I’ve documented ongoing problems with the Imperial’s air conditioning. After considerable work we got it to the point where the vacuum controlled air doors were working and it was blowing cool but not cold air.
Not completely surprising with a 60 year old system. R134A systems really need modern cross flow condensers, and the ancient RV2 compressor should be replaced with a modern sandeen compressor. I planned to do this but kept putting it off.
As spring rolled into summer I tried using the AC. Odd, it seems cooler than I remember… Maybe I should give the current system another chance?
Dig out the gauges and check pressure. Yup, looks like it is a little low. No surprise. The only real surprise is that it looks like a slow leak, not a major leak. Grab a can of R134A refrigerant and top it off. The high pressure is fine, but the low pressure still seems a bit off. And it is definitely blowing cold air!
Stick a thermometer into the cold air vent and head out for a drive. The vent temperature drops into the higth 40’s – just where it should be on a properly working system!
What is going on here??? I don’t know. Maybe a bit of debris in the expansion valve got flushed out. Maybe the rings in the compressor got properly seated. Maybe this is an example of a system working better when it is actually used?
In in case I will happily accept this outcome and enjoy the luxury of working AC!