accumulator not sweating

[studejoe]

Hi, new to forum. I just put in a new compressor and accumulator on my 08 chrysler town and country van. After filling the system with 2.5 lbs of r134a according to the specs it blew cool not cold. The accumulator was not sweating after 15 minutes of running the car and ac was not cold. My gauges read 50 low side, 220 high side the temp was 82 degrees. what cold be the problem?

[Cornbinder89]

Both high and low pressures are high. If you are SURE about the amount of refrigerant being correct. I wonder if you have some non-condensable gas (air) in the system? Did you purge the lines when you changed from the vacuum pump to the refrigerant can? did you get the vacuum high enough for the altitude you are at? Did the system hold the vacuum after the pump was shut off?

[studejoe]

Just went out to check gauges again and low was 32 high 180, temp was still 80 degrees. the high side jumped to 300 then dropped back to 180, then back to 300 then back again. if stayed steady yesterday. From the charts i have been reading the readings appear to be normal yesterday and low today due to the temperature. I admit I am a diyer and this is the first compressor I have done.

[Cornbinder89]

Forget the "charts" they mislead more then they help.
This is the most important chart

https://forum.aircondition.com/forum/reference-and-resources/111-r-134a-vs-r12-temp-pressure-chart

It show the pressure/ temp relationship of R12 and R 134a
32 and 180 is a whole lot better than 50 and 300
Jumping around could be moisture or debris plugging passages.
If you replaced the compressor due to failure it is likely you have debris in the system that will continue to cause problems and can destroy the new compressor.
You will likely need to replace the condenser, metering device (either orifice tube or Tx valve), accumulator and need to flush the evaporator and lines.
At 80 deg, I would expect pressures between 140 and 180 on the high side and around 28-32 on the low side.

[studejoe]

when I changed the compressor there was very little oil in it, when i felt the oil i din't feel anything but there again the debris could have been to small to feel, There was less than an oz of oil in it which would cause a few problems. I there a way to recover the r134a without taking somewhere?

[Cornbinder89]

Not really. You can make your own recovery device, but the cost is not cheap. The recovery tanks alone are more than paying someone to recover and recharge the system.
Lack of proper oil leads to metal in the system. Imagine running an engine with less than a qt of oil in the crankcase.
When a system has a leak, oil is carried out with the refrigerant. Too often owners just keep "boosting" the system each year with a can or even multiple times during the cooling season. The result is what you have now.
You need to flush out any metal that may be in the system, replace the metering device, and replace the condenser to get the metal out. Condensers don't flush clean, too many small passages.
A/C work is not cheap and can be very unforgiving.

[studejoe]

thanks for the help I guess it start over again from square one.

[Tom Greenleaf]

Welcome studejoe: What accumulator? This is only listed as an expansion valve system but look ups can be wrong or cold have dual A/C/ 4 engine options so what is it? 8th digit of VIN # will tell.
Cornbinder already listed pressure temp ratios at what temps plus if it has an "O" tube or not just my look up not a CCOT (clutch cycling orifice tube) system.

Charts will be all wrong go by under-hood info for capacities.

If you needed a compressor what happened? That matters most here. It probably did what they do is "grenade" and throws debris you can't just do that the condenser can't be cleared out so it always gets tossed or will fail as well as if you used a rebuilt compressor the failure rate is astounding. New or AYOR is also IMO if a rebuilt is good it was made from one that wasn't bad when redone!

This is totally NOT DIY friendly so computer controlled it's over the edge again IMO. Way too much requires dealer side resets by scanners you could buy but just might be (hang on here ($100,000 bucks) to get one! Some lots less. Note no dipstick for to check even trans fluid it has to calculate oil temps at the time it's checked. FAIL.

I used this (AutoZone's site for data look up) is here > https://www.autozone.com/searchresul...ds=accumulator < AYOR with them also.

Back to top question. Seeing sweating with A/C is still a factor of the dew point and how cold certain parts will get sometimes none other times noted lots of water/condensate dripping when operating.

Long winded - sorry and you may really like and want this exact vehicle it is a very popular size and features just right for many always matters. The downside it is very dealer dependent either except that or don't own these!

I'm not kidding even sun visor's if harm wires to vanity lighting happens can blow a VERY costly "BCM" (body control module.)

It's not alone with these snags just the A/C alone is going to require the most well equipped shop and tech even extra training for these the job for you is to find the right place that will take this on,