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mwilkes

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I have a 1998 cadillac concourse deville

I'm trying to save money and recharge my ac myself. I have purchased a recharge kit w/ refridgerant. The compressor is supposed to pull the solution from the container but its not working. My compressor doesn't even start. Is that because its totally empty and does not detect the freeon solution? Please help, gas is very expensive and I cannot afford to put my cadillac in the shop right now.

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The first thing you want to do when working on any Cadillac is to run the OBD trouble codes. Here's how:

If the Freon is very low, the BCM will set one of these codes:

B1347 Very Low A/C Refrigerant Warning

B1348 Very Low A/C Refrigerant Pressure

If one of these is set, the BCM will not put power to the A/C compressor clutch. What you need to do is get your kit set up with Freon going into the low side of the compressor, turn the key on, reset the codes, and start the car with the freon ready to go into the inlet line. You should be able to fill your car's A/C this way. On the same "how-to" page for reading codes you will find instructions for resetting the codes. These are ACM codes.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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You need to determine if the system still has a partial charge or is totally empty. If it is totally empty, you will need to have the leak repaired and then have it evacuated and recharged. You do NOT want any air in the system - air increases the high side pressures and can contain moisture which can corrode the system or freeze in the expansion tube.

If the system still has a partial charge, you need to clear the trouble code that is preventing the compressor from engaging. Get the can of refrigerant hooked up and burp the air from the charging hose and it should then pull in the refrigerant.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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You can't pump down the system yourself because you need a freon recyclers to do that, and those are never rented and sold only to people licensed and bonded to do Freon work on air conditioning and refrigeration equipment. You can put a pound of Freon in it yourself, although I'm not sure what the laws are on that.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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You can't pump down the system yourself because you need a freon recyclers to do that, and those are never rented and sold only to people licensed and bonded to do Freon work on air conditioning and refrigeration equipment. You can put a pound of Freon in it yourself, although I'm not sure what the laws are on that.

Anyone can buy a vacuum pump - there are no restrictions. R-134a is not restricted like R-12 has been for the last 12 or 13 years. By law, you cannot vent any refrigerant but it is perfectly legal for a car owner to top off a system.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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