ACtion Magazine - June 2012 - (Page 17)

Link followed: www.2carpros.com/topics/ac.htm “Free car repair advice by professional mechanics” is the header on the landing page. The website appears to be advertising supported, although not a lot of ads are present. Additionally, it appears that the “Expert” rating for responders is based on the number of posts, not the quality or accuracy. The site allows consumers to ask a vehicle question by either topic – brakes, air conditioning, etc. – or by make such as Lincoln or Volvo. They will also be happy to expedite your answer for a small donation through their website. Interestingly, the “User Agreement” page, contains this disclaimer: “The information found in the “2carpros” Inc website is not intended to replace the advice of your automobile mechanic and is not a substitute for a thorough diagnostic inspection by a qualified professional mechanic.” The site is searchable by topic or make; many questions have answers, but some do not. Many posted questions are well over a year old and remain unanswered. Of additional interest is the preponderance of questions regarding 1990’s vehicles – on our visit, almost two-thirds of the queries were about 1995 through 1999 vehicles. While these vehicles are still in use, their numbers are diminishing. A variety of makes, including low volume imports, are mentioned, and the list reveals several not sold in the U.S. (Skoda, Holden, etc.). Under those brands, there are many questions posted from other countries and in other languages. Question: 1998 Chrysler Le Baron Convertible with V6 3.0 liter. ... the car has been sitting for about a year and the R-12 refrigerant leaked out so I released all the remaining refrigerant so it won’t get mixed with the R-134. I went to buy a conversion kit to convert the R-12 to R-134 I put 2 cans of refrigerant to activate the system and then 1 can of compressor oil, but then I checked the pressure and it reads between the blue and yellow... does that mean there is too much pressure instead of refrigerant? After I completed the conversion and checked for cold air coming out of the vents, it wasn’t even cold at all it was just cool, ... I hooked up the pressure gauge, as I watched it I released the pressure out of the high side line of the system and the gauge reads now in the blue, which means its full right? ... I think I know what happened after the first two times that I tried to fill the system it was trying to stop the leaking of the refrigerant, after it leaked out some I didn’t check the pressure to see what was remaining in the system so I put in more refrigerant...can you tell me how to get my air conditioner back to cold? Answer: We don’t recommend anyone recharging their own air-conditioning unit. This is a job for an expert because of the injuries that could result when the job is done wrong. That looks like a computergenerated answer that missed connecting the dots: a 1998 car did not have R-12 to begin with (by law it had to be R-134a.) Thus the ‘conversion’ was phony because it wasn’t needed and already complied. By his own admission, the owner bled refrigerant into the atmosphere, a clear violation of law, and the owner likely installed a huge amount of lubricating oil, which is now affecting the system. While perhaps well intentioned, their answer here is patronizing and uninformative. Question: 2001 Ford Windstar mileage: 68,000. The air conditioner makes a weird clicking sound and sounds like it’s taking a lot of power from the engine. The sound starts and stops until I turn off the air conditioner or the heater...is this normal or should I be worried? Reader Reply No. 6 ACTION • June 2012 17 Answer: The problem you describe is not normal. Your air conditioning system is low on refrigerant. Have the system checked for leaks and recharge. Here’s more Internet magic; how does the expert responder know it’s “low on refrigerant” from that description? A possible cause?— certainly, but there are several others as well. This may also be an example of leading the consumer to what he already wants to believe. The answers to extensive and (often) well-worded questions from owners are usually too brief and formulaic, almost as if the computer simply looked at key words and provided a canned response. When the customer asks a question it should be answered clearly and directly. ❆ http://www.2carpros.com/topics/ac.htm http://www.nostalgicairparts.com http://www.jeepair.com http://www.macsw.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=ACtion_Reader_Reply&Template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=8247

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ACtion Magazine - June 2012

ACtion Magazine - June 2012
Contents
Outlook
Expansive Valve
Technically RELAY-ted
Under the Southern Cross
Leonard's Law
Cooling Corner
Virtual View
News & Updates
State of the Art Detection
Running Short On Time and Info
The End of R-134A?
Association News
Quick Check
New Products & Services
Last Watch

ACtion Magazine - June 2012