# A/C Recharge Question



## giantsnation (Oct 11, 2012)

You don't have to go to your dealer but you do have to go to a service center. Too hard to DIY it properly. I just had mine done by the audi dealership down the street and mine blows ice cold and comes on in just a few short seconds.


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## aestes89 (May 26, 2012)

OK, I'll definitely take it to the pros haha. How much did the Audi dealership charge you, if you remember? There's an Audi dealership probably under 5 miles from me.


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## mikestony (Jan 17, 2013)

What about those DIY a/c recharge cans? That's not a suggestion, but rather a question of "would that work?"


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

mikestony said:


> What about those DIY a/c recharge cans? That's not a suggestion, but rather a question of "would that work?"


You *can* have success with the DIY cans. I was able to resurrect my Saturn's AC so that it worked when I sold it, but I was getting rid of an 11 year old car for a couple grand, not toying with a nearly new car that I planned to keep driving for years to come.

I fixed the AC in my '02 Vette last year, the compressor went bad and needed replacing along with a few other parts. I did all the labor myself but took it to a garage to get it evacuated and charged.

In a nutshell, they will check the system pressures to see the differential is between the low and high sides. If it's below an acceptable level they will do a visual inspection (check for dye traces), evacuate the system and perform a vacuum check. If it passes the vacuum check (no leaks) they can then fill to the proper level. If there's nothing mechanically wrong with the system it should work fine after that. There's always a chance the compressor has issues, but it's not the most likely scenario on a car that new. IIRC, the purge/check/fill cost me about $200.

Good luck, and let us know how things turn out.

EDIT: Almost forgot... the tech told me they refuse to touch a car who's AC system has had the DIY can (usually R12) added to it. I'm not sure if this holds true if you can get R134 cans. His reasoning was that if they think the system has had refrigerant added they won't touch it since it could contaminate their supply (they purge and keep the old refrigerant for re-use). Food for thought.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

For $250, I picked up a decent vacuum pump and manifold gauges a while back on Amazon. I've fixed the AC system on my own on 4 cars now with it. I get the refrigerant in the beginning of the season, although this year I will be picking up a case on clearance in the beginning of winter as they will only be $5-$6 a can at that point instead of $13. In the peak of summer, those get up to $16 a can and $20 for the ones that have dye or stop leak in them. 

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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

XtremeRevolution said:


> For $250, I picked up a decent vacuum pump and manifold gauges a while back on Amazon.


I was REAL close to getting a "cheap" reclamation unit (about $700), but decided I'd probably never use it again unless I tried to do AC repair on the side. You can get pretty close with a vac pump and DIY cans.

Were you able to buy R134? We can't get it in Canada without having an ODS certificate.

I did pick up a nice set of pro quality AC gauges on eblay for about half their new cost... haven't used them yet.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

I'd stay away from the stop leak cans, stick with refer and oil only cans. If it's leaking, fix the leak instead of adding foreign chemicals in. Also take your time so you don't over charge the system and try to vent the excess back into the atmosphere. If you have a leak, look for the compressor oil to be around the area it's leaking at.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

Blue Angel said:


> I was REAL close to getting a "cheap" reclamation unit (about $700), but decided I'd probably never use it again unless I tried to do AC repair on the side. You can get pretty close with a vac pump and DIY cans.
> 
> Were you able to buy R134? We can't get it in Canada without having an ODS certificate.
> 
> I did pick up a nice set of pro quality AC gauges on eblay for about half their new cost... haven't used them yet.


134a is easy to get over the counter even at wal mart w/o having to have a MVAC cert. I was debating on getting one myself even tho I have my universal already. It's open book test pretty much for like $20-$25 and way easier than the Universal type I II and III tests.


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

Ha... everything is easier south of the border. Up here you need an Ozone Depleting Substances course to purchase R134, a full day community college deal that costs about $250. Between the course, the reclamation unit, the gauges, the refrigerant and scale, and ALL the parts needed, I could have become a certified AC "mechanic" and fixed my car for less than any of the three garage quotes I got! 

If I could have gotten some straight information from Border Services or Environment Canada as to whether the ODS cert would allow me to import R134a, I may just have gone ahead with it. The smallest quantity of R134a I could get locally here was enough to service all the cars in my neighborhood, but Wallyworld USA sells it by the can. Heh.


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## SneakerFix (Jul 28, 2013)

mikestony said:


> What about those DIY a/c recharge cans? That's not a suggestion, but rather a question of "would that work?"



I will ill be recharging my Cruzes AC and my Sisters accord on Sunday so will let you know how it goes. I normally do my AC service at work but my new boss cut us back on using company service stuff


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