I just replaced the compressor and some other parts and the AC works pretty well under 90°, but anything above that and it struggles badly, hardly cool at all. I live in Arizona so good AC is important. anybody in 100+ temps also having bad luck with AC in a Kei vehicle?
With the size of the motor and given their age, I can't imagine the AC will do much of anything in a hot and humid climate. I guess some AC will be better than nothing. I notice a drop in power in my Minicab when just turning on the heat and headlights. So yes, I think it's safe to presume the AC is not that great across the board.
Right but it has all new components like a brand new compressor and expansion valve, plus it’s not that humid in Arizona. I see what you’re saying though
Give us some info to go on. Pressures high and low, vent temp and outside temp, condenser temp. You can add a vacuum operated valve on the heater hose so when the AC is on no hot water is flowing into the heater box. The foam on the flapper doors may be deteriorating and you are leaking outside air into the HVAC box. Lots of possibilities but we need info to help
I appreciate the suggestions. I’ll have to rent another manifold to get the pressures vent temp is 58-60° and outside temp is 99° I’ll check the flappers, that’s a good possibility
Vent temp is high. Pressures will tell us if the system is working properly. Is your system R134? Is it TXV or orifice tube? Cooling fan coming on with AC? Condenser and evaporator clean?
it has the block type expansion valve, is that what you mean by orifice tube? a friend of mine that does HVAC set the pressures and everything are good and I remember we cleaned out the lines with nitrogen and some kind of cleaner, I can’t remember if we did the evaporator or not
The fan is coming on with the AC. Some people are telling me these trucks are just like this and I have to live with it but that doesn’t seem right
And that’s why I’m trying to help but saying pressures are good doesn’t help anyone. I don’t know a single HVAC guy in my area that I would trust to do even the simplest job. If you don’t have a heater coolant shut off valve adding one will probably drop your vent temps 5-10 degrees. Beyond that need answers to my questions to go any deeper.
While I’m at it, is there an official source where I can find the refrigerant capacity? Ok, I will get some gauges and get back to you. Is there any source to find out the refrigerant capacity? The sticker is missing and the best I could do was ask the question in broken up Japanese on a Japan forum. The consensus seems to be about 430 g plus or minus 20
My van blows ice cold and its a van box that has to be cooled and it gets the job done in the heat (North Carolina). What it does do though is it seems to not be as affective if the motor is pushed hard. So cruising around town its fine but on a highway doing 50+ mph it doesn't seem to cool as well. I thought that might be due to the condenser being mounted horizontally under the van. I have also heard there is a switch on the gas pedal that may be disabling it to protect it from higher revs. Most folks I know around here have decent AC in their trucks.
Right now the highs are in the mid 80s. During summer its easily in the 90s and above with a lot of humidity. I've driven it down to Florida twice and Atlanta as well, they get pretty hot as well. Not in your face 110+ desert hot but then a lot of AC can't handle that very well, even modern cars. One thing that can help is to not use R134A as the refrigerant. A lot of these trucks were designed to use R12. In its place I usually use R152 which is canned duster air you buy at walmart for cleaning computers. It has the same cooling curve as R12 but a lot cheaper and works just as well. I've used it in a lot of my daily drivers. The van hasn't gotten it yet because theres no issues so far with the AC.
I haven’t had time to get a set of gauges but I have a question, could a bad quality receiver drier be the culprit? I should have bought ORM but for whatever reason I decided to be cheap. instead of buying an OEM Suzuki part I got a random drier that’s fits a 95 civic. They are basically the same size and the hole orientation is the same
The key is seeing the pressures. If its under filled due to a slow leak or old hoses then that would explain. It I doubt the drier would affect it that much. A drier is just a canister with some stuff in it to absorb moisture. Did you replaced all this and filled it without a gauge set? I'm not surprised it's not performing. The amount of refrigerant a system needs is always and best guess, its the pressures that tell you when its good. Also taking the temp at the vents with the fan on high and the AC as cold as it will go is basic procedure when filling the system. You get it as cold as it will go and then back down the pressure until its just above freezing (if it gets to freezing that is).
I don’t remember what the pressures were. My friend used all kinds of fancy probes and temp sensors. He checked the pressures and temperatures of the refrigerant. one thing I noticed is the AC lines are routed right next to the turbo
He did a vacuum test with a micron gauge and it passed. I think the system just wasn’t designed to handle desert heat
well without any info we will never know. Your buddy should be able to answer all these questions. The pressures will tell you if there is a restriction in air flow or refrigerant. Line temps tell you how the system is working. You answered 2 of my many questions but still want us to help you, on my diesel site you would be close to being banned for wasting peoples time. What refrigerant does this system use R134 or R12, What was used to charge the system??? This is very important because it could be charged with anything even propane and it will not perform the same as OEM. Pressures, the most basic parameters needed to even start guessing TXV or Orifice tube Might be important if we ever get pressure readings If you don't want to do your part to help us help you than all we can do is guess.
I think we’re done here. I’m my experience know it alls know very little. I’ve answered many of those questions, the only questions I haven’t answered is the pressures. I said which kind of expansion valves it has and that it’s R134a. Forgive me for working a full time job and not having the time to drop everything and get you readings. you’re such a pretentious jerk
I don't think you know how message board work. So you ask for help and we ask for parameters from you to help, you do not supply them but still want us to help. Then you call the person trying to help a pretentious jerk. That makes you a child.
Read the question again, I asked if Kei cars are known to have bad AC, not “help me fix it” so by your reasoning you’ve wasted my time by not answering a simple yes or no question. I don’t know about you but I work a full time job and my perceived delay to answer your questions do not affect your life whatsoever.
It could just be your expectations are too high. Most AC systems should give you about 30-40F drop in temperatures at the vents compared to the the outside ambient temperature. So at 100F your AC should be putting out ~60F air at the vents. One of the issues with cooling the trucks is the engine is right below you in a Suzuki and that will keep the cabin from cooling down as fast. I know new cars work better than that but they have 25+ years for AC R&D behind them. Remember these trucks are from the 1990s, so the tech is not quite as good.
True, I was able to find the pressures for this system and I’m going to test it again when I have time. I did notice the lines are routed right next to the turbo. Some other upgrades I might do are ceramic window tint, aux fan on the condenser, and insulating the cab. the AC works very well till it gets above 85° The UV index in Arizona is pretty high
So the van does have a separate fan on the condenser. You might be on to something there. The van radiator is up front behing the bumper just like the trucks but the engine is in the rear and the condensor is under the drivers side rear seat. Its mounted horizontally with a fan on it to pull air thru it.
