Auto AC questions

[Caver Dave]

Had to purge the refrigerant/oil from the DD Camry to repair some body damage. Pulled several lines, plugged lines & taped over the sockets...

Now that it's back together, is there urgency in getting it charged? IOW, if I hold off until spring, will it cause any damage/issues down the road?

If not, I'll yank the compressor relay to keep it from spinning withe defroster...

 

[Tim C]

The low pressure switch should keep it from coming on with no refrigerant, but you can pull the relay for piece of mind if you want. If you had the system open for more than a few days to a week i'd replace the drier/filter or accumulator (depending on what type of system youve got) since the drier will absorb humidity from the air. You can wait till spring and replace it then vacuum and charge. If the system has not been open long then I would go ahead and vacuum it down (to pull the air/moisture out) then charge it up or at least put a small charge like .1 or .2 lbs in it if you have the ability to do so. Putting some refrigerant in it after vacuuming will pressurize it so that the vacuum wont pull in more air and moisture past the seals.

 

[96tacolx]

Personally I would go ahead and evacuate/ recharge system. Defrost isn't going to work that great without it this time of year. If that doesn't matter you can pressurize with nitrogen then later evacuate/ recharge.