Recharging your car air conditioning

[dennis thompson]

My grandson's 2006 Ford Taurus a/c has stopped working. I looked at the "AC Pro" youtube video and recharging the system looks pretty straight forward. Has anyone done this? Any tips or hints?
thanks

[Erik Loza]

I've had to have entire A/C systems recharged from the "flat" state several times (pulled the engine to rebuild it, which meant dismantling the A/C system) and from what the shop has told me, it's not as simple as just using one of those over-the-counter cans. Apparently, they need to evacuate the air and moisture from the system prior to charge it with fresh refrigerant. That is assuming the issue is due to refrigerant leaking and not some other type of failure. Best of luck with it.

Erik

[John K Jordan]

My grandson's 2006 Ford Taurus a/c has stopped working. I looked at the "AC Pro" youtube video and recharging the system looks pretty straight forward. Has anyone done this? Any tips or hints?
thanks


Dennis,

I've done this many times over the decades, both with the older freon and the newer atmosphere-friendly coolant. The auto supply store will have what you need. The instructions are on the can. If the problem is something besides the coolant, of course, recharging won't work. For example, I fixed two of our auto air conditioners that failed due to a bad solder joint on the controller.

If the problem is a lack of coolant, there is probably a leak somewhere in the system. Some of the recharging kits are labeled leak stop. I used to recharge my '99 Dodge diesel truck every year until I put a can of the stop leak coolant gas in it and it's been fine for several years now.

JKJ

[Mike Cutler]

Yes, the AC Pro works very well. I use it in my 2001 Toyota Tacoma 4WD. Follow the directions on the can and you should have no problems. Especially the part about the ambient air temp. Get the big can with the flexible hose. My Toyota will stay charged for 4-6 months and then need it again.
It is as Erik stated, a short term fix. If the system is leaking, it's leaking, and needs to be fixed. If it continues to leak there are recharge kits like AC Pro thatt have a dye in them that can be seen under a black light. Where the dye is, the leak is.

[Mike Henderson]

If your AC is disconnected, as Erik mentioned, you need to do some special things before you recharge it (basically, hook up a high vacuum pump and suck out all the air and moisture). If your system is just low, you can add refrigerant. But there's a reason your system is low and it'll likely go low again. Some replacement refrigerant may have a dye in it so you can see where it's leaking.

Mike

[Brian Henderson]

I've done it recently. My A/C got completely discharged and my mechanic couldn't find where it was leaking. They recharged it, put in dye and over the course of a couple of months, it got low again and they still can't figure out where the problem is. They think maybe, just maybe, the high and/or low ports on the compressor are slowly leaking but they're really just guessing. I grabbed a can of coolant from Walmart and occasionally top it off, maybe once a month. It's simple. Takes about 5 minutes.

[Lee Schierer]

After reading the reviews on AC Pro and their sealant, I decided not to risk an $800 compressor for a $75 recharge by a professional.