Low-side and high-side pressures lower than expected after AC repair

Question

I just did my first automotive AC repair, after the compressor in my 2004 Lancer 2.0 ate itself, cracked its casing, and blew all the refrigerant out.

I think I did the repair & recharge correctly-- and the AC is blowing very cold-- but I'm concerned that the operating pressures are not anywhere close to what they are spec'd to be.

(During recharge, I added ~18oz of r134a, per the yellow sticker under the hood.)

Before recharging, I googled 'r134a pressure chart', and found the following:

At the time, it was 82F in my garage, so I was expecting to end up in the middle of the range (both low- and high-pressure) for the 80F row.... 45psi for low, and about 190psi for the high side. (When referring to this chart, I assumed that the target low readings were for when the clutch was disengaged, and the target high readings were for when the clutch was active.) However, after my recharge the highest low reading I see (right before clutch engages) is 40psi, and the highest reading I ever see for the high side is 150 (right before the clutch disengages.)

Should I be concerned about these low operating pressures, given my starting ambient temperature? This car is 11 years old, and so the computer & pressure switch have about 160K miles on them.

As I said, AC appears to be working very well. The compressor clutch cycles about 12 seconds on, and 12 seconds off. (I'm not sure what's an exceptable duty cycle there. Also I was parked in a garage, not running down the road, air flow through the condenser wasn't exactly real-world. Of course the fans kicked on whenever the clutch engaged.)

Static pressures (with engine off): 80-85 for both high and low sides.

In case anyone has questions about my methodology, this is what I did:

1. Remove old compressor, condenser, dryer, and expansion valve
2. Flush lines and evaporator with recommended flush solvent
3. Installed (all new) compressor, condenser, dryer, and expansion valve, coating all rubber seals with PAG oil
4. Added UV dye and 1.75 oz of PAG-46 oil to condenser (compressor came pre-filled with 3 oz, and total required by manufacturer was 4.75) (Mitsubishi originally called for 'SUN PAG-56', but after-market compressor called for PAG-46, so I used the latter)
5. Connected hi/low gauge set
6. Pulled vacuum to almost -30 psi inches Hg, observed that level held for 1 hour
7. Resumed pulling vacuum for 1 additional hour
8. Closed off high & low sides, detached vacuum pump, attached 12oz can of r134a (no additives)
9. Pierced first 12oz can, allowed yellow line to pressurize.
10. Burped yellow line @ the manifold to purge air
11. 12oz can+valve+hose weighed 20.7oz at this point
12. Opened up low side, allowed vacuum in system to suck in some refrigerant
13. Started car, resumed slowly-turning can... compressor clutch engaged for the first time pretty early into this step.
14. After first can felt empty, new weight reading was 8.2 (so, 12.5oz discharged from 1st "12oz" can)
15. Closed off low side
16. Disconnected yellow hose from can's adapter, then connected to different adapter already installed on 2nd can (at this point, I realized I had made a minor mistake, should have moved the first adapter over to the second can without disconnecting the hose. But I compensated for this by burping the yellow line again.)
17. Initial weight of second (partial) can+adapter+hose: 15.1oz
18. Final weight of second: 9.6 (so, 5.5oz discharged from 2nd "partial" can)
19. Total estimated charge: 12.5+5.5=18oz (actually a little less because of burping and final contents of hoses. I think this is OK because the service manual's specifications page gives an acceptable range of "16.93 - 18.34")

Answer 1

That chart is not universal. You should be fine.

Every model will have its own characteristic low-side and high-side pressures.

This is why some manufacturers recommend charging refrigerant by mass rather than by high-side, low-side and ambient temperature values.

As long as you have charged the system with the correct amount of refrigerant (which you have according to the tolerance defined in your manual), you should be fine.

Another sanity check is that the low-pressure switch activates at 32 psi, which is lower than the 40 psi you are seeing on the low-side.

I'm not sure if your Lancer is equipped with a high-side pressure switch but the same principle applies.

Enjoy your ice-cold AC!

---

P.S.

Some observations about your procedure:

• Pulled vacuum to almost -30psi, observed that level held for 1 hour

  This tells me that there are no leaks.

• Added UV dye and 1.75 oz of PAG-46 oil to condenser

  The UV dye is added if you want to detect leaks with UV light. Else it shouldn't be necessary. PAG-46 is the right oil for your car and is absolutely necessary to since it lubricates the internals of the compressor.

• This car is 11 years old, and so the computer & pressure switch have about 160K miles on them.

  Not sure about the Lancer, but on some vehicles the pressure switch is a capacitor where the refrigerant pressure controls the distance between the two plates, thereby altering capacitance and voltage.

Once again, the level of detail provided in this question is stellar. I'd consider this to be the golden standard for all AC-related questions.

