Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Need some Ferrari AC advice Please

[coyote (coyote]

   Britt -



   Could be a lot of things ...



   The water dripping could be due to a plugged condensate drain

   which would not affect the operation of the A/C or the evaporator

   could be freezing which will effect the operation.



   The A/C shutting down when things get hot, could also be due

   to too much pressure in the system or a defective limit switch that is

   shutting the system down because it thinks that the pressure is too

   high.



   The first thing you really need to do is invest in a set of A/C
   pressure

   gauges so you can see what the pressures are.



   Another thought, when charging with some of the substitute
   refrigerants

   you usually don't charge the system to full capacity, often times it
   is 80% or so (but will

   vary depending on the refrigerant) of the capacity stated for R12.
   Overcharged is

   way worse than undercharged.



   Unfortunately in order to see what the pressures are doing, you need a
   hot day to

   stress the system.



   One simple thing to check, is the cooling fans. I don't know how the
   400 is set up, but

   usually when the A/C is on it will override the thermal switch for the
   electric cooling fan(s)

   so that they will run all the time when the A/C is on. (On the 308,
   one cooling fan will run all

   the time when the A/C is on, and the other will cycle (yeah right, it
   stays on all the time) based

   the coolant temperature.)



   I don't think that the dryer is your problem in this case. Just be
   sure that if you have to

   open the system up again, make sure that the system is evacuated for
   an extended

   period of time to boil all the moisture out of the system. (I like to
   leave the vacuum pump

   running over night, but this maybe overkill and many shops won't do
   this).



   Lastly, if you can get to the expansion valve without taking the
   entire car apart, it might be

   a good idea to replace it. Some of them have filter screens in them
   that get plugged, and

   sometimes they will stick when they get old. But again, if you can
   read the pressures when it

   is acting up you'll get a much better idea of what is going on.



   Here is an article about diagnosing A/C systems:



   [1]http://www.imcool.com/articles/aircondition/Auto_AC_Diagnosis.php



   and some more info here:



   [2]http://www.aircondition.com/



   Lastly, for more informartion you might want to try this forum:



   [3]http://www.autoacforum.com/



   LMK if you need further help, I'm no A/C expert but I have muddled my
   way through fixing many A/C systems ...



   Jeff



   PS - how's the alfa doing that you got recently?

     -------- Original Message --------
     Subject: [Ferrari] Need some Ferrari AC advice Please
     From: Britt2Asa [at] aol.com
     Date: Sat, February 02, 2008 12:59 pm
     To: Jeff Greenfield <COYOTE [at] acme-ltd.com>
     Cc: The FerrariList <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
     HI Guys,
     While the winter is still hitting hard here in the UK I dragged out
     the 400i
     today for the first time since Nov and ran her up to get heat in
     the exhaust
     and engine. She ran great from the get go which makes it the only
     older
     Ferrari I know of that doesn't mind sitting! Anyway with spring
     around the corner
     I have one niggling thing I need to fix and I need some advice
     please.
     The AC in the car has not been working properly. I had various
     issues with
     leaks and have had the compressor rebuilt and it is charged up with
     R12
     substitute and not leaking now. Problem I noticed last year when it
     was still warm
     out is that it blows cold intermittently. When it doesn't blow cold
     it is
     blowing outside temp, when it blows cold you can tell.
     Last time I drove it and needed the AC I was getting nothing but
     warm air
     and then I felt some cold water dripping on my leg from under the
     dash
     somewhere. Shortly after it started blowing cold like it should. I
     am assuming
     something is freezing up intermintently and when it does I get no
     cold air.
     Unfortunately that's all I can tell you as symptoms. I replaced the
     dryer a year or
     two ago but since then have had a leak and recharged the system a
     few times.
     Is it possible the dryer was destroyed when all the gas leaked out
     while I was
     fixing that problem?
     I know its not much to go on but finding an AC expert in the UK is
     DIFFICULT! The cold water was dripping from somewhere on the right
     side centre of the
     dash but there is no way to see as I was going 80mph at the time
     and it was
     just a little bit of water. Any ideas? What might cause it and what
     should I
     do? (I assume replace the dryer again and re-gass but I would like
     to know what
     that will fix). I am pretty bad on AC systems and how they
     work.......
     Thanks in advance for your help.
     Britt
     BR in the UK
     1986 328GTS (LHD 89,940km) Died August 19, 2006 Shrewsbury UK
     1980 400i (RHD 72,000 miles)
     Searching for the right 512TR
     2003 BMW 530d
     1991 Alfa Spider S4
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References

   1. http://www.imcool.com/articles/aircondition/Auto_AC_Diagnosis.php
   2. http://www.aircondition.com/
   3. http://www.autoacforum.com/
   4. http://lists.ferrarilist.com/mailman/options/ferrari/coyote%40acme-ltd.com
   5. http://www.bidnip.com/
   6. http://www.f1headlines.com/