Vintage Air Mini Gen II A/C System Issues

[Pasha Saleh]

Anyone using the Vintage Air Mini Gen II? Mine has been giving me fits and I’m just about to give up on it.

System is installed as per instructions and all fitting crimps except the two connecting the compressor to the high side and low side were done professionally using a massive hydraulic crimper at a marine shipyard. The two on the compressor I had to do myself since the lines are run through the spine and can’t be passed through once crimped. I used a Master Kool tool for this and crimped it to the point where a SnapOn wrench head broke off, so fairly sure they’re on tight as hell and the crimps look good.

The system has been charged three separate times using an automatic machine at an auto repair shop. The first time it took forever to get the 1.8 pounds of refrigerant to go in there but the charging machine is computer controlled and finally got it in after 15 or 20 minutes. The cold air lasted a day or two and then progressively got warmer.

The next time it went in much more quickly, but also didn’t last more than a couple of days. I replaced the drier each time. I have no evidence of leakage anywhere, and the refrigerant carried a UV dye with it, which also shows no trace when going over it with a black light. At my wits end to know what to check for next.

Any suggestions?

 

[Pasha Saleh]

One more thing: I have regrettably installed the service ports right at the compressor, which requires the car to be raised up in the air to service the AC and also for the belt tensioner to be removed so the compressor can be swung out of the way to hook up the hoses. I’d like to add a second set of service ports somewhere in the nose of the car to make these now all too frequent service checks more accessible.

Which lines would I tap into in the nose of the car to do that? I’ve basically just got the hoses coming into an led out of the condenser and dryer to deal with up there.

 

[Jim Dewar]

One more thing: I have regrettably installed the service ports right at the compressor, which requires the car to be raised up in the air to service the AC and also for the belt tensioner to be removed so the compressor can be swung out of the way to hook up the hoses. I’d like to add a second set of service ports somewhere in the nose of the car to make these now all too frequent service checks more accessible.

Which lines would I tap into in the nose of the car to do that? I’ve basically just got the hoses coming into an led out of the condenser and dryer to deal with up there.

When returning for a recharge how much refrigerant was evacuated from the system? Could you be overcharged.
My system only requires 1.1 pounds, if overcharged the high pressure switch shuts the system down.

 

[DaveC]

If you initially have cold air, then over days have no cold air, you had a functioning system (although your charge could still be way off). Your symptoms are consistent with losing refrigerant, you would be able to detect a lower pressure with manifold gauges. You need a set, as much trouble as your system is giving you, they are very inexpensive, about $100. If you have dye in the system, you should be able to find a leak. What connection or component have you not checked yet? I would guess the evaporator, since it's buried in its housing in the dash. See if you can look for a leak there.

 

[Brian]

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Sniff every joint as well as the clutch and down the vent.

 

[Randy V]

You can generally install a low pressure port (that’s where you charge the system) on the receiver/dryer side and then a high pressure port at the condenser.
I’ve run into a couple of bad / leaking schrader valves lately and that might be your problem spot…
When you vacuum the system down, it should maintain about -30 for at least an hour before charging. If it does not maintain, that suggests a leak. The bad schrader valve leaks will not be evident when your gauges are connected though. They are inexpensive and I always coat them in a little PAG oil when installing..

 

[Brian]

Aftermarket systems usually have the dryer on the high pressure side.

Rule of thumb, you can add a low pressure port (so you can charge without a machine, straight from a can) on the #10 hose between the evap and compressor.

High pressure can go on either the #8 or #6, but the difference is if you use the #6, you'll lose a lot of freon connecting or disconnecting your lines as that line is liquid (and it can frost bite you). The #8 will be high pressure HOT gas.

Cheater way is use the site glass you usually find in the top of the dryer. Slowly add to the low pressure side (with the A/C running) until the bubbles almost or just barely disappear. If you're adding near the compressor, don't hold the can upside down for more than a very brief moment or you could make the compressor chug liquid and damage the reed valves.

 

[Pasha Saleh]

When returning for a recharge how much refrigerant was evacuated from the system? Could you be overcharged.
My system only requires 1.1 pounds, if overcharged the high pressure switch shuts the system down.

I believe the machine removes whatever was in there since it starts by drawing a vacuum then doing a 60 second gross leak test before slowly adding back the 1.8 pounds. Are you using a vintage air system and running it with just 1.1 pounds?

 

[Pasha Saleh]

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Sniff every joint as well as the clutch and down the vent.

Thanks, Brian. I had seen this tool on Amazon but didn’t know if it worked well or reliably. Worth giving it a try at this point.

Elitech WJL-6000 Refrigerant Halogen Leak Detector AC Freon Detector 6g/Year Max | eBay

Elitech WJL-6000 Refrigerant Halogen Leak Detector HVAC R134a R410a AC Detector. Elitech WJL-6000 Refrigerant Halogen Leak Detector. Elitech initiated in the HVAC field in 1996 as a global manufacturer.

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Sniff every joint as well as the clutch and down the vent.

Thanks, Brian. I had seen this tool on Amazon but didn’t know if it worked well or reliably. May be worth giving it a try at this point.

 

[Randy V]

Brian is correct… I mainly work on cars / trucks with orifice tubes and blend doors rather than the aftermarket stuff with capillary tube valve controls. Either way, you really don’t want to charge on the high pressure side.
60 second leak test is no where’s near sufficient in my opinion.
Hopefully you lubricated all your O-Rings when you installed.

 

[Joel Heinke]

I have Vintage Air Mini Gen II in one of my cars and went through a similar shakedown process prior to getting it working right. Mine ended up having several leaks, all related to hose fittings (don't use SS AC hoses is the moral of that story), that I've now been able to fix. It's been blowing cold air for about 9 months now. Most of the leaks were not readily visible with the dye and would only really show themselves after leaking for a while and thus the dye would build up and be externally visible. To troubleshoot a leaking AC system, you really need to be able to recharge it yourself (and that means an accessible port on the low pressure side) or you'll spend much more time running it back and forth to the repair shop, plus pay them a bunch of wasted money.

After blowing cold air for about 9 months now, I plan to take mine back to the AC shop now for a "proper" recharge. I know there's a decent amount of non-Freon gas in my AC system from changing out leaking hoses and then recharging without vacuuming it down. For basic leak troubleshooting, it didn't really matter that every recharge was an optimal recharge, just that I could tell if the system was now holding pressure or leaking down. Mine was a very iterative process, but it now looks like I've chased down all the leaks. I'm guessing you just might be in for a similar journey.

 

[Brian]

Thanks, Brian. I had seen this tool on Amazon but didn’t know if it worked well or reliably. Worth giving it a try at this point.


Thanks, Brian. I had seen this tool on Amazon but didn’t know if it worked well or reliably. May be worth giving it a try at this point.

I thought what the heck, $30 (at the time) won't put me in financial strain if it's a bust. But it worked for my minisplit I was installing, then later helped find that my boy's truck was leaking at the evap.