QuestionMy 2001 Hyundai Accent air conditioning seems to have stopped working. This time of year the windows fog up really bad and I know the A/C isn't working because it clears out the windows real quick.
1. How do I check where the issue lies within the A/C system?
2. How do I recharge the system, what products do you recommend?
3. Do you know of a manual for my car, I Chilton's and Haynes don't make one yet.
AnswerThe first thing to do is to see whether you have the proper refrigerant charge. Unless you have r-134a gauges, you won't be able to do this yourself. I do believe that some of the recharge kits available have a gauge on them. If you find one that does, normal rest pressure (a/c off) is about 90PSI.
If the refrigerant is low, a common way of detecting the location of leaks is to put dye in the system. There may be available refrigerant service kits which have dye in them. Once the dye is added, you can inspect with a black light to see where the leak is.
I'm not going to coach you on how to recharge an a/c system over the internet. Before recharging, it's important to understand what the high and low sides of the a/c system are and how to recognize them. Although I like to encourage people to do their own work, teaching someone how an a/c system operates is more than I can do here. If you've never recharged an a/c system, I recommend that you either have someone present to coach you or that you have a professional service the car.
As for the products, I don't use aftermarket a/c charging products. My employer has special machines that we use to recover and recycle refrigerant, and I therefore have little need for such products. Anything with the proper refrigerant for your car (r-134a) should work fine.
You can see the factory service manuals for your car at www.hmaservice.com. You'll need to register for a free account, and the site requires internet explorer.
