Air conditioning only blows stale air

PHARNSWURTH

MEMBER
2006 CHRYSLER SEBRING
6 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
174,000 MILES

I have charged it with refrigerant but it only stayed cool for a day. The compressor did come on when I added refrigerant. When I hooked up a manifold gauge set and added refrigerant, the compressor came on then about thirty seconds later the fans behind my radiator came on. When the fans came on the pressure began to drop drastically on both the high and low pressure side. Is the pressure drop normal?

1 Reply

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

Hi Pharnswurth,

You have a leak in the system. It seems like a pretty large leak so you should be able to find it. Here is a resource that you can use to help find the leak:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/air-conditioner-leak-detection

The AC system has a pressure sensor and it shuts off the compressor if it sees there is low pressure because it assumes there is low Freon due to a leak. When there is a leak not only does the Freon leak out, but the oil that the compressor needs does as well. If the compressor runs with no or little oil it will be damaged and need replacement. Once you identify where you leak is coming from, you will need to replace that line or component. Then you will need to completely evacuate your system and pull it into a vacuum using a AC pump to ensure you fixed the leak. The system should hold a vacuum for a while. If it does not, then you still have a leak. If it does, then you are good to refill the system and the compressor should run normally. At this point, you want to test the rest of you system to ensure everything is working. If you don't evacuate your system, then there will be moisture in the system and this will cause damage to your compressor and other components in the future.

Here is a generic video that will help show how to evacuate and recharge your system:

https://youtu.be/X1PtltKa5RM

Let me know if you have other questions. Thanks.