DIY Testing, Fixing, & Recharging A/C

good effort with AC not being one of your strengths. can see why you were told not to put it up, espeically in canada a person can't buy r134a in the parts store like you can in the US. r134a and r1234yf don't put holes in ozone layer, that's ODP (ozone depletion potential and older refrigerants like r12 and r22). R134a and r1234yf refrigerants have 0 ODP and some GWP. globalol warming "potential". you don't use a vacuum pump to evacuate refrigerant, you use a recovery machine and an empty cylinder to recover refrigerant to. Basically the world won't end and you aren't depleting ozone if that refrigerant didn't make it's way back into a cylinder for reclamation. your next goal: vacuum with line from vacuum pump to service port and a micron gauge on the other service port. But all in all, I think working on anything on a PT cruiser has got to be a punishment in the 6th or 7th circle of hell. A bit better test when you have a clutch cycling switch at the accumulator and high pressure cut-off switch at compressor is... feed the clutch ground and +12v. In many cases, the AC signal from control on dash goes to HP cutoff (normally closed) then to VCM or PCM. The clutch cycling switch (or low pressure switch) sends a ground to VCM/PCM when pressure is above low cutoff. Then the VCM/PCM will ground the clutch relay's coil. The relay contacts will send +12v to clutch. Not sure if you checked this offline before going at replacing the clutch or if you checked that the clutch was getting +12V from the relay, could have been the high pressure cutoff connector you said was buggered up that kept the clutch from engaging. During normal operation the HP switch is closed, so a break in the wire keeps the clutch from energizing.

I firmly believe that whatever an auto-designer makes on a car; he should be then sent out into the field and forced to repair it a number of times so they actually get some commonsense to offset the high amount of non-sense they often have.

I've been a professional mechanic over 10 years, I thought this video would be laughable but you did a great job and were rather amusing. KEEP WRENCHIN

I love the comments slamming you! I added 134a to my daughter's car that had r12 originally. It wasn't completely discharged, so I just topped it off. Apparently the oils are not compatible, so I found 134a with no oil and put it in. Charged till the pressures seemed right and it worked great. Still was working when we sold it 3 years later. Like yours, it wasn't worth spending a lot of money on, so if it failed, I was only out a few hours and about 10 dollars.

this channel is consistently a source of knowledge every kid wishes his dad had

First time here, and I just wanted to say 2 things: That broken switch is the ambient temperature sensor. 2-Thank you for the entertainment and the explanation for all of those who don't have the knowledge about the importance of vacuuming the system.

Great channel! Love those that state “if you have a crescent wrench and 5 minutes time, you too can do this…..” thanks for putting this in real world circumstances.

Hilarious, been there myself doing A/C compressor on a Ford Expedition. After fighting the compressor out, I put a new compressor in and couldn't get the long ass bolt in it, so I had to drop the compressor back out and insert the long ass bolt then reinstall it. Of course, this was all done laying under the truck with rust and dirt falling on my face, what a pain in the ass. Great video brought back that wonderful memory of doing the same thing.

This video is very entertaining. What I liked about the video was this fellow showed most of the problems I have ever run across in my 58+ years of working on cars. When you are an avid DIY’R, you do what you have to do to get a job done. My advice is NEVER give up! He mentioned how some say never use gloves with power equipment. I will tell you NEVER use an angle grinder or cutoff wheel WITHOUT gloves! (My $2100 visit to the emergency room this past year will attest to the FACT that an angle grinder can get away from you and chew up your fingers!) Keep up the great videos!

What a great video! Professional Tech here. I really liked your placing the wheel & tire under the supported vehicle! Very smart insurance!

First time on your channel and it is great. I've had a lifetime of servicing my trucks and can tell you know what you are doing and the Canadian references make it real. I'd much rather watch you work than get to the work waiting for me. Of course, I subscribed and liked.

If this PT-Cruiser was your son's vehicle and you fixed it, you are a better father than I ever had. I will leave it at that. Blessings to you.

That was probably the most entertaining a/c video I have watched. Love the humor and you handled the PT cruiser well. Never was vehicle that I enjoyed working on less that a PT cruiser, maybe a prowler but they are so close it doesn't matter.

Having recently worked on a PT Jigsaw puzzle I appreciate your recording of it first pulling the refrigerant into the system you can hear that cold motor. And by the time you were done you could actually hear yourself think around the motor after everything warmed up and filled up the spaces that makes the nasty racket of a PT/neon motors starting up cold.

Great video. Watching from Australia. Love your candid approach and ability to get the job done and pass on the knowledge!

Nice to know I'm in good company. I was one of those "weird" kids that started to asked Santa Claus for automotive tools when I was 12. I gleefully flipped through the Sears Catalog picking out craftsman tools.

Submerse the cans in a bucket of hot water while servicing. It cuts the time down a lot. To get the exact coolant amount, I use a digital thermometer measuring temps coming out of the vents, fan on high. As coolant is added the temp decreases. Once the temp goes back up a degree, stop adding refrigerant.

First timer here, great advice, glad to see you keep it real. Like said above, you relate to the realworld DIY who's found this out of necessity. Earned my like and Subscribe!

My brother! No one has ever spoke to my heart the way you did at 11:20. The inflection, the tone of your voice, I KNEW you have known the pain that I feel more and more with every passing day. "After arguing with the electrical connector I cut it off and then dont show how I had to completely undo and redo the hell I had just been thru." (I'm paraphrasing there, I realize those weren't your exact words.) That is the story of my life. It seems like every single project or chore or undertaking I attempt, the universe has decided to make it as absolutely miserable and far more difficult that it needs to be. Or is remotely even reasonable. It cant all be coincidence. It is by design, I'm sure of it. It's crazy making. Its going to end in tragedy. Its got to the point my new motto or mantra is....if it aint broke, just give me a minute. And I know it cant be a pretty sight to see, watching a grown man have an absolute tissy fit, a psychotic break because cant find a 1/2" socket with 1/2" drive. He's dumped every old tool box and old bucket and jar out on the garage floor, and he's found 38 1/2" sockets but none with 1/2“ drive and he only has the extension and universal he needs in 1/2". Has an adapter, but of course it wont fit in there with the adapter. So he just decides to go after it with vice grips and channel locks, you know, the ones that always slip and pinch your palm. And then when you said soldering, I teared up a little. Its not my forte. Fits like these, when soldering is involved, usually degrade to mapp gas. And I'm not talking about sweating pipe, I mean soldering. As in wires and boards and what not. Because I promise you that $#@d solder is gonna melt. I promise you. Let me put it like this, my boy was probably 6 or 7 at the time. Seeing the look of desperation and frustration of a broken, beaten man, asked me with genuine sincerity and concern, he asked me in ernest, "dad, why does God hate you?" I almost wept. I could be wrong, but when you made the comment about the hammer, I sensed, at least a little bit, you KNOW my pain. Let me know if you ever want to partner up, and we can go looking for that little elf that keeps stealing all the 8 & 10 millimeter nutdrivers. We can find him and beat the *#&$=\% oiss outta him! Ha! It was an excellent video, sir. It was so good, I watched it. I watched your video on a PT Cruiser a/c compressor. And that is saying something, because right now I'm working on a water pump on an old Mustang. Just sayin.... If it aint broke, just gimme a minute......its mine, nobody steal it!

I feel your pain. I did my 08 altima 3.5 and there's practically no space to maneuver or take out bolts 😡 thanks for recording your struggle to remind the rest of us that were not the only one.