AE85/6 upgrading aircon.

[Stealer Of Souls]

Hey all.

I was sitting in the olds new rolla and marvelling at just how easily the aircon in that car would keep the temperature nice and cool, and thought, man, wish mine did that...

Does anyone know how easy it would be to fit a "better" aircon unit (probably just the compressor) into a 4AGE AE85/6? And what would be a good unit?

[RomanV]

IIRC, in AW11s, they changed the aircon unit from larger>smaller at some point in time; I believe it was because people were complaining that the power drain from the aircon was too much, so they scaled it back a bit.

Perhaps investigating this further might be an idea, as these various sized AC pumps were all on 4ages. (Although since the engine orientation is different, it may be a different pump anyway?)


Or, lose your PS, and wind your windows down.

[Stealer Of Souls]

Or, lose your PS, and wind your windows down.

Stuff that! It was bad enough getting into a 40deg car and suffering for the next half hour till the temp finally dropped to 28 deg!

I suppose a good question would be...
Did all 4AGEs use the same a/c pump? Or do the 20Vs have different pumps?

[RomanV]

Perhaps you could just get your old aircon pump recon'd or something?

Or alternatively, if it isnt the pump that is the problem,a 'better' pump wouldnt help anyway.
There is quite a bit more to the system than just the pump. I've pulled most of the aircon piping/bits out of my car, and there is a lot more to it than you would think!
Perhaps insulating the existing pipes better, or something similar could help.
I suppose talking to an aircon specialist is the only way to go, perhaps there is a quick solution that gets your aircon back up to scratch.

Personally I dont think it is that bad without aircon, although it was admittedly unpleasant when my windows broke, and I spent about 2 weeks in the middle of summer with just the fan, and no aircon or windows that would go down, in a black car.

[Stealer Of Souls]

ha ha.
Unlucky.
Actually there is nothing wrong with my current pump. It works quite well and is even had the upgrade to the new a/c gas and everything.

But sitting in the new rolla. Man that thing can cool! I reckon the newer pumps are much more efficient that the older ones. I can't think of anything else that would make that much of a difference. You can barely notice when the a/c pump kicks in on the new rolla, and it gets real cold real fast. I guess there are a couple of other bits it could be, but I can't imagine them making that much difference.

[matt dunn]

A pump upgrade will do nothing to make your a/c colder.

If it has been converted to new gas then the TX valve will still only be letting the amount of gas through that was required for the R12, where when you are on R134a you need a larger quantity through.

Does the cluctch cycle on and off?
Are you sure it has the correct amount of gas as they will run fine if they are short but another 200gms of can makes all the difference.

Also do you know that the AE85/86's have an adjustment for cooling temperature on the a/c amp circuit board?

Matt

[Stealer Of Souls]

A pump upgrade will do nothing to make your a/c colder.
If it has been converted to new gas then the TX valve will still only be letting the amount of gas through that was required for the R12, where when you are on R134a you need a larger quantity through.
Does the cluctch cycle on and off?
Are you sure it has the correct amount of gas as they will run fine if they are short but another 200gms of can makes all the difference.
Also do you know that the AE85/86's have an adjustment for cooling temperature on the a/c amp circuit board?
Matt

Oh. Hmmm...
Really... bugger... I should find out about that vavle.
Yeah. Clutch cycles on and off.
Pretty sure the gas levels are fine. A/C was checked for leaks after the refit, and I run it every time I get in the car (even if it's just for a minute to cycle the gas through).
I didn't know that there was and adjustment for cooling temp... What do I do?

[matt dunn]

I didn't know that there was and adjustment for cooling temp... What do I do?

Remove the glove box.
On the side of the a/c core is a square box. it may have a/c amplifier on it, and will have a multi pin plug in the top.

From memory it unbolts and you can hang it on the wires.

It will also have a adjuster in the top with rpm on it.
That adjusts thye low speed cut out so leave it where it is.

If you unplug it and carefully remove the circuit board it will have another adjuster hidden inside the box, that adjust the temp.

Plug the board back in out of the case and make sure it doen not short out on anything.

start and run the car and adjust the temp.

then re-assemble.
this is as long as everyting in the actual a/c system works.


Also try the a/c when the car is dead cold and see if it cools enough as somtimes the a/c works but the heater tap leaks and heats it back up again.

Matt

[Stealer Of Souls]

Cheers. I will have to give that a go and see what I can achieve...

[blackmk3]

all i can say is very correct, exept 200gms is alot of refigerant if it only just short of gas! as being slightly short makes a big diffrence on car A/C,

a new pump might make ur cooling better if the valves on the old pump are quite worn, but in reality unless you get it rebuilt how do you know the new pump will be any better

the size of all the components in the a/c system contribute to how cold it will get inside, incuding fan speed air veloicty etc etc, new cars they usually nail it nicely thats why the work real good