As we are beginning to enter summer there are many people working to get their air conditioning up to snuff.

Buying recharge kits with a gauge at your local parts store is a good low cost way to check pressure and refill if necessary.

HOWEVER: There are some items that need to be cleared up.
#1) Adding more freon is not always the correct fix, the pressure needs to be verified before adding freon
#2) The pressure gauge sold with the freon was not made specifically for your year or model of car. It is typically a cheap gauge and has generic coloration next to the pressures. It can not be relied upon that green, blue or red are at the correct pressures for your car.
#3) Obtaining the Factory Service Manual or information from it for your year car will assist you and give you the correct pressures of the system. Without obtaining the proper pressures, there is no way to ensure the system is running properly.

There is a thread of people that have FSM'*. Please... get the proper information and do not rely on the generic gauge coloration etc.

Excellent information. Free sticky.

Yes i was hoping someone would start a post on this...

Im having some problems with mine, it gets a little cold but nor where near as could as my last car (88 celebrity) or my dads car (96 Carprice)

Can someone with a 94 book tell me what my PSi should be for my AC???

Thanks

delete when ready... didn't read the whole thing, and it wont let me delete it...

the correct way to do your a/c is to fully evacuate the system,
pull a vaccum on the system to check for leaks if the system holds a vaccum for 15min
add freon with Dye that can be seen with a black light
then after charging the system inspect with a black light for leaks at the condensor,evaporator, and all the lines

if you have the correct amount of freon in the system and your compressor doesnt cycle correctly generally its the pressure switch on the evaporator is the cause or a faulty connection at the compressor or a faulty compressor

If you plan on doing this yourself, don't do it in public where people can see you. Unless you have the necessary equipment to properly vacumm out the old R-134.

i would just add that i would do it longer than 15min,,

i do mine a minimum,,,,of 30 mins. somtimes longer if i have time,
those very very small leaks wont show up in that short of time....

Make sure you don't let atmosphere into the system while venting to the atmosphere, other wise you will have to vaccum the system down to remove it, if you don't the atmoshperic air will chew up and dry out your seals, and don't forget to check the filter on your compressor too

If you're using a wally world gauge like I am, here'* an idea of how it should look on a well charged car:

It WAS at 100+ PSI with out the compressor running, but I used the a/c for a while....But off this is ball park what it should look like:


With the A/C compressor running/cycling this is what your pressure should look like:

According to this gauge, I could use a shot of refridgerant, given the midas guy filled it about 1 hr before the pic was taken and I have no leaks.

Nate...

That is NOT what the pressures should look like on other years.

The pressure required should be obtained from the correct year FSM and never decided from the above pictures or implied by any other members.

Wrong pressures can have very bad results for your AC system and possibly your own health.

I just used the Red Tek AC recharge kit on Joel'* (slayer636) Stratus, it blew hot for two years..now its ice cold. system was totally dry. Oil level is acceptable, the kit comes with a tester as well. This will work on Bonnevilles....follow the FSM for how many ounces our systems hold.