Air-con in a 1st gen

[Festa662]

No probs just let me know !

[Threesevens]

Sorry this is an old thread but if you ever need advice on ac im ya man its my job fez

My 1985 Gen 1 series 3 had air conditioning fitted when it left the factory. I doubt it has worked for years and I presume it would have had the old type of gas. How can I tell for sure and what would i need to replace to get it working again.
Thanks
Kevin

[ian65]

all 1st gen A/C systems in the UK were filled with the old ( and now banned) R12 gas whereas new cars run on R134a..... converting an old system to run on R134a is a major hassle and as the modern gas is less effective than the old stuff, it doesn't cool as well.
The easiest way to re-commission yours is to buy a new set of o-rings ( seals) which are only about 5 bucks a set from Rockauto and also a new dryer from Rockauto, again cheap as chips, only about 10 bucks.
The whole system then needs vac'ing out and refilling with a R12 compatible gas such as RS24.
There's a cut out on the system to protect the compressor in the event of low gas so if your system has lost it's gas or has low pressure, the compressor won't run.

[Threesevens]

all 1st gen A/C systems in the UK were filled with the old ( and now banned) R12 gas whereas new cars run on R134a..... converting an old system to run on R134a is a major hassle and as the modern gas is less effective than the old stuff, it doesn't cool as well.
The easiest way to re-commission yours is to buy a new set of o-rings ( seals) which are only about 5 bucks a set from Rockauto and also a new dryer from Rockauto, again cheap as chips, only about 10 bucks.
The whole system then needs vac'ing out and refilling with a R12 compatible gas such as RS24.
There's a cut out on the system to protect the compressor in the event of low gas so if your system has lost it's gas or has low pressure, the compressor won't run.

Thanks Ian, might comeback to you to ensure I am ordering the right bits if that is ok?