Can I recharge my car’s AC system myself with a kit?
recharge my car’s AC system myself with a kit
Recharging your car air conditioner with an A/C recharge kit can be a quick and inexpensive alternative to a professional service, but it’s important to understand how these kits work before using one. These kits are a great way to get your AC working again if you have lost some refrigerant, but you’ll also need to know when a DIY recharge isn’t enough and you should take your vehicle to a professional.
Most vehicles will need to have their a/c car recharge kit at least once in the course of their lives, especially if they are older and have been driven a lot. This is because the seals can wear out and lose some of the recharging oil that helps them cool. A recharge kit is designed to replace that oil and refrigerant in the system, bringing it back up to full working condition.
Almost all of the recharge kits you find at your local auto parts store contain some type of “stop leak” product that is supposed to plug the small leaks in the system as it’s being charged. Unfortunately, this usually does more harm than good, and will likely clog components like the hoses and compressor. The leaking refrigerant can also cause the system to overcharge, causing additional damage that can be costly.
Can I recharge my car’s AC system myself with a kit?
Another problem with recharge kits is that they don’t remove the old refrigerant from the system before charging it with new. This can cause significant clogging and corrosion over time, as well as a host of other problems that require professional attention. A professional will remove the refrigerant and all of the other contaminants in the system before charging it with fresh refrigerant.
Using a recharge kit can also lead to overcharging, which is very difficult to avoid. This can damage the hoses, compressor, and pumps in the A/C system, requiring expensive repairs. If you’re going to use a recharge kit, make sure that you know how much refrigerant your vehicle needs and that the hose on the low pressure line is connected to the correct port.
Recharge kits also aren’t able to tell how much refrigerant is actually entering the system. This can be a real problem because the more refrigerant you add, the faster your vehicle’s A/C will run out of refrigerant. If you don’t have a manifold gauge to monitor the high and low pressures, this can be quite dangerous.
Lastly, recharge kits often have gimmicky additives in them that claim to do things like cool better or help the refrigerant flow more effectively. These aren’t necessary and can do more harm than good, so I’d recommend only using pure, high-quality refrigerant with no other additives in it. The kind that a shop would use, in a large 30 lb can, is probably a much safer option.