isham42 Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 i have 1998 eldorado, 4.6L northstar ...... last year i was having a problem keeping freon in the car.....i discovered a fitting connection that was left loose. so i tightned it up, and that stopped the leak. this car has had motor replaced last year. when i tried to add freon i couldn't get the compressor to stay on for a minute or two and would not pull down freon. so a mechanic friend of mine told me to boil some water, put it in a pan, take it outside and while the freon was attached to the car, put the can into the boiling water and the freon would be forced into the car, after i cleared the codes......this worked. then i started the car and ran it to operating temp and checked to see if system full. Now the system is FULL of freon but the compressor still will not engage. so i replaced; compressor relay, compressor fuse, high and low side presser switch, still will not engage. still sets code for low refrigerate. that is why i thought the orifice tube filter might be clogged up, or that the low side temp sensor might be bad. i am really starting to see red with this car........i am gaining a undo respect for computer controlled heating and cooling. i long for the simple!! on and off like other cars are...........anyway if anyone has any great ideas PLEASE let me know....oh and today i tried jumping the low temp sensor i read in someone elses post and that didn't work either....the car would't even let me turn the ac on. john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fivepointohman Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 i have 1998 eldorado, 4.6L northstar ...... last year i was having a problem keeping freon in the car.....i discovered a fitting connection that was left loose. so i tightned it up, and that stopped the leak. this car has had motor replaced last year. when i tried to add freon i couldn't get the compressor to stay on for a minute or two and would not pull down freon. so a mechanic friend of mine told me to boil some water, put it in a pan, take it outside and while the freon was attached to the car, put the can into the boiling water and the freon would be forced into the car, after i cleared the codes......this worked. then i started the car and ran it to operating temp and checked to see if system full. Now the system is FULL of freon but the compressor still will not engage. so i replaced; compressor relay, compressor fuse, high and low side presser switch, still will not engage. still sets code for low refrigerate. that is why i thought the orifice tube filter might be clogged up, or that the low side temp sensor might be bad. i am really starting to see red with this car........i am gaining a undo respect for computer controlled heating and cooling. i long for the simple!! on and off like other cars are...........anyway if anyone has any great ideas PLEASE let me know....oh and today i tried jumping the low temp sensor i read in someone elses post and that didn't work either....the car would't even let me turn the ac on. john Disconnect the battery for 15 mins that start the car and see if it hold on.. If not refill the freon and before you start, reset the car car again by disconnecting for 15 mins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 When the system sets the low refrigerant code, it is usually low on refrigerant and that is the reason the compressor won't engage. This is done to prevent the compressor from being destroyed. Inspect the entire system for leaks - look for oily residue at connections, the condenser, compressor, etc. You really need to have someone hook up a set of refrigerant gages to the high and low pressure lines to see what's going on with the system. Don't jumper connectors as the sensors are not just a pressure switch. I charge refrigerant as a liquid into the low side port. It is much faster that way - you need to open the valve just a slight amount - don't dump the entire can in at once. The liquid refrigerant quickly vaporizes in the accumulator. Much easier than charging as a gas and messing around with hot water, etc. I would be very cautious about inserting a can of refrigerant in boiling water... It could explode. The electronic climate control systems are very reliable - you just have a leak in your system that needs to be repaired. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 Typically before I dump on or criticize something, I get the knowledge I need to fix it or I take it to someone who knows how to fix it. You are making assumptions looking for orifice tubes BEFORE you present your problem. I would advise that you take the car to someone familiar with the CADILLAC AC system, when you are low enough to set a low pressure code, you need the system evacuated and recharged correctly. Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenJ Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 After changing the pressure switches did you properly evacuate the system before recharging? Regards, Warren There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isham42 Posted April 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 i talked to a guy that works for cadillac dealership he told me to do the hot water thing and it worked but i have never had it vacuumed out.....i wanted to get the thing working at least alittle bit. if its not going to work without spending alot of money (money i don't have) i'll just roll down the windows. i have more pressing issues, like the fuel guage doesn't work and a new sending unit is $300.00 my cost. john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenJ Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 i talked to a guy that works for cadillac dealership he told me to do the hot water thing and it worked but i have never had it vacuumed out.....i wanted to get the thing working at least alittle bit. if its not going to work without spending alot of money (money i don't have) i'll just roll down the windows. i have more pressing issues, like the fuel guage doesn't work and a new sending unit is $300.00 my cost. john From your description it's apparent you did not evacuate the system before recharging it. If I'm wrong you can stop reading here. Air must NOT be in the system if it is to work correctly. If you didn't draw a vacuum before recharging it will simply never work. Regards, Warren There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted April 28, 2008 Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 If the system was not vacuumed down prior to charging, there is air and moisture in the system. The air will increase the high side pressures and will not offer any cooling benefit. There is also moisture in the system that will freeze at the orifice tube and prevent cooling. You need to have the system evacuated and recharged by a qualified tech. Then the system will perform properly. UV dye should be added to the system prior to the evac and recharge so if it leaks out, the leak will be easy to locate. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isham42 Posted April 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 when i bought the car (last august) the air worked, then i notice one day something that looked like steam coming from under the hood, when i opened the hood i noticed that one of the a/c hoses was loose at the fitting (finger tight) after i tightned the fitting no more leak, but soon after the low refrigerate light came on and i have been battling with it ever since. the system has never been open, so how does it get moisture in it? fall and winter was upon me so the air conditioning didn't matter, but with a reminder of those 90 degree summers last year it is something i would like to get fixed. just the fuel thing is important too, cause i've already ran out of gas once and i about never did get the air out of the fuel rail and it ran quite bad for awhile. if i reset the code it will turn on for a second, then it sets a code and goes off again. that is why i thought it might be the pressure switches and replaced them. that didn't work so i replaced the compressor relay, then i found a fuse marked a/c and replaced that too, but it still does the same thing. then i thought there might be "trash" in the orifice tube, but now you guys think it might be water or something.....the cheapest place i found to vac and recharge was 150.00 but i just would like to know i'm not throwing money away and that it is going to work but i know there is no guarantees. john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenJ Posted April 28, 2008 Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 . . . the system has never been open, so how does it get moisture in it? john If you changed the high and low pressure switches then the system HAS been opened to atmosphere. Until the system has been properly evacuated and charged you can draw NO troubleshooting conclusions. Sorry to be brutal, but you must spend the $150 for the evac/recharge before you can proceed. Remember what KHE said about adding dye to the system to assist in locating leaks. As long as the system still holds pressure and hasn't been exposed to the atmosphere you can always add refrigerant to the system in increments later. It's important, however, to make certain the system has the proper oil charge. Regards, Warren There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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