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Air Conditioning Best Service Practices Tried & Tested When your car or truck has an air conditioning problem and needs service, what should you do? If your A/C system only needs some refrigerant, you can probably recharge the a/c system yourself. But if you are having cooling problems, leaks or electronic control problems, you should probably seek out a repair facility that specializes in air conditioning service work. Our advice is to seek out a repair facility that is a member of MACS, the Mobile Air Conditioning Society. MACS is a non-profit trade association for repair shops that do air conditioning service work. MACS promotes training, education, professionalism, and most importantly "Best Practices" for servicing and repairing your vehicle's air conditioning system. Since 1991, MACS has assisted more than one million technicians to comply with 1990 Clean Air Act requirements for certification in refrigerant recovery and recycling to protect the...

R-12 to R-134A Refrigerant Retrofit If you drive an older vehicle (pre-1994), the air conditioning system contains R-12 refrigerant (Freon). As long as the A/C system has no leaks and it cooling normally, there is no need to convert from R-12 to the new "ozone safe" R-134a refrigerant. But if your A/C system has lost it's charge because of a leak, collision damage, or the need to open it to replace a compressor, hose or other component, you may have to convert from R-12 to R-134a when you recharge the system Why? Because R-12 is no longer produced in the U.S. Supplies of recycled R-12 still exist, and some R-12 is still brought in from offshore suppliers. But it is hard to find and expensive. That's why many people simply recharge their older R-12 air conditioning system with R-134a after repairs have been made. R-134a Retrofit Conversion Costs Does it make economic sense to retrofit an older vehicle to R-134a if the A/C system has lost its refrigerant ...

New Automotive Refrigerants For Your Vehicle What the future holds for automotive refrigerants is uncertain, but changes are happening and more changes are coming. R-134a refrigerant contineus to be used in many late model vehicles, but many new cars are now being equipped with A/C systems that use R-1234yf refrigerant. Other refrigerants may also be coming as R-134 is gradually phased out in the years ahead. The Europeans want to phase out R-134a in all new vehicles by 2017. The European rules require any new refrigerants must have a global warming potential of less than 150. The U.S. EPA also wants car makers to switch to a different refrigerant to lower the overall carbon emissions of the vehicle fleet. Carbon credits will be given to auto makers who make the switch to a refrigerant that has a lower Global Warming Potential (GWP). Though R-134a poses no danger to the ozone layer if it escapes into the atmosphere, it is a "greenhouse gas" with a fairly high ...

Alternative Refrigerants For Your Vehicle  As R-12 continues to disappear, the price of R-12 refrigerant continues to rise. So what do you recharge an older air conditioning system with if R-12 is unavailable? DROP-IN ALTERNATIVES FOR R-12 REFRIGERANT? Though a number of alternative refrigerants are marketed as "drop-in" replacements for R-12, there is really no such thing as a true drop-in replacement. The reason why is because Federal law prohibits the topping off A/C systems with ANY refrigerant that is chemically different from what is already in the system, unless all of the old refrigerant is first removed so the system can be converted to the alternative refrigerant. There are, however, a number of alternative refrigerants that can be used in older vehicles with R-12 A/C systems, and most have been reviewed and approved by the EPA for retrofitting older R-12 A/C systems. Approved refrigerants must meet the EPA's SNAP (Significant New Alternatives P...

 Car's Air Conditioner Recharge Procedure LOW REFRIGERANT If your air conditioner is not cooling well because the system is low on refrigerant, recharging the system with refrigerant should restore normal operation. This can usually be done with a few cans of refrigerant and a simple service hose connection. A/C RECHARGING PRECAUTIONS First, wear safety glasses to protect your eyes. Also avoid skin contact with refrigerant. The chilling effect of spilled refrigerant can cause instant frostbite on bare skin or eyes! WHAT TYPE OF REFRIGERANT? Next, you need to figure out what type of refrigerant your vehicle requires: On 1995 and newer passenger cars and light trucks, the correct refrigerant is R134a. DO NOT use any other type of refrigerant. On most 1994 and older passenger cars and light trucks, the original refrigerant was R12. R12 is no longer available to do-it-yourselfers and is very expensive. When older vehicles with R12 A/C systems need refrigerant, th...