so i went down to my friendly repair shop in town that carried R-12 Freon and i believe Freeze-12. i don't really know what was put in there, but was given the option for 2 bottles costing 50 bucks each or 2 bottles at 25 each and, you guessed it, i went with the cheaper. For some reason the A/C seems to be not as cold as it can be. i don't know how much Freon has to be put in but i think it might not be enough. A friend of mine with a 87 camaro said i need to put 4 cans in while the internet is talking about 2 1/4 for R-12. i don't know whats in my system (probably Freeze-12 since i went with the cheaper Freon.) but ,my a/c feels weak and the compressor isint staying on, as i belive it should should so it get me thinking. My car is a 1984 Trans Am with the v8 engine if that info helps


Thanks for the help!

 

First off, R12 shouldn't be mixed with Freeze 12. Freeze 12 is a combination of other refrigerants as it's make up, Was this system working fine last summer but not now since over the winter ? Did this so called "shop" leak test your system ?

My chart only goes back to 1986 and that shows 48.00 oz for a empty system, When adding refrigerant to a system one doesn't go by a certain number of onces but by reading the low and high side gauges. It's anyone's guess as to how much is still in a system or how much is required to reach the proper level per the gauges, Since your compressor isn't staying on or cycling often is a sign of a low refrigerant level.

If I don't know what refrigerant is in a system by looking at the service ports for conversion adapters or find no conversion decals, I empty the system and start from scratch.

What I mean from scratch is, When done properly you can get satisfactory results using good ole R134 refrigerant.

Remove the compressor and drain all existing oil and re-fill with ester oil (using the 1986 example above would be 8 oz's), Flush all lines-evaporator and condenser with a AC flush solvent. Replace the orifice tube and receiver dryer then pull the system down and re-charge to the appropriate/recommended gauge readings, Then you should be good to go.....

 

I think it has freeze 12 since freeze 12 is cheaper then R-12. But this morning I went to turm my a/c on, I a didn't even hear the compressor activate. I told the mechanic to CHECK tge system before putting the freon and he assured me it was not leaking and holding charge

 

If this were true a red flag should have went up with your "mechanic", A sealed non leaking system shouldn't have taken two cans of refrigerant.

And now the compressor won't even kick in ?!?!

Me thinks you need to find another "mechanic"......