2002 VY Holden Berlina Air Con Repair Problem

RSTEP

MEMBER
2002 HOLDEN BARINA
V6
RWD
AUTOMATIC
100,000 MILES

Righto.
I recently went to my mechanic in fitzroy to have my Air Con compressor replaced.
It was making a rapid knocking noise emanating from the compressor, verified and went away when compressor was turned off.
Was not interested in new baring or trouble shooting so opted for the compressor to be replaced and covered by a warranty.

So Aircon Compressor replaced, Gassed and all belt tensions ok and was working for a short while.
Other things done to the car for other reasons
LPG conversion
Spark plugs
oils
filters
trans oil
front rotors (The incorrect ones! May I add the back one were supposed to be done)

Problem:
New Aircon does not blow any cold air anymore.
I first noticed a slow knocking noise whilst accelerating above 2000RPM in drive, coming from either the LPG gas fuel converter or the Aircon location. The converter and the Aircon Gas line are side by side under the hood.
The the mecanid said "Drive it more and harder, the noise will go away"
Sure enough one of the noises went away, however so did my Aircon, it appears I have no refrigerant left, the aircon still works and can be turned on and off and pumps what little gas is left but the gas line is now as warm or little cooler then ambient temp when it used to be cold as ice and dripping with condensation.

So there is no gas or the compressor is not compressing. ANOYING to say the lease. I had a look and there while the car was running and there was a little green frothand stain around the re-gas port and plastic cap.

My thoughts are that either when the compressor was replaced and regressed that the Gas line has been damaged or the re-gas port valve where it was frothing has been damaged.

What are your thoughts?

2 Replies

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,871 POSTS

What you're seeing is dye that was added to the system to help find future leaks. Under a black light it will appear as a bright yellow stain. It is normal to find a little dye at the ports, but if you wash it off, it shouldn't come back. The valves in those ports are not expected to seal perfectly, at least they usually don't. They are only meant to hold the refrigerant in until you reinstall the caps. Those caps have rubber o-rings that do the actual sealing. If a cap was loose or not installed, the refrigerant will leak out over time. Besides that, you can use the black light to search for that dye to see if something else is leaking.

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Monday, January 13th, 2014 AT 4:24 PM

CJ MEDEVAC

MECHANIC
11,004 POSTS

THE ORIGINAL "KICKING OFF AND ON RAPIDLY" SOUNDED LIKE A LOW GAS CONDITION. EVENTUALLY THE LOW PRESSURE SWITCH MIGHT HAVE DETECTED TOO LOW OF PRESSURE AND KILLED POWER TO THE A/C CLUTCH (PREVENTING DAMAGE)

ME, NOT BEING MR. A/C, OTHER STUFF COULD CAUSE THE RAPID ON AND OFFS. LIKE A STOPPAGE IN THE SYSTEM

. JUST FOR A "POSSIBILITY" THAT IT WAS A LOW GAS CONDITION

THE GAS HAD TO HAVE GONE SOMEWHERE, FOR IT TO BE LOW

COULDA BEEN A LEAK IN THE COMPRESSOR---COULDA BEEN A LEAK ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE SYSTEM TOO. MR. OLD COMPRESSOR MAY HAVE BEEN "SERVICEABLE" THE WHOLE TIME

WHEN THEY REPLACED THE COMPRESSOR, DID THEY FIND OR TRY TO FIND AND/ OR REPAIR ANY LEAKS IN THE SYSTEM?

THE MEDIC

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Monday, January 13th, 2014 AT 5:24 PM