Recharge Air Condition

[Sheriff Justice]

Greetings,
Hope all is well with you & family. Anybody recharge the A/C other than a Ram dealer? I own a 2014 and my mechanic told me Friday he can’t recharge the A/C because Ram takes a special tool (?) and he does not carry it. My A/C is working fine / cold, just wanted to recharge it as routine maintenance. I use it often.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question.

 

[NJMOPAR]

You can buy one of those tall cans with gauge & hose attached.
Charge at the low pressure valve near the computer on right side of engine towards firewall.

Evacuation & refilling requires the machine, maybe that's what your guy meant.

 

[KiltedCelt01]

You can buy one of those tall cans with gauge & hose attached.
Charge at the low pressure valve near the computer on right side of engine towards firewall.

Evacuation & refilling requires the machine, maybe that's what your guy meant.

This is exactly what I did. I picked up a can at advance auto and it’d ice cold all summer. I had plenty left over to recharge my wife’s car too.


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[scott lass 18]

did mine with a freon can and added a little ! don't add much ok ! see on utube how to do it ok ! mine I just went to 35 pressure on hot day 80 degree outside ! so u dont overcharge ! it which I did once store ! was bad next year and they wouldn't cover it there work ! under a year warranty ! on there work ! there was a slow leak couldn't find ! butt found this year it on the high side valve on ac line ! so just cap it left it not spending 300.00 to fix it I press value it to hopefully seat it and it did glow with ac test light when I tested ! HOPE U ALL CAN UNDERSTAND MY LONG VERSION NOW ! SORRY US MECHANICS DON'T NEED TO GO WORD TO WORD ON SAYING THINGS WE ALREADY KNOW OK ! i WILL GO SLOWER FOR THE MINDS THAT TAKE TIME TO READ OK ! i M NOT A BOOK U READ FOR DAYS JUST SAY IT OK !

 

[Tach_tech]

Your 2014 most likely uses R1234yf which requires a different machine. R1234yf uses different fittings as well.

If your A/C is working fine you don’t need to recharge it, it’s not a maintenance item.

As well I strongly discourage trying to top up a system yourself. It is extremely easy to overcharge your system and cause even further damage. I wouldn’t trust the gauges on those DIY cans.

The only way to know if the system is properly charged is to evacuate it with an A/C machine and weigh what comes out. Pressure can give you a clue but I’ve seen plenty of systems with good pressure but we’re almost empty.

The proper way is to evacuate the system then put it under vacuum to remove any moisture. If you don’t vacuum the system you can end up with moisture that can rust the system from the inside out. Then fill the system. This can be done with just manifold gauges and a vacuum pump. The machines just make it a lot easier.

I know lots of people use the DIY cans and it works ok for them, but it’s not the right way and I’ve seen a lot of horror stories from people who thought they could do it themselves.

 

[chri5k]

did mine with a can and added a little dont add much ok on utube how to do it ok ! mine just went to 35 on hot day so not to overflow it which I did once firecrap redid it and bad next year and they wouldn't cover under a year on there work ! feel a slow leak couldn't find ! found this year it on the high side valve so just cap it left it not spending 300.00 to fix it I press it to hopefully seat it and it did glow with ac test light crazy right !

What did he say?

 

[Tach_tech]

Double tap.

 

[Wild one]

did mine with a can and added a little dont add much ok on utube how to do it ok ! mine just went to 35 on hot day so not to overflow it which I did once firecrap redid it and bad next year and they wouldn't cover under a year on there work ! feel a slow leak couldn't find ! found this year it on the high side valve so just cap it left it not spending 300.00 to fix it I press it to hopefully seat it and it did glow with ac test light crazy right !

Scott you're getting confusing again,slow down and proof read what you've wrote before posting it.Your last few posts have been nothing but a nightmare to make heads or tails of,and at 68 years of age,you should be able to write them intelligently. Most of your posts if I can't read the first line,i just bypass what you've wrote and go to the next post,and I think i'm not the only guy doing that,lol. I think you have a lot to offer,but if it's not read-able it's not doing anybody any good

 

[Gary2]

my 14 uses 134a so check it first.

 

[averageguy]

You should not do anything to the a/c if its working properly.

 

[crash68]

My A/C is working fine / cold, just wanted to recharge it as routine maintenance.

