Testing A/C compressor?

bigadaj

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

Your comment reminds me of a guy i work with. He came from a similar type of company. We have a product in stock called pipe bedding. He's a driver and will sometimes come to get loaded with this product. He's a strange guy and he will just stand there for an age .... every single time .... arguing that he calls this product pea gravel. Yes, whatever, it's pipe bedding to us. But i call it pea gravel, where i came from called it pea gravel. Yes, wonderful, but we don't. It's the same thing, you know it, i know it so let's get on with it. But i call it pea gravel he'll say again.

Every...single...time...

Well neither is correct, or at least an adequate description.

Without seeing exactly what you're using I couldn't be 100% sure but pea gravel is probably a better bet than pipe bedding.

Pipe bedding is obviously a use, rather than a product. It'll generally be 5-10-20mm washed river gravel, round in nature. The best material for use will depend on the actual pipe calculations, in theory every job should be calculated using Spangler Iowa equations, but people will approximate depending on typical useage and pipe material and size.

JustAnotherSaver

Well tbh i think there's awkwardness for awkwardness sake.

* Pea gravel ... pipe bedding
* Terram ... swiftec ... geotextile ... scotch lay (or whatever it is they say)
* 40mm scalpings ... hardcore ... MOT ... 40mm to dust (in total i think we got to about 15 names between another worker and I)
* ballast ... sand and stone mix ... concrete mix ... plant mix ... 20mm "down" (is there even an UP?!)
* path edgings ... pin kerbs

I could go on. It's all the same product really as far as where i work goes. So i ask you - what do you think would happen to me if you as a customer came in and asked for a product under one name and i stood there arguing with you about another name even though i knew full well what you was referring to anyway (like what is going on here)???

Exactly!


BUT ........... bringing it back on topic (even though i know we'll have to go over the building materials again ) ..... i had the garage test the feed to the compressor today and there is definite power there. Was reading 14.something volts. 14.4 i think was the number. 14.something anyway. Definite power through it.

If it's the clutch how do you even determine that?

At any rate what would be the next step from here?

bigadaj

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

Well tbh i think there's awkwardness for awkwardness sake.

* Pea gravel ... pipe bedding
* Terram ... swiftec ... geotextile ... scotch lay (or whatever it is they say)
* 40mm scalpings ... hardcore ... MOT ... 40mm to dust (in total i think we got to about 15 names between another worker and I)
* ballast ... sand and stone mix ... concrete mix ... plant mix ... 20mm "down" (is there even an UP?!)
* path edgings ... pin kerbs

I could go on. It's all the same product really as far as where i work goes. So i ask you - what do you think would happen to me if you as a customer came in and asked for a product under one name and i stood there arguing with you about another name even though i knew full well what you was referring to anyway (like what is going on here)???

Exactly!


BUT ........... bringing it back on topic (even though i know we'll have to go over the building materials again ) ..... i had the garage test the feed to the compressor today and there is definite power there. Was reading 14.something volts. 14.4 i think was the number. 14.something anyway. Definite power through it.

If it's the clutch how do you even determine that?

At any rate what would be the next step from here?

I think irony is the word here.

Pretty much all of the examples you gave abive are different materials, or some are generic and some specific, such as Terram is a type of geotextile, though is actually a manufacturer. In most cases people would be asking for Terram 1000, but they produce a whole range of materials and it's important to know the right one for the purpose it is being used for.

You've totally missed the point that Adrianc was making.

John123john

The clutch is engaging when you hear the click....

Compressing?? that depends on if you turn it will it compress gas.

If you turn it fast enough it will always compress to a degree......even if it is completely worn out.....

But if it is turning slowly will it compress.....I guess if there is a large nut that holds the shaft, you could apply your 12v to engage the clutch and then use a drill with a socket on the end to turn that nut thereby spinning the compressor to see if you get any kind of suction or compression out of it.

The Black round type is (forget the names, SunCr knows them) are only $250 for a new one at this OEM GM supply house I know of in Huntington Beach.

cajef

John123john wrote: »

The Black round type is (forget the names, SunCr knows them) are only $250 for a new one at this OEM GM supply house I know of in Huntington Beach.

Seeing as you are quoting prices in dollars and Huntington Beach is in California I think we can safely assume you are in America, this is a UK website so information about services in the USA are pretty pointless.

JustAnotherSaver

Well i'm not hearing the click so i take from that that either the clutch is duff or the compressor as a whole is duff.

cajef

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

At any rate what would be the next step from here?

The next step is to get the system checked out by an Air Con specialist.

Despite your claim that you have checked the pressure, if the clutch is not engaging it looks like a problem with the pressure if it is too low the clutch will not operate.

JustAnotherSaver

I used opcom again earlier this week to check the pressure as i had it plugged in for another thing at the time ..... it had actually gone up a bit. It was nearing on 700kpa.


On the topic of A/C but away from my car, we decided to get my wife's 17 year old Golf in today at Kwik Fit for a recharge. I know i know - Kwik Fit. But they're just connecting a machine and letting it do all the work right?

Anyway we went back and was surprised to be told that it couldn't be done (so no charge) as it had a leak.
We've owned this car since 2015. No idea when it was last done. The A/C worked but i personally didn't feel like it was THAT cold. It was cold but not compared to my car (when it was working obviously) which is why we went for the recharge.

We were told that they tried twice with no joy both times. It had tested 14c though when he brought it out and tested again it was 19c.

I asked if it had a leak then why was it working at all? Surely it'd have just dumped its contents and wouldn't work at all?

The guy didn't know.


Now i can't help but feel that there actually was no leak beforehand and Kwik Fit have done something (though i don't know what) which has created a leak. I don't know whether i feel this way because 1) it was working beforehand or 2) because it's Kwik Fit.

It is still colder than no A/C but i'm trying to feel whether it's as cold as it was & i'm unsure so at this moment in time i don't know whether it's in my head or what. We'll have to give it time and try again on a scorchio day and if it's not working then then it surely has to be something Kwik Fit did as it'd be too coincidental otherwise i would've thought.

AdrianC

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

On the topic of A/C but away from my car, we decided to get my wife's 17 year old Golf in today at Kwik Fit for a recharge...
No idea when it was last done.

Now i can't help but feel that there actually was no leak beforehand and Kwik Fit have done something (though i don't know what) which has created a leak.

The recharge involves connecting to the charge valves, which opens their sealed ports. If they've not been opened for a long time, then it's entirely possible that they've failed to reseal again afterwards. That's not KF's fault - it's simply that the only thing keeping them sealed in the first place was that they'd stuck in place.

JustAnotherSaver

AdrianC wrote: »

The recharge involves connecting to the charge valves, which opens their sealed ports. If they've not been opened for a long time, then it's entirely possible that they've failed to reseal again afterwards. That's not KF's fault - it's simply that the only thing keeping them sealed in the first place was that they'd stuck in place.

I did actually wonder if through age there was something that was a bit brittle (or whatever) that after being disturbed had become damaged.

So whereas in my case it's looking like a new compressor would be required, if that would be the case with my wife's car then what would be the fix there? Can you even buy new ports? Is it new pipe lines?

I know it's a case of the if's right now as no test has been done with the coloured gas to determine where exactly the leak is but as i said - we've had it for 2 years this car and the A/C has worked in all that time, just not as cold as it could be being the only thing.