I was going to mention those valves, that's what I was wondering if you had. As far as I know all auto ac systems have pressure switches. Page 19 of my book shows the valves but does not say anything about them. I laughed when I read that if bubbles don't appear in the sight glass it could be "bone dry" . I love their technical terms
Well... The Maverick is air conditioned. I've been driving around for the past half hour with the windows up, freezing my nads off and loving every minute of it. Now come the things to ponder... Will the Maverick be air conditioned tomorrow, or will all the refrigerant sneak out of a yet-undiscovered leak? Every known o-ring has been replaced, hoses are all new, condenser is new, but could there be pinholes in the evaporator? Maybe. And of course... It's one thing to blow ice cold at night in 85 degree ambient temps, but let's see how she does when I really need it, at 95+ in the heat of the day. And there are a few minor details to address. For one thing, I need to get this stuff on its own circuit, because I can't run with the headlights on and the blower on high without popping a fuse. Fortunately when I need to run the blower on high, I typically won't have the headlights on because it will be daytime. But still I don't like the idea that I can flip a switch at the wrong time and blow a fuse. Another thing, the engine is running a bit hotter. Just a bit. I expected that, but if it becomes more than a bit in the daytime or in traffic, I will need a condenser fan. (Yay, more electrical load! 3G alternator swap?) But nevermind all that. I am pleased. The Maverick is air conditioned. ...And now I can address my power steering leak, think about my bodywork, and any other wonderful stuff I've been ignoring since this project got started. Thanks a lot to everybody who helped me, couldn't have done it without you. :Handshake
Man this compressor eclipses the whole engine compartment. The AC stuff is gonna get in the way of everything... But on the positive side, I think I may have just fixed my power steering leak. And a good thing too, 'cause there's no getting to that pump anymore. Can't even fill it without a funnel. Also... The Maverick is air conditioned.
Looks nice. I once had a LTD II that ended up with a hole rubbed in the hose that crosses next to a bolt on top. Looks like yours does the same. I put a clamp on that when I rebuilt that hose.
Awesome!! But really those compressors are pretty gross!! Someday, I will finish the A/C in my car, but....
i wonder if the mustang boys have a conversion bracket for the newer\smaller\less hp robbing compressors? that may be the first thing to save up for..... good work though!
Yeah, there are brackets for Sanden type compressors, and I believe there's one of those in my future. But that's $$$ and I already had enough expenses without adding more when I already had a good compressor. And supposedly the refrigerant I'm using lets the compressor use less hp. (Although that page reads like an ad for HHO ) I will say at least, it doesn't seem to affect my idle speed noticeably. I didn't have to use the fast idle solenoid... A thought occurred to me last night. I don't think the blower motors pulls much if any more current than the old one and I never had a problem running it wide open before. And in fact before I finished the AC I ran that blower quite a bit testing it and I never blew a fuse. So... Does that compressor clutch pull any real current? Maybe if I put that on a relay?
For A/C you are supposed to use a 30 amp fuse because of the extra load. Without A/C the fuse is 15 amps. I really can't see how the clutch pulls that much extra load, but that's the only difference in the circuit. Maybe those old clutches draw a lot of current.. would be easy enough to measure I think. I suspect the motors draw about the same current. I always had my headlights dim slightly when I ran my blower on high, but I chalked it up to not enough alternator. It is not really noticeable with my 100 amp 1-wire alternator.
Me either. I have only seen them pop the fuse or not when turned on. Could this be a rheostat problem?
That explains it then. I just need to put a 30a fuse in it then. What rheostat? My dimmer has never worked. Maybe I ought to get a new headlight switch...
