1990 Cadillac Eldorado Air Conditioner Compressor

[Teslagram]

I have a 1990 Eldorado. The air conditioner has been recharged, but I need to reset it to come on..

Could someone give me details of how to do it...Thank you.... Marian

[Cadillac Jim]

First, I'm bewildered about how you got into this situation. You can't properly recharge an A/C system unless you can get the compressor to work. Under current U.S. law, you can't buy or install Freon without a federal license, one of the requirements being that you use a Freon recovery system; these aren't cheap so most small shops that wouldn't know how to reset your codes don't do A/C work anymore.

Second, Your tagline says that your car is a 1990 Eldorado with the Northsar engine; the first Northstar engines were sold for the 1993 model year with the Allante and the Touring models of the Eldorado (ETC) and Seville (STS).

I'm going to ask Sherlock for help so that I can get an idea of how to answer your question properly. He tells me that, likely, your car is a 1990 Eldorado with the 4.5 liter 180 hp OHV V8, and that your A/C system has never been converted for Freon R-134a, it leaks a little and you have code A046 or A047 so your compressor won't run about once a year or so. Sherlock thinks that maybe you or a friend had a one-pound can of Freon R-12 in your garage and put what you could in your system without the compressor running.

If any of Sherlock's inferences are substantially incorrect or the truth is unknown to you, you need to see an air conditioning technician; they nearly always have one at a Pep Boys or Goodyear store. The dealer may be a bad choice because GM's recommendation is that they upgrade your system to R-134a because the Government probably asks them to do this whenever an R-12 system needs maintenance and this is expensive and quite possibly unnecessary. If you have this problem with all the Pep Boys and Goodyear stores in your area, look for a sympathetic independent who will service your R-12 system.

If Sherlock is substantially correct, read on. I'm speaking from my experience with my 1997 Eldorado; you may need some more help if you don't recognize these directions. First, you get into the car's computer. Here's how:

http://www.caddyinfo.com/readingcodes.html

Whoops, those directions don't go back to 1990. Basically, you find the A/C OFF and Passenger Temp Higher buttons and press them at the same time and hold them for about 30 seconds, or until all the dash warning lights come on at once (the "segment test" mode; once it starts you can release the buttons). Then, you use the Fan speed key on your A/C console and keep pressing Down to scroll through the car's modules. When you get to something like "ECM?" you press Up, then press Down again until you see the prompt "Reset Codes?" and then press Up. When you see the "Codes reset" prompt you're done; you can press the Info Reset button to cancel the diagnostic mode.

If none of this makes sense, please reply and verify the description of the car (is it really a 1990 Eldorado?), and verify or correct Sherlock with the facts. Then, someone with OBD I experience and hands-on knowledge of how to use it for the 1990 model year will get back to you.

[KHE]

Simultaneously press and hold OFF and WARMER buttons on the climate control panel. The codes will be displayed on the fuel data center. I believe pressing and holding the OFF and FAN up (or FAN down) will clear the codes on that vintage of car. I am curious as to how the car was recharged with the code set.

There is not a recommendation by GM to convert R-12 systems to R-134a nor is that a requirement of the government.

[Cadillac Jim]

Simultaneously press and hold OFF and WARMER buttons on the climate control panel. The codes will be displayed on the fuel data center. I believe pressing and holding the OFF and FAN up (or FAN down) will clear the codes on that vintage of car. I am curious as to how the car was recharged with the code set.

There is not a recommendation by GM to convert R-12 systems to R-134a nor is that a requirement of the government.

Thanks for the OBD I information. And, for the clarification on recommendations by the Government and GM. However, I don't think that you can get R-12 anymore. See

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichlorodifluoromethane

Teslagram may have some that was purchased previously, and I got a few pounds and kept them for my 1990 Pointiac that I used to keep the A/C going until I traded the car in on my Cadillac in 1997. Non-availability of R-12, not Government or GM requirements, is apparently the reason that I heard of recommendations of upgrade. More likely, a GM dealer or just about anyone else would tell the owner what his/her options were.