Answer 2

@RyanV.Bissell I am impressed with how much attention you gave to this task. Last year, I took my VW to authorized dealer to replace the compressor and they overfilled it. After that, they did not know what was wrong simply because the computer did not give any errors and actually did not believe me that something was wrong at first :D The problem appeared only at very hot weather so it was difficult to prove at first :) As fix they have re-done the flush/refill from scratch, hoping it would fix the issue. But meanwhile I have researched how to diagnose AC problems.

Unfortunately, they used some robinair machine and it showed the correct amount put into the system but it was still wrong...

You should be able to check the correct operation even though you do not have the vehicle specific values. This can be accomplished by checking super-heat and sub-cooling.

While the chart you have put is not universal, the temperatures that the refrigerant turns into liquid and vaporize only depend on the pressure and it has a chart also. Same as water boiling at sea level at 100C(212F) but at lower temp at high altitudes because pressure is less, same rule applies to refrigerant.

So, using laws of physics you can tell a lot about the operation of the system. For example you can tell if the refrigerant is in liquid form when leaving evaporator and entering the compressor (which would be bad for the compressor).

If you do a web search with keywords 'ac troubleshooting superheating subcooling' you would easily find a lot of good articles. Here is one: http://www.achrnews.com/articles/93445-troubleshooting-with-superheat-subcooling

Answer 3

Your car AC is perfect according to you, except one thing that you have mentioned!!

"The compressor clutch cycles about 12 seconds on, and 12 seconds off. (I'm not sure what's an exceptable duty cycle there."

Resetting your car ECM, will probably resolve the issue of AC frequent on-off cycling!! Sometimes this intermittent functioning is due to the confused ECU, initially for few cycles after the AC repairs/recharges. The resetting will erase old data from the memory and car computer will learn again from the new signals from the AC sensor electric signal data readings.

Check if the car ecm is again setting error/fault codes, electronically. In general, a car sets OBDII (DTC) fault code(s) for such AC issues. The system detects the frequency of clutch cycling by voltage signal when the voltage signal is higher than the automaker’s limit.

By the way, if the problem is not resolved electronically, the AC clutch is still cycling at a high rate, then we have to focus on the mechanical aspects. This can be due to low refrigerant, but it can also be due to a number of other causes, as well.

All of the following can cause the clutch to cycle too frequently, or otherwise present symptoms of low AC refrigerant:

Low refrigerant, overcharged refrigerant, inoperable cooling fans, short or open in the AC refrigerant pressure sensor circuit, bad/loose connection in the AC refrigerant pressure sensor circuit, faulty pressure sensor switch, faulty climate control head unit, dirty/clogged condenser (usually located near the grill, infront of radiator/fan) and/or clogged cooling-coil/evaporator unit (inside cabin air blower unit).

Since, you are getting good cooling inside the car cabin, we can eliminate all the other possibilities. We can just keep our focus on two mechanical points in your case.

First, is to clean the condensor front fins properly with pressurised air/water thru the grill without opening the engine bay to protect the electronic components. Its a free service by many car wash garages. Second, if the first doesn't work, check the pressure switch(es) and its circuit components properly and repair/replace as per the requirement.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII(2004). Manual-part 1xx (DUAL PRESSURE SWITCH SIMPLE CHECK PROCEDURE): Measure the high-pressure side pressure. If there is a continuity between the dual pressure switch terminals with the dual pressure switch in ON condition, the switch is in good condition. If not, it is faulty. Replace the switch.

Links below, provided useful information about HVAC pressure-switching(mechanical sensor-actuator) system:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tMi3VDkPdCo

https://zinref.ru/avtomobili/Mitsubishi/160_010_00_Mitsubishi_Lancer_Evolution_VI_manual_english/113.htm

https://mechanicbase.com/ac/ac-refrigerant-pressure-switch-symptoms/

https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/p0534-obd-ii-trouble-code-air-conditioner-refrigerant-charge-loss-by-valerie-johnston

https://m.autozone.com/cooling-heating-and-climate-control/a-c-switch/mitsubishi/lancer

https://axleaddict.com/auto-repair/DIY-Auto-Service-AC-System-Diagnosis-by-Symptom

P.S. Some Vital data (from hella.com) for Mitsubishi Lancer 2.0i/EVO VIII :

Construction year

2003 - 2008

Refrigerant Type

R134a

Refrigerant filling quantity

480-520

OEM Type of compressor oil

Sun PAG56

(Type of compressor: PAO 68 / PAG ISO 46)

Compressor Oil Filling quantity (Maximum)

120

Answer 4

From my personal shade tree experience this sounds like a properly done job. Good vacuum, proper oil and refrigerant amounts, and blowing really cold air. I would not worry about exact values on the gauges.