How to tell what refrigerant you hAve?

[8v-of-fury]

Being that my 88 5th is my grandmother's car, the a/c system has always been kept in shape since day one.

However today I bought a Guage (and some 12a just in case..) and proceeded to check the system out.

However, what i see when I remove the LP cap is not a threaded r12 fitting but an updated quick connect fitting. Does this tell us the system has been updated to run the 134a refrigerant?

Hooked the guages up and got a running reading of around 30psi, now this is about halfway in the acceptable charged area from what I am reading? Would I benefit any from bumping it up tp the higher end of the charge? Also does the charge reading tell us at all what kind of refrigerant is in there??

 

[Aspen500]

If it has the larger internal thread (for the caps) fittings and they are quick-connect it SHOULD be R134a. With the A/C on, 30 psi on the low side is fine. It should run between (approx.) 20 and 40 psi. Static (A/C off should be in the 80-90 psi range, depending on the temperature.

The only way to know what's really in there is to take it to a shop that does A/C work and have it checked with a refrigerant analyzer. It sucks a small amount out and does it's thing and then tells if it's R-12, R134a or some monkey dope "alternative" refrigerant.

In theory, any vehicle that was converted to R134a should have a blue sticker under the hood telling where it was done and the new capacity. Of course, it could have fallen off by now or be unreadable or,,,,,,,,,the shop that did it forgot to put the sticker on (shame on them).

 

[Jack Meoff]

I fully agree with Aspen500.
If in doubt it would be worth the fee to find out for sure.
I'm pretty sure I fubar'd my setup through ignorance and there's no reason for anyone else to do it when you can learn from my stupidity. Those cursed Red Tek kits. So easy.....so cheap....so DOH!!!

 

[8v-of-fury]

Absolutely. The air works, and pressures are within specs so I returned the 12a and guage to Crapy Tire and will go on loving the cool air

Thank-you for your replies though, if in the future it needs work I will be sure to have it checked out via a mechanical sniff test.

 

[Aspen500]

Worst part is, if you don't check to verify what's in there it contaminates the recovery/charge machine which then contaminates every car it's hooked up to after that for a while, and so on.............. We usually only check if there's reasonable suspicion it's been messed with. Mainly it's the R12 vehicles regardless if they've been converted to R134a or not. Years ago when the switch was going on, a lot of "alternative refrigerants" showed up on the market. Some were extremely flammable, which is fine until there's a leak. Others degraded the system over time, ruined compressors, destroyed filter/dryers, etc.

Now days the ones that scare me are those R134a "DIY" charge kits at stores. My opinion is, if you don't know what you're doing,,,,,,,,don't touch it. Lately there's been quite a few come in with an A/C inop complaint. Go to check pressures and you find it WAY overcharged. Recover it all and put in the correct amount and then,,,,,,,,,,,replace the $12 low pressure switch or something. There, rant over, lol.

Like the sign on the wall says (upstairs, not in the customer area of course). Labor Rates: $85/hr, if you watch $100/hr, if you help $120/hr, if you worked on it yourself $150/hr.

 

[8v-of-fury]

Air blows ice cold, literally. Vent temperatures measured at an icey 28F on a 87F day.