In 1995, auto manufactures switched from R12 refrigerant to R134a because of Environmental Protection Agency mandates. The use of R134a gives you the ability to recharge your air conditioner yourself instead of seeking the services of a professional mechanic. You can purchase recharge kits that come complete with the R134a refrigerant, the service hose and the pressure gauge. This makes the task of recharging your air conditioner with R134a straightforward.
Thread the service hose onto the bottle of R134a. Open the valve on top of the service hose to force the air out of the hose. Close the valve.
Locate the low side valve. The valve is covered by a black cap and situates on the hose that connects the accumulator and the compressor. The valve measures 13 mm. It is the only 13 mm valve on the compressor system and the only valve the service hose connects to.
Remove the black cap and connect the service hose to the low side valve.
Turn on your vehicle and turn on the air conditioner full blast.
Open the service hose valve on top of the bottle of R134a. The air conditioner sucks the refrigerant from the bottle. Turn off the valve when the pressure gauge reaches between 24 psi and 40 psi. If the gauge reaches more than 50 psi, you have overcharged the system.
Turn off the vehicle and remove the service hose from the low side valve. Place the cap on the valve.
