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My Continental GT only blows warm air. So I replaced the compressor. I vacuumed the gas and first put 200g of 134a into the high-pressure side. It went in without any problems. Then, to fill the low-pressure side, I started the engine and turned on the air conditioner, but almost no gas went in. There was still a lot of gas left in the gas, and it stopped blowing. Why is this? Could the orifice be clogged? Is the expansion valve clogged? I've attached a photo of the gas pressure when it stopped blowing in.
Hello @noisemaker ,
What year and engine is your GT ?
If I may ask, when you removed the compressor, did you do it from the bottom of the vehicle, or did you have to remove the front bumper and radiator support and go in from the front ?
The picture of your gauges, I assume that this is without the engine running, also, when you were adding the refrigerant to the high side, did the low side go up in pressure on the gauge ?
If the orifice which is the expansion valve is clogged, you should have very high pressure on the high side, and the low side would suck done to almost zero, depending on the amount of the orifice screen being clogged.
We really need to know what the pressures are with the engine running to confirm that the compressor is actually functioning, so the wiring/plug for the N280 valve on the compressor and the pressure switch in the line near the compressor need to confirm they are plugged in correctly.
Also make sure the the HVAC control on the Infotainment head is not set to ECON - economy.
Here is my clogged orifice, which cause the high side to go way over normal pressure, and the low side to drop down to almost zero.
@Johnny Hotspur GT
Thank you for your comment. Yes, this is the pressure when the engine is off. My Continental is a 2004 model. The chassis number is SCBCE63W94C023379 and the model number is GH-BCBEB. I accidentally turned on the ECON switch the day before yesterday. I'll try it again on Wednesday and check the pressure. By the way, I read a previous article that said the compressor wouldn't turn on if a diagnostic test showed an error. Is that true?
Today I turned off the ECON and started the engine, but the gauges didn't move at all. I checked the compressor status with a diagnostic tool, but no matter what I did it remained off. I made sure the wiring was connected properly.
Maybe the fan control circuit short to ground might be the issue, not sure if ambient would keep compressor from running. Also when you change a compressor, your should always change the orifice/filter, likely that was in instructions with the AC compressor/ Also many require a new drier installed to have any warranty on compressor.
Did you remove the front bumper during the AC compressor replacement, if so, please double check the connector for the front bumper harness, the connector is on the driver's side (LHD) behind the bumper in the area of the intercooler, or thereabouts, I would check the connection at the sensor itself also, there is a second ambient sensor, I will show that also.
Here are pictures of the front bumper harness with the ambient temperature sensor.
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This is the other ambient temperature sensor in my hand, and laying on top of the brake fluid reservoir, it mounts in the area of the orifice/AC line.
As to your comment of checking all wiring, these are the other areas of concern after replacing the compressor.
The N280 valve connection on the compressor itself, along with the pressure sensor on the high pressure line .