Car AC temperature help

webmonkeyuk · 14 May 2020 at 17:11

Ive been noticing lately as the weather is warmer that my AC is non existent temperature wise, it turns on and ive checked the compressor spins so i presume its working but theres no difference in temperature with it on or off and the low pressure pipe is not cold to touch after its been on awhile (ive seen that it should be frosty to touch after reading on the net). On a mild/warm day its between 15-23c out the vents, i had it regased last year as it was not getting cold and as far as i can remember it was cold after it had been regased. It was actually completely empty when the did it, something like 0.07ml of gas was recovered.

Ive bought a STP hose/gauge to check the gas level and its showing right on the low/filled mark at 25psi so im wondering does it sound like it needs a regas again or could it be something else if so what could i check for next. Could the compressor spin but not pump the gas around? or could the gauge be showing more than is in it and its a false reading?

thanks

webmonkeyuk · 15 May 2020 at 15:47

Thanks guys, I do make sure I run it even in winter every few weeks so it's not left. When they did the refill the guy said the refrigerant is also a lubricant which is never realised tbh. I think it's clutched compressor because you see it spin when the ac is turned on but if it's not on it doesn't spin.

It's the low side that's showing around 25psi, not sure what the high pipe shows as the guage only works on the low pipe. If I bought some of the UV gas could I put that in if there's still some refrigerant in? Or will it over fill it. Oh btw car is a 2012 i20 Hyundai. Obviously if there's a small leak I'd probably just refill every year. I will ask around and see how much for a AC technician to have a look too

Thanks again chaps

webmonkeyuk · 17 May 2020 at 11:36

It's 25psi running and I've checked after it's been stood overnight and hasn't been used and it shows in the alert section at about 50psi. When it's running I can hear a quiet sort of rattling sound, it's not massively loud but it's noticeable.

webmonkeyuk · 25 May 2020 at 11:40

Just a follow up, I ordered a home refill kit and filled it up to round about 40psi. The temperature is now down to a steady -15 -20 out the vents from before where it wouldn't go below +15. Obviously I'm going to keep an eye on the fill levels as I do suspect they could be a leak. Thanks for the help and suggestions chaps