Not So Cold A/C
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Not So Cold A/C
Posted: July 15 2008 09:33 PM
 
Dave Freeman (aka ForVette) [ View ] [ DFR18@netzero.net ] [ Car Ads ] [ Blogs ]
Southaven, Mississippi
 
I have not contacted Vintage Air yet, thought someone may have an idea about my issue first. Car only has 700 miles on all New parts and my A/C starts out pretty cold, but warms up as motor temp rises. Have had it charged 3 times on a machine at 1.8 lb of 134R. Same results. Everything is wired and plumbed correctly and motor temp runs at 200-205 with no lines running too close to the headers or anything. Any thoughts or similar problems ou there? Thanks.
 
 
Comments
 
Posted by oilmanpat  -  07/15/2008 09:37 PM
Is your condenser one with vertical tubes or horizontal?
oilmanpat [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Warsaw, Illinois Charter Member since August 2007
 
Posted by ForVette  -  07/15/2008 09:39 PM
Vertical ! Also, it worked well up to when I had a leak and had it re-charged.
ForVette [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Southaven, Mississippi
 
Posted by oilmanpat  -  07/15/2008 09:46 PM
I've been told that the horizontal condensers are what to use with 134. I have a vertical though and it runs my wifie out of the car on high. I've been told that it has to be overcharged but,it has the correct weight of 134 in it. All I can say is "so far so good."
oilmanpat [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Warsaw, Illinois Charter Member since August 2007
 
Posted by sellersrodshop  -  07/15/2008 10:25 PM
i had one that did that & the hot water valve that runs the heater core wasn't shutting off the flow of hot water correctly. it was allowing enough water thru to "heat" the cold air. got it fixed & no more problems. might be woth a quick look.
sellersrodshop [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] old hickory, Tennessee
 
Posted by meangene  -  07/15/2008 10:31 PM
same thing happend to me put a manuel shut off in the heater hose and see if theres a differents
even a blind hog finds a acorn [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Labadie, Missouri
 
Posted by DavyJ  -  07/15/2008 10:46 PM
My wife's 38 did that when i first built it. it had vertical tubes, the air conditioning shop says that the tubes should have the loops on the sides, so that the oil does not get trapped at the bottom and stop the flow. i picked up a new condenser with horizontal tubes and it has been fine since.
Still driving the wife's car, cause I am slow. [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Niagara Falls, Canada Charter Member since February 2005
 
Posted by REBORN55  -  07/15/2008 10:59 PM
hot water valve would be a good place to start
Ken [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] De soto, Illinois
 
Posted by JAWS  -  07/16/2008 12:25 AM
Ditto on the hot water valve being installed on the return hose instead of the feed for the heater core.
An electrical headache can make a great car a pain [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Boise, Idaho Charter Member since August 2004
 
Posted by rodsnhawgs  -  07/16/2008 06:55 AM
typical VA story...beyond me how they continue to sell this stuff... boys and girls, there are much better units out there...
rodsnhawgs [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Saint albans, West Virginia Charter Member since August 2001
 
Posted by scac  -  07/16/2008 09:22 AM
mr. freeman,

my name is scott,and i work for hot rod air.i would look at what heater hose your heater control valve is in. it should be in the hose coming from the head or intake,not the water pump.the a.c starts out cold ,as the engine water starts to get hot, it is going into the evaporator causing hot air blowing out of the vents.my phone # is 888-357-0040.i know that this is not one of my systems,but we are all in the same hobby,and i will help you however i can.
scac [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] selma, Texas
 
Posted by da34guy  -  07/16/2008 10:08 AM
Hey Steve -- where ya been hidin?????
Don [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Prescott, Arizona Charter Member since October 2001
 
Posted by bigdude  -  07/16/2008 10:27 AM
What kind of wussy needs heat anyway?
resident know it all [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Three Rivers, Michigan Charter Member since January 2004
 
Posted by lenbeal  -  07/16/2008 11:13 AM
Dave it sounds like you have it over charged. Its comon to over charge a system. About 1.5 lbs is about right. Look in the install instructions and it will give you the correct lbs. The leak should be fixed. 134 dose not wear out, so fix the leak, its probably just a minor tighting of a fitting. The place recharging the system has dye or a sniffer to find the leak. But my guess its over charged. I have installed 4 syestem in street rods and all have worked perfect. But I have tightened up a few fitting when we check on the orig charge using the sniffer. Calling Vintage or my favorit Hotrod air is the right step to take. Soory to be too wordy...Hope to see you at Louisville with tha car.
flyingb [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] harrogate, Tennessee
 
Posted by rodsnhawgs  -  07/16/2008 03:21 PM
Hey Don...lurkin' around but you guys usually have things covered very well. Other than that, I've been workin' more hours than I care to think about which has kinda kept me underground. Hoping to get back on the '48 p/u real soon.
rodsnhawgs [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Saint albans, West Virginia Charter Member since August 2001
 
Posted by JAWS  -  07/16/2008 08:43 PM
I am a wuss that needs air....
An electrical headache can make a great car a pain [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Boise, Idaho Charter Member since August 2004
 
Posted by APLUS  -  07/16/2008 09:42 PM
You can add me to that wuss list also----it get's very hot here in Texas. Of course when I was younger (much younger) I didn't want the weight or drag on my car for the street racing we did a long time ago (60's). Age does funny things to the body.
APLUS [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Austin, Texas
 
Posted by Starfire  -  07/16/2008 09:50 PM
"Age does funny things to the body."


Yeah, it remembers all the abuse it took between the ages of 15 to 45 and starts getting even from that point on.
Starfire [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Weimar, Texas
 
Posted by gman0046  -  07/17/2008 09:43 AM
Rodsnhawgs, are you and Kieth going to the Nats? LaQuinta? Let me know, I'll look you up.

Gary
gman0046 [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Anchorage, Kentucky
 
Posted by ForVette  -  07/17/2008 12:35 PM
Up-date on A/C. After downloading for an hour on VA site, one of their tips states that thermostat may be set too cold and causing the coil to ice up. So after adjusting to a warmer setting I now have ice-cold air again. Will know better after cruise-in tonight in 95+ temperature. AAAmazing what you can get when you follow the instructions, isn't it !! Thanks for all the input and offers of help, everyone, I really appreciate it.
ForVette [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Southaven, Mississippi
 
Posted by Starfire  -  07/17/2008 08:09 PM
Coil icing was a huge problem back in the '50s and '60s with after market under dash units, thought those issues had largely been resolved. Hint: Using the highest fan speed at cooler temp settings will reduce the number of icing occurrences if you do not let the coils become too iced before using the highest fan speed setting. Icing can also be symptomatic of poor evaporator case draining or plugged drains. Bugs just love to build nests in A/C drain tubes.
Starfire [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Weimar, Texas
 
Posted by gman0046  -  07/17/2008 09:20 PM
Had the same problem with the VA unit in my 46 Ford. The longer it ran the less airflow it had as the coil would ice up. I continually had to bump the temp lever up to thaw out the coil. VA has only one coil for heat and cooling and it's much smaller in size the a Classic unit. Rodsnhawgs is right on when he stated there are other manufacturers of A/C units besides VA.
gman0046 [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Anchorage, Kentucky
 
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