This is reminiscent of hearing the old timers tell me about selling refrigerant changes because it was 'worn out".
Nothing could be further from the truth, refrigerant doesn't wear out, it leaks out. If your AC is working good enough for you than don't mess with it. Pulling the refrigerant charge to recharge the system can actually reduced the amount of oil in the system. The AC system is a sealed system, leave it that way.
Due to the mild flammability of the 1234yf, the design criteria of the system components are more robust.

 

[BAMF]

my 14 uses 134a so check it first.

Where do you find what kind of Freon it takes? I can't find it.

 

[Gary2]

some place under the hood you will find a sticker with the info on it . Its not hidden it should show up pretty easily .

 

[BAMF]

some place under the hood you will find a sticker with the info on it . Its not hidden it should show up pretty easily .

Thanks....I was looking in all of my manuals....great I have the new stuff that I can't buy in a can.

 

[Sheriff Justice]

Thank you. Yes confirmed it’s the ‘exchanger equipment’ my mechanic was talking about. It drains the A/C and then fills the system with new Freon. Mine is still ice cold, but at 6 years figured I would just re-charge it. No-go.

Has anybody performed this at a Ram dealer? Curious of the cost. I’m going to call local dealers tomorrow and get a quote. I’ll report back with info.

 

[Tach_tech]

What are you hoping to gain by getting it recharged? If your system is full, they’re going to evacuate what’s in your system then recharge it with the same refrigerant that was evacuated.

Anytime an A/C system is evacuated the refrigerant is stored in the source tank to be reused. You won’t be getting new refrigerant if that’s what you’re after.

If you have access to a probe thermometer. Measure the outlet temperature of the air with the system on max A/C with recirc on. Depending on ambient temp if you measure around 50F it’s working normally and there will be nothing to be gained by a recharge.

 

[Hemi395]

My truck is 7 years old (2013) and the AC is still ice cold. Still has the 134A too[emoji106]

 

[crash68]

What are you hoping to gain by getting it recharged? If your system is full, they’re going to evacuate what’s in your system then recharge it with the same refrigerant that was evacuated.

Anytime an A/C system is evacuated the refrigerant is stored in the source tank to be reused. You won’t be getting new refrigerant if that’s what you’re after.

Say he does request new refrigerant to be put in, what's the going retail cost per pound for 1234YF? I know what some wholesale cost are which would put the retail over $150 per pound but I would imagine automotive has a higher margin. Then he probably would have to pay for disposal of his old refrigerant too and plus all the labor.
There just isn't any reason to mess with a refrigeration system that working properly for maintenance reasons, but if he wants to waste his money...have him come to your dealership so you can get paid....lol!

 

[jawzs2]

As almost everyone has already stated, you're wasting time and money if your AC is working fine. There is no maintenance to it, refrigerant doesn't go bad or wear out. Think of your refrigerator, same principle as your AC system. I'm a firm believer that the reason they last so long, easily 20 years, is they're sealed system, nothing for anyone to muck with. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

 

[canadiankodiak700]

Thank you. Yes confirmed it’s the ‘exchanger equipment’ my mechanic was talking about. It drains the A/C and then fills the system with new Freon. Mine is still ice cold, but at 6 years figured I would just re-charge it. No-go.

Has anybody performed this at a Ram dealer? Curious of the cost. I’m going to call local dealers tomorrow and get a quote. I’ll report back with info.

First of all it's not freon, freon was banned years ago. It's refrigerant.
Give your head a shake and listen to what everyone is trying to tell you, if it's working, there is no need to recharge it, you will gain nothing but an empty wallet.... At a cost of 600 to 700 at that.

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[Tach_tech]

Say he does request new refrigerant to be put in, what's the going retail cost per pound for 1234YF? I know what some wholesale cost are which would put the retail over $150 per pound but I would imagine automotive has a higher margin. Then he probably would have to pay for disposal of his old refrigerant too and plus all the labor.
There just isn't any reason to mess with a refrigeration system that working properly for maintenance reasons, but if he wants to waste his money...have him come to your dealership so you can get paid....lol!

I don’t know off the top of my head the cost of the 1234yf per pound but it’s not cheap.

We don’t dispose of any refrigerant, it all gets reused. So the only way for him to get “new” refrigerant would be to evacuate his system. Then change the source tank on the machine to a brand new tank then fill his system. It would be a big waste of time lol.