How to Add Refrigerant Gas to Car AC?

In the first place, buy a charging unit for your vehicle. Consult with your local auto air conditioner repair shop for the right sort of refrigerant. The normal off-the-rack refrigerant is R-134 which got required in the 1995 model year as R-12 was eliminated because of its ozone-exhausting attributes.

On the off chance that you have a vehicle made between 1992-1995, you may have either R-12 or R-134. On the off chance that your car has R-12, it must change to utilize R-134, which is a task best left to the A/C repairman. For my situation, my 1996 truck took R-134, and I required two jars for the size of the framework. Here are steps you need to follow

Buy the Correct Refrigerant Gas 

It’s not about just putting anything in your air conditioning system. We have to put on a particular gas, freon. Everything will depend on the year of construction of the vehicle. If it came out of the chains after 1995, it is necessary to put freon R134a. If your car is older, you must put R12 freon.

• You cannot recharge the R12 freon by yourself.
• If your vehicle uses R12 freon, you must go to a professional to recharge it.

Note the Ambient Temperature

Since gas pressure is related to temperature and volume, it’s important to know the temperature when you recharge. The refrigerant gas is a liquefied gas (therefore compressed) that occupies a different magnitude depending on whether its temperature rises or falls. The consequence is that its pressure, in a cartridge or a circuit, varies.

• Thus, as you will be relying on the manometer to read the pressure, it is useful to know the ambient temperature during the recharging to fill the circuit properly.
• When a refrigerant gas expands, it takes up more space, and pressure increase in the cartridge.

Locate the Low-Pressure Valve on Your Circuit

There are two valves on this circuit: one for low pressure and another for high pressure. For gas refill, only the low-pressure valve is concerned. The error is not possible: the two valves have different diameters.

• To locate this low-pressure valve, follow the air conditioning pipe in the engine compartment under the windshield. There you will find a sort of small branch topped with a plastic cap.
• If you cannot find it, refer to the technical review of your vehicle in the chapter on air conditioning.

Clean the Area Around the Valve 

Before removing the cap, using a clean cloth, clean the valve head, hat, and all around. This way, when you plug in your fitting, you will be sure not to introduce dust into the valve and the circuit. Clean the pipe on both sides of the valve, the cap, then the latter being removed, the top of the valve itself.

• If the hose is dirty, you can put some brake cleaner on your rag.

Secure the Fitting on the Low-Pressure Valve

A refill kit consists of a gas cartridge and a fitting attached to the low-pressure valve identified previously and to the cartridge’s head on the other side. Before going any further, check that the connection is correctly engaged on both sides.

• If the connection is fitted with a pressure gauge (graduated screen), which is almost always the case, the long part of the connection is first attached to the valve, while the short cut is then attached to the gas cartridge.
• The connector is long enough that you don’t have to place the cartridge over the engine block just for safety.

Note: You can also use reclaimed wood to secure refill kit.

Take the Ambient Temperature into Account

The compressor is operating due to the ambient temperature. That’s why you must take this into account when recharging the circuit to reach the recommended pressure. Throughout recharging, closely monitor the pressure gauge to remain within the standards provided by the manufacturer.

• The pressure gauge needle will tell you when the circuit is recharged at the right pressure.
• To read the pressure gauge, refer to the small technical manual delivered with the refill kit.