Aircon Guage - is this a problem?

[alexx]

Ive just bought an aircon topup kit from halfords and I think I may have a problem with my system

on the topup kit there is a guage that you fit whilst the system is running - green is low - blue is ok - yellow is unhealthy - red is a danger

mines just into the blue zone so i thought great ill top up to the top of it and it will be sweet as a nut...

before i did this i noticed the guage creep up again and it gets to the top of the blue section just before yellow and you can hear something reset in the engine bay and then the pressure drops back to the bottom of blue and it keeps doing this every 15 seconds or so

do you think that sounds like a blockage in the system or is that normal

[Dandle]

Can't help you but you could get t he a/c topped up at alot of places for about £45(mine was done at Volvo for £75 before these deals came about). I was dubious of self top up kist as I didnt know if they included the oil as well which needs to be added at the same time(the oil could be in the gas though i don't know).

[Blue 8]

I cant comment on these so called "top ups" The system really needs to be drained & vacuum dried, and the right weight of gas then needs to be replaced plus the right amount of oil, many places are doing this now for around £40/£50 this has surly got to be a better opinion than a diy can?

[960kg]

Originally Posted by alexx

Ive just bought an aircon topup kit from halfords and I think I may have a problem with my system

on the topup kit there is a guage that you fit whilst the system is running - green is low - blue is ok - yellow is unhealthy - red is a danger

mines just into the blue zone so i thought great ill top up to the top of it and it will be sweet as a nut...

before i did this i noticed the guage creep up again and it gets to the top of the blue section just before yellow and you can hear something reset in the engine bay and then the pressure drops back to the bottom of blue and it keeps doing this every 15 seconds or so

do you think that sounds like a blockage in the system or is that normal

........i would of thought that is the recycling process being carried out.....the ac clutch engages , then it runs for a certain time then it disengages and so on until you turn it off............it is so the ac motor etc. does not overheat or the pressure is kept at the required amount, although some models such as the 960 have a temp. sensor on the motor that switches off so it does no damage......if the pressure sensor in the system packs up or the gas is low if you bypass the switch it will run forever untill the temp. sensor turns it off............it sounds as though everything is working ok as the pressure sensor reset the system..........

[PICKLEPOP]

It sounds to me as if your system is over pressurised. I had exactly the same problem with a Rover45 a short while ago. I used one of these large cans from Halfords with the gauge and emptied it into the aircon system, according to the gauge i was within limits but it was clearly not, surging (affecting the engine revs) and then cutting out. The solution was to take it to Quikfit and when hooked up to their machine it showed the pressure/volume of gas in the system was THREE times what it should have been. Anyway £45 and 15 mins later all was well with ice cold air flowing again.