tystaco
New member
Disclaimer - I am putting this post out there to help other newbs trouble shoot a couple of issues I had.
For the past few months I have noticed what I would call a hunting idle, varying a few hundred RPM every couple of seconds. It was intermittent depending on the day.
I had also observed cool, but not cold AC temps since summer has hit. I picked up a bottle of AC Pro and tried to recharge the system following their directions. The gauge on the bottle showed an initial 20 psi, tried to charge to 35 psi as I had read on other posts....put in the whole bottle and got to 25 psi.
I drove around for a few miles...AC seemed to be the same temperature as before the bottle, and I noted the compressor kicked on and off every few seconds, as in 3-5 seconds. Got home, used the gauge on the bottle to try and read the pressure and it then showed over 60 psi. WTF, I thought.
Called a local shop and told them the series of events. They said they wished AC Pro wasn't sold, and it generally just puts gas pressure into the system, not a coolant recharge...this generally blows out seals and makes systems much much worse. They vacuumed my system, monitored it for 30 minutes, and then properly filled the system. $160 for labor and materials...plus the wasted $40 for AC Pro.
AC blows ice cold, compressor cycles at a much more sensible rate. My hunting idle was simply happening on days I started the truck with the AC on and the added load of the compressor was making the RPM jump.
Moral of the story, and from reading other posts: You should use your site glass first to help judge if your system needs to be refilled. You can refill your system yourself, but should do it correctly with the proper tools taking pressures on both sides of the system. If you don't want to do this, find a good local shop. AC Pro is $40, but might cause you $1000 in damage vs. spending $100-$200 to get it done right and not think about it for another 18 years.
For the past few months I have noticed what I would call a hunting idle, varying a few hundred RPM every couple of seconds. It was intermittent depending on the day.
I had also observed cool, but not cold AC temps since summer has hit. I picked up a bottle of AC Pro and tried to recharge the system following their directions. The gauge on the bottle showed an initial 20 psi, tried to charge to 35 psi as I had read on other posts....put in the whole bottle and got to 25 psi.
I drove around for a few miles...AC seemed to be the same temperature as before the bottle, and I noted the compressor kicked on and off every few seconds, as in 3-5 seconds. Got home, used the gauge on the bottle to try and read the pressure and it then showed over 60 psi. WTF, I thought.
Called a local shop and told them the series of events. They said they wished AC Pro wasn't sold, and it generally just puts gas pressure into the system, not a coolant recharge...this generally blows out seals and makes systems much much worse. They vacuumed my system, monitored it for 30 minutes, and then properly filled the system. $160 for labor and materials...plus the wasted $40 for AC Pro.
AC blows ice cold, compressor cycles at a much more sensible rate. My hunting idle was simply happening on days I started the truck with the AC on and the added load of the compressor was making the RPM jump.
Moral of the story, and from reading other posts: You should use your site glass first to help judge if your system needs to be refilled. You can refill your system yourself, but should do it correctly with the proper tools taking pressures on both sides of the system. If you don't want to do this, find a good local shop. AC Pro is $40, but might cause you $1000 in damage vs. spending $100-$200 to get it done right and not think about it for another 18 years.