As late as 1997, Freon R-12 could still be sold, as I recall, but use of a Freon recycler was required. This service was available but increasingly expensive, partly because of the cost of the recycler and partly because of the increasing cost of R-12 as the sales cut-off date approached. At this late date I expect that finding anyone that has a Freon recycler that works with R-12 and people licensed to deal with R-12 to operate it would be a bit of a challenge, but I would do it if I had an R-12 A/C and a pound or two of Freon for it. There has got to be R-12 capabilty at about 1 in 10 A/C shops. That's why I recommended starting with a chain; if the one you go to doesn't have R-12 equipment they can find another one nearby that does.

Whoops, I just did a web search on "Auto Air Conditioner Service R-12" and found this:

http://www.r-12.com/

These guys sell R-12 in cans and in bulk. The R-12 is out there!

[KHE]

R-12 could not be produced after 12/31/95. Prior to that, the R-12 plants were producing massive amounts to assure the supply for many years to come. Once R-12 production stopped, the price skyrocketed due to government taxes and gouging.

R-12 is available from any refrigerant supplier or off ebay for that matter - all you need to buy it is an EPA-609 card. It is about $28.00 for a 12 oz. can - disgusting since it used to sell every day at K-Mart for $1.00 and in the fall, it would be on sale for 75 cents. A 30 pound cylinder was $28.00, now, that same cylinder is $750.00. I should have bought a semi load of 30 pound R-12 cylinders 20 years ago - better performance than the stock market......

The newest car to use R-12 is a 1993 model - many shops do not deal with R-12 anymore simply due to the lack of demand. Most people do not want to put large amounts of money into a 16 year old car unless it is in very good condition.

The same thing is happening with R-22 in the stationary air conditioning arena... R-22 cannot be produced after 2020 and each year, the amount of R-22 that can be produced is reduced.

[Texas Jim]

I have two cases of R-12. 24 cans.

When I stocked up, I had THREE Cadillacs that all used R-12.

Within a couple of years, I sold all of them.

Still have the R-12 and two or three cans of oil...out in the shed.

[Teslagram]

Thank you to all of you who have told me what to do with the air conditioning unit.

We were told by a dealer a couple of years ago that we should upgrade the unit and we did it at that time. First mistake...... WE added the Freon, but we couldn't get it to cool..

I am going to take it to a Googyear, or Pep Boys, and have them service it..Should have done that in the first place.....Then if they can, reset the codes, or I will try to do it with the instructions that all of you have given to me..

Really appreciate all of the help you have offered.......Marian

[Ranger]

I have two cases of R-12. 24 cans.

When I stocked up, I had THREE Cadillacs that all used R-12.

Within a couple of years, I sold all of them.

Still have the R-12 and two or three cans of oil...out in the shed.

That's almost as good as investing in gold. Might want to consider selling it while there is still a demand.

[Cadillac Jim]

Thank you to all of you who have told me what to do with the air conditioning unit.

We were told by a dealer a couple of years ago that we should upgrade the unit and we did it at that time. First mistake...... WE added the Freon, but we couldn't get it to cool..

I am going to take it to a Goodyear, or Pep Boys, and have them service it..Should have done that in the first place.....Then if they can, reset the codes, or I will try to do it with the instructions that all of you have given to me..

Really appreciate all of the help you have offered.......Marian

If you added R-134a to your updated A/C, all you need to do is to follow KHE's instructions and check the codes. If all you see are A046 or A047, then go ahead and clear the codes and you are done; you may need to add more R-134a with the compressor running because you can't get much in without the compressor working, perhaps none will go in at all. If that doesn't do it, or if you added R-12 and not R-134a, then Pep Boys or Goodyear or whoever will be ready to deal with your R-134a A/C.