2003 Mini Cooper!!
A/c stopped working by dumping the freon out the port on the bottom. During troubleshooting I found out the my low speed resistor was shot. Replaced!! I tested afterwards by jumpering the battery to the connector pins and fan worked in both speeds.

Current Symptoms.
1. Light on A/c Switch on solid (no blinking)
2. Yes, I can hear the compressor turning on/off
3. Low speed fan does not turn on when A/c is turned on.

Since I replaced the fan resistor I expected the fan to turn on when the A/c is ON, correct??

I don't want to waste another can of freon.....should I recharge or will it dump again?

What else should I do?

Thanks
Doug

 

You can't just put some more Freon...you need do draw vaccum first. The system is closed tight, So if you dump Freon than you have a leak that all.

 

And it's not freon...
That gas was discontinued in the 90's...
The gas is r134a...
And the system is SEALED...
If the gas escaped...you have a more serious issue that will require a repair to reseal the system...and, and a new dryer, and THEN pull a vavume, then a refil by WEIGHT, WITH R134A AND OIL.

And something is going on you may/may not understand...
If the system psi is too low, a pressure switch will prevent the compressor from engaging... Also preventing you from refilling the system with a consumer style refil can unless you bypass the switch.
So not sure how sure you are about the leak.....but with the pressures involved, I doubt it would be slow...

 

Let me clarify. There is a terminology issue here between "dump" and "leak". There was not a break in the R134a closed loop system. The compressor has a "dump" valve and at high pressure it opens to relieve the pressure. That is where I am loosing my refrigerant.

Should my low speed fan be ON when I turn on the AC?
Why would I be "dumping R134a from the overpressure relief valve port?

Thanks
Doug

 

Same thing happened to me. Can that 'dump' valve be replaced or reset? Dealer mechanic claims not, and that the entire compressor must be replaced.

 

My valve doesn't stay open. I am thinking the valve might be doing what it is supposed to do!!

 

Get a set of manifold gauges. If you are working on your system, you really need them. Not expensive. Check places like Harbor Freight.

Connect high and low side, get some readings and that will help you diagnose what the issues may be.

Regards,
Jerry

 

My guess is the system is SEVERLY OVERFILLED...might be lucky you did not burst a hose....
A MINI needs a TINY amount of r-134a from empty...about POUND by WEIGHT if I recall right...so the FRACTION of a typical refil can....
As said above, get a set of guages...and hope you have enough oil, etc in the system still, and have not damaged a compressor seal....my gut says the weep hole, AKA THE DUMP VALVE is leaking cause the compressor seal has failed...
Or bring it to a shop...have them evacuate the system, then refil....

 

What should the pressures be on both sides?

 

FYI, Freon is a brand name that has become synonymous with all refrigerants. Both R12 and R134A are gases marketed under the Freon label. Just as facial tissue is often referred to as Kleenex, a particular brand name of tissue, refrigerant gases are often generically referred to as Freon, a brand name for many refrigerant gases.

 

Refrigerant is getting worse and worse as time goes by as well - new refrigerators are mediocre at best compared to what they used to be in terms of cooling potential.

That said, if the compressor is the source of the fault, I might consider changing the compressor out first for a known-good (or at least spare to test) option. If you're around Massachusetts, I just pulled mine out and you're welcome to give it a go.

 

The amount of refrigerant, psi readings depends on ambient temperatures. You have to put the required amount of refrigerant before you attempt to determine if you high and low side readings are correct. Since you really don’t know how much is in the system it’s best to start from square one. Empty the system, draw a vacuum, check for leakage if the vacuum doesn’t hold, then out in the proper amount of oil and refrigerant.

 

... additionally depending on the amount of time it has been non-operational you may want to change out the "Dryer" it contains a desiccant and can be old enough to just not filter any residual moisture and particles out. But to do this you open the system and when resealed has to be checked prior to charging.

The FAN speed resister issue is a separate cooling maintenance task. You can either swap out resister packs or my favorite is to get both a replacement fan assembly and a replacement resister pack, I replace the assembly with the new one then clean up the old and replace the resister pack and put on the shelf for the next one to fail.

Best of Luck.

​​​​​​​Motor On!