AC charge question.

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gregsmy

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Looks like my 2010 Suburban has a low Freon charge. The drier is freezing up and the clutch stays engaged on the compressor. It blows cool but not cold. When I first got the burb the ac was low and I found a leak at one of the charge ports that was a known issue. I added an adapter that was made to solve the leak. Went ahead and vacuumed it down and confirmed it to be leak free. That was probably 4-5 years ago. I was wondering if GM puts fluorescent dye in the system when it’s new?
 

swathdiver

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Looks like my 2010 Suburban has a low Freon charge. The drier is freezing up and the clutch stays engaged on the compressor. It blows cool but not cold. When I first got the burb the ac was low and I found a leak at one of the charge ports that was a known issue. I added an adapter that was made to solve the leak. Went ahead and vacuumed it down and confirmed it to be leak free. That was probably 4-5 years ago. I was wondering if GM puts fluorescent dye in the system when it’s new?
I've not seen that in my trucks of the same vintage.
 

swathdiver

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Ok, I will look for some dye I can add to the system to see if I can figure out where the leak is.
I bought a sniffer from Harbor Freight. It didn't find anything. Passed the sniffer through my grill as well. When I took the bumper cover off to do some other work, the leak was plain as day, there was green refrigerant and oil coming out of the fitting on the condenser. Aftermarket seals and gaskets still leaks, the ones from O'Reilly's, went back to ACDelco and all was good along with new condenser. So maybe there was dye in it? That was in 2021, a long time ago for old man!

We weighed the refrigerant and introduced it into the system with a Harbor Freight Manifold set.
 
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gregsmy

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I bought a sniffer from Harbor Freight. It didn't find anything. Passed the sniffer through my grill as well. When I took the bumper cover off to do some other work, the leak was plain as day, there was green refrigerant and oil coming out of the fitting on the condenser. Aftermarket seals and gaskets still leaks, the ones from O'Reilly's, went back to ACDelco and all was good along with new condenser. So maybe there was dye in it? That was in 2021, a long time ago for old man!

We weighed the refrigerant and introduced it into the system with a Harbor Freight Manifold set.
I also have a sniffer and never had much luck pinpointing a leak. Typically find them when it leaves an oily spot somewhere. Just thinking a uv dye might be easier to find in some remote areas.
 

petethepug

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One of the best sniffers you can buy is made by Bacharach and usually branded H-10 sold by GE.

They’re brute tough and can be picked up on the cheap at eBay. They’re the best for sniffing r-134a.

Wheather you have a leak under the hood or back at the rear a/c that’s the one you’ll need. The cool looking ones that look like ghost busters sensors are usually junk and break if touched.
 

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