Air Conditioner blowing warm air

[brd7666]

We have a 99 Taurus with a 3.0, 6 cylinder. The A/C is not working right. If you turn it on, it blows warm air, but not hot like the heater. I turned it on Max, and hooked up a guage, it reads about 35 pounds. The condensor is cold, and dripping with water, but it seemed like it should have been colder. What do you think? I didn't want to put in a can of freon until I got some opinions. Thanks.

[sheila]

What does the high side read?

[JW657]

I wouldn't charge it, what if you overcharge it?

What is the compressor doing? Can you explain how it's cycling? Get a temp reading off of the evaporator, too. I would make sure the condenser isn't covered in crap. If you overcharge, it won't work right at all. Do you have a manifold gauge set? The condenser is the warm part of the A/C, what ports are you getting a reading from? I think high side in is in the front, low side is by the firewall on the passenger side (I haven't hooked up a set of gauges to a Taurus in about 2 years though).

We'll need a little more info, it might even be unrelated to the A/C system. But it's never a good idea to randomly add refrigerant, there's an exact amount that you need to put in.

Hope this helps!

[sheila]

^ 10-4 on the service ports locations. High (discharge) port is the vertical pipe behind the pass. headlight. Low (suction) port is at pass. side firewall. Really need both readings to get an idea. If needed, you can get a decent set of manifold gauges at harbor freight tools for $30-40.

[paker]

If condenser is cold, it is undercharged. The high pressure side needs to be in the warm range so that the low pressure side can become cold. If your system runs on R134a, 35 psi is low for Tampa today. You may not want to add the whole can. I would add 1/2 can first and measure pressure again. If 1/2 can doesn't make any difference in cooling, measure high pressure to make sure nothing is wrong on the high pressure side.

[brd7666]

The only guage that I have is for adding freon. I put it on the low side (one by firewall), which is the one for adding freon. I started the car after I attached the guage, then turned on the A/C to Max, and the needle went to about 35 pounds, which is right in the middle of the blue. I didn't want to add freon until I came here, even though it will take more. I don't believe freon is the issue.

I posted this in a truck forum I belong to, and someone suggested the blend door is sticking. I checked fuse 6 because the blend door actuator is supposed to use that fuse, or at least my service manual says that. The owners manual said the reverse lights share that fuse, and they were working fine.

Here is a pic of my guage.

[sheila]

^+1 on the warm hi side. Condenser discharges warm air from the cabin.

[brd7666]

The part I called the condensor is down below the low side port, near the firewall, and is a metal hose that usually gets cold when the A/C is on. It's where the water drips from that drips down on the driveway.

[paker]

My bad. Ignore my previous post. (By the way, it's called evaporator.)

Someone here said 25 psi is the cutoff pressure. 35 is above the threshold, but still on the low side. For today's Florida weather (I live in Orlando), you need about 50 psi for better efficiency. But it's not the issue.

I think you need to focus on blender door, actuator, etc. Sorry I cannot help you. I am sure someone can lead you in the right direction.

[sheila]

^ Evaporator area. Evap. is in heater box alongside htr. core. Thats the evap. drain that drips on pass. firewall. Evap. absorbs heat from the cabin and sends it to be expelled at the condenser.