigerant will damage it). But if the system was working well and suddenly stopped working all together, I would be worried that something else is wrong. At the very least, you can always use a refill can with a gauge to verify there still is a charge.

If it was working this am and not now, I'd bet on something electrical.......it could just be low on freon, but remember the system is not supposed to leak - even a little bit. If it does, something is wrong.

I think if you don't want to take it to the dealer at the very least find a competant A/C shop and let them check it, at least they won't overcharge it and cause even worse problems. Sometimes it's better to "call the guy".....

You can recharge it but it won't fix a leak and you may have to do it again. Go to a shop that can actually test for a leak and verify that everything else is in good working oreder.