AC Woes

[SCANDINAVIAN13]

Naturally, my AC dies on one of the hottest days yet this summer.
Even better, it does it on the day my lady friend came down to visit. That went over well...
Luckily for me, she didn't mind the windows being down the whole weekend.

Here's the situation:
#1: AC Engages when selected, hit shown on the economy gauge and felt in driving performance, but air temperature is only slightly changed at best.
#2: All fuses related to AC are intact and in place.
#3: When the car is not in direct sun and the temps are lower, the AC performance is better.

Sounds like a simple recharge problem to me. What do you all think?
I'm still set to do all of my work this weekend, so I'm hoping to figure this out before then so I can just add this on to the list.

[Pirate_copy]

Possible the filters need replacing mate

Dont think this is a 'hedgehog' (Final Stage Resistor) issue though....

[AZKC]

Naturally, my AC dies on one of the hottest days yet this summer.
Even better, it does it on the day my lady friend came down to visit. That went over well...
Luckily for me, she didn't mind the windows being down the whole weekend.

Here's the situation:
#1: AC Engages when selected, hit shown on the economy gauge and felt in driving performance, but air temperature is only slightly changed at best.
#2: All fuses related to AC are intact and in place.
#3: When the car is not in direct sun and the temps are lower, the AC performance is better.

Sounds like a simple recharge problem to me. What do you all think?
I'm still set to do all of my work this weekend, so I'm hoping to figure this out before then so I can just add this on to the list.

Sounds like its a little low on Freon. Is the compressor turning on and off frequently if so probably low. Need to get some gauges on it and ck your pressures.

[lochness]

Same thing happened to me couple years ago in my e36 and it was a simple recharge. Good luck...

[im]

i know it sounds stupid but make sure that the vents are all open and little wheel is turned in the right direction under the center vent...other than that the hoses for the a/c leak after some time...check for cracks?...i had a shadetree (low budget) a/c guy replacement the bad hoses on a old 92? 318 by re-use of the metal parts of a/c hoses and worm clamped some high pressure rubber hoses to the recycled metal parts..real low budget repair but looked clean..lasted several years (5+) then car was sold.

[SCANDINAVIAN13]

It's good to point out the obvious sometimes, im, but I definitely have that one taken care of. Before I come blabbing to the boards I make sure to get as much info and trouble-shooting out on my own so I can accurately describe the problem.
All of the dials and wheels are in the correct position for max AC, but there's no cooling action.
I'm generally on top of the dials all the time, too, since I always shut off the passenger vents to get more flow on myself whenever I don't have a passenger in the car.

Thanks for the quick replies, all. I'll check it out when I get a chance. As much as I want to get it done before Friday so I can have AC on the 4 hour drive, it might just be easier to leave it for when I get there and have the car in pieces already.

[Conehead]

I would think an AC service...could be a little low on Gas and the condenser may need changing. In Aust the Condesers need changing every 2 years.

Cheers

[SCANDINAVIAN13]

Nice. You're talking about the coolant gas, right?

[Conehead]

The aircon gas. It could be low. Or the condenser needs to be replaced. If you get a A/C service, they will fix both.

Cheers
XXX

[SCANDINAVIAN13]

Sounds like its a little low on Freon.
That was the problem. A simple 134a recharge deal from Advance did the job in a few minutes yesterday after work.

Thanks for the help guys!
If you need to do a recharge any time in the future, I definitely recommend getting a system with a built in pressure gauge. It made everything so much easier.

[lundzor]

I just bought a gauge kit with a can of R134a, i hooked up the gauge to the smaller valve..which is closest to the windshield, and when i attached it, i pushed it in so it released into the gauge, giving me a pressure of close to 100 psi...i thought the smaller valve was supposed to be waaay less in pressure? Could i get some help in doing this the right way? thanks!