Questiona/c blow slightly cool , and is showing 60-65 psi on guage
r134a, i believe they put the orfice at the high side firewall line , i drain and evec'd the system then recharged .. still got 60-65 psi would you say its the orfice or accumulator
AnswerRodney,
I am assuming that when you say your pressure reading was 60-65 you were talking about the low side pressure correct? Do you know by any chance what your high side reading was? That would really help me in trying to help you. But just going off the information I have...
On the "J" body vehicles (Sunfire, Sunbird, Cavalier, J2000, etc.) the orifice tube is actually located at the oulet of the condensor versus the typical location which is at the inlet of the evaporator.
As for the problem that you are seeing with the low side pressure being too high. There are three problems which typically cause this. The first being that your condensor is not releasing the amount of heat it should. If your condensor fan(s) are not operating correctly, the condensor fins (more than 25-40% of them) being bent, or the condensor itself being dirty enough to block airflow through it, this would cause high low side pressure. This is the first thing that I would check.
The second typical cause for high low side pressure is a system being overcharged. What this causes is for your evaporator basically "flooding" and not allowing it to absorb enough heat into it. When you charged it... did you put the correct amount back in? This is should be found on a sticker on the radiator fan shround or bracket, or on the hood itself. I can't remember the exact amount off the top of my head, but it should be less than 2 pounds. I would check this second.
The third common cause is that the valves inside your compressor are weakening and allowing some of your high side pressure to bleed back to your low side on the upstroke of the piston. This I would be able to rule out, or worst case... confirm, with your high side reading. Typically your high and low sides will have a 120-180(fluctuating) pressure difference.
I would check these three items first before jumping to the orifice tube or accumulator. Simply because if either of these two items are bad, it will typically lead to a too low pressure reading on the low side and a higher than normal high side pressure. This being caused by the restriction. (A restriction being formed is the only way these items can go bad)
Thank you for the question, I hope I was of some assistance. If I can do anything further during this process, or in the future, please do not hesitate to ask. If you found this response to be of some assistance, please remember to rate this answer. Thanks again and good luck in everything.
