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How much does it usually cost to have a car's AC recharged?

NTB

Diamond Member
Just wondering. The sunfire I bought last november *has* AC, but it doesn't cool off. Looks like it just needs to be recharged. Any idea what that might cost?

Nate
 
Before spending money in recharging (maybe wasting) with cooling stuff (why would it be empty ?), I'ld run a leak-test of teh AC system.
 
Originally posted by: Rage187
it should never need a "recharge", if it's low on freon, that means there is a leak.

" An evacuation and recharge service includes removing whatever remaining refrigerant is in your vehicle, removing impurities from that refrigerant using recycling equipment, recharging it into the vehicle, and adding new refrigerant to replace whatever has leaked out. "

sometimes a recharge is good because the coolant can have a bunch of crap in it that shouldnt be there. and usually having a recharge will lower the a/c air temp due to cleaner coolant.



 
Originally posted by: batmang
Originally posted by: Rage187
it should never need a "recharge", if it's low on freon, that means there is a leak.

" An evacuation and recharge service includes removing whatever remaining refrigerant is in your vehicle, removing impurities from that refrigerant using recycling equipment, recharging it into the vehicle, and adding new refrigerant to replace whatever has leaked out. "

sometimes a recharge is good because the coolant can have a bunch of crap in it that shouldnt be there. and usually having a recharge will lower the a/c air temp due to cleaner coolant.


Incorrect.

He said that his car doesn't cool down. That means that there's no refrigerant. It got out somehow. If you put new refrigerant in, it'll just leak out. Refrigerant isn't going to be so contaminated that it doesn't cool anymore. If it doesn't cool then it's leaked out of the system.
 
Originally posted by: 91TTZ
Originally posted by: batmang
Originally posted by: Rage187
it should never need a "recharge", if it's low on freon, that means there is a leak.

" An evacuation and recharge service includes removing whatever remaining refrigerant is in your vehicle, removing impurities from that refrigerant using recycling equipment, recharging it into the vehicle, and adding new refrigerant to replace whatever has leaked out. "

sometimes a recharge is good because the coolant can have a bunch of crap in it that shouldnt be there. and usually having a recharge will lower the a/c air temp due to cleaner coolant.


Incorrect.

He said that his car doesn't cool down. That means that there's no refrigerant. It got out somehow. If you put new refrigerant in, it'll just leak out. Refrigerant isn't going to be so contaminated that it doesn't cool anymore. If it doesn't cool then it's leaked out of the system.


he said it doesn't cool down. The compressor clutch could be locked up, a bad relay, a number of things could be wrong.




 
First you need to determine if low coolant is the problem. The surest sign of low coolant is the compressor will short cycle (on and off rather quickly). As others have said, if the coolant is low, you have a leak. If the leak is small you can recharge the system and get a season or two of cooling before you have to recharge again, but its a risk because if the leak is large you may lose all your coolant within a few days.
 
Originally posted by: danzigrules

he said it doesn't cool down. The compressor clutch could be locked up, a bad relay, a number of things could be wrong.

If he said it needs to be recharged, I figured that he narrowed it down to the refrigerant.
 
my coolant system has a leak somewhere. I've tried using the stop leak + leak test thing with no success. I didn't see any of the red dye coming out. I was hoping I can just use jb weld or something to fix the leak instead of paying $200. Any ideas on how I can fix the leaks without taking it to an exhorbantly expensive ac repair shop?
 
Originally posted by: virtualgames0
my coolant system has a leak somewhere. I've tried using the stop leak + leak test thing with no success. I didn't see any of the red dye coming out. I was hoping I can just use jb weld or something to fix the leak instead of paying $200. Any ideas on how I can fix the leaks without taking it to an exhorbantly expensive ac repair shop?

JB weld won't work. If the A/C stop leak doesn't work, their really isn't any other choice but to replace the leaking component
 
If it still has some coolant in the system then it hasn't sucked in bad stuff. You can just stick another can in it for $10 and buy the tool need to do so for another $10-30. If it only uses one or hell even a couple cans a summer that is still a hell of a lot cheaper then paying to have expensive a/c crap replaced. My mustang goes through 1 can a summer no big deal.
 
Originally posted by: virtualgames0
my coolant system has a leak somewhere. I've tried using the stop leak + leak test thing with no success. I didn't see any of the red dye coming out. I was hoping I can just use jb weld or something to fix the leak instead of paying $200. Any ideas on how I can fix the leaks without taking it to an exhorbantly expensive ac repair shop?

Well, if you don't know where the leak IS, how are you planning on using JB Weld?😕
 
Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
If it still has some coolant in the system then it hasn't sucked in bad stuff. You can just stick another can in it for $10 and buy the tool need to do so for another $10-30. If it only uses one or hell even a couple cans a summer that is still a hell of a lot cheaper then paying to have expensive a/c crap replaced. My mustang goes through 1 can a summer no big deal.


Leaking A/C gas is not good for the environment.

To the OP: I would first get a leak test done for the whole A/C system. Same thing happened with my car couple of years ago and there were holes in the condenser. Got a new condenser and problem solved.

the total cost was something like this:

A/C Leak Test: ~$100
new Condenser: ~$200
Installation of condenser, new gas: ~150 or so
 
Originally posted by: gsethi
Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
If it still has some coolant in the system then it hasn't sucked in bad stuff. You can just stick another can in it for $10 and buy the tool need to do so for another $10-30. If it only uses one or hell even a couple cans a summer that is still a hell of a lot cheaper then paying to have expensive a/c crap replaced. My mustang goes through 1 can a summer no big deal.


Leaking A/C gas is not good for the environment.

Neither is driving your car 🙂
 
Ah, i see what you mean by retrofit kits... yeah, they're not legally sold without a permit in canada. Checking amazon, man, those prices are FANTASTIC compared to what it costs up here (even with a permit it's about twice as much... on the black market even more)... i'm tempted to get somebody to send me a couple of cans.
 
Originally posted by: Looney
Originally posted by: RCN
Originally posted by: Looney
Where do you get the cans? Up here in Canada it's illegal.

R134a is illegal in Canada?


Retrofit kits?

Well, i mean without a license.

What's a retrofit kit?

The old freon they used is very harmful to the ozone and cannot be bought unless you are a licensed professional. I forgot what the old one was called, but if you leak any of it to the atmosphere, you can be fined thousands of dollars.
The newer 1394a, which is used by pretty much all cars past the late 80's, is much safer for the atmosphere, thus making it widely available to the general public.
That said, it usually takes 3 cans of that stuff, each can costing about $10. Add in the hose with the pressure guage, and it'll end up costing you about $50 to charge it yourself. You can get it professionally charged for $25(not including evacuation).
 
Many A/C's have slow leaks that allow them to slowly leak over the course of a 6mo - 1 year.

You can buy the stuff at walmart.
Buy a refill kit (Comes with filling attachment & pressure guage, and filling instructions), and 3-4 cans of R134a with leak stop, and a can of A/C Dye.

Follow the directions in the kit, and do not overfill. Be sure to attach to the low pressure valve, not the high pressure side. Fill the A/C with (approx 4-5 cans from empty) of R134A with leak stop, and add a can of A/C dye.

Then at dark, run the car with A/C on Max. Take a black light and look for refridgerant leaks.
 
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