Posted: 7/19/2026 1:35:02 PM EDT
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The air conditioning on my 2009 Camry stopped putting out cold air yesterday. Today I bought a recharge gauge and bottle, but when I tried to recharge it, the gauge spikes into the red band as soon as it is connected. I think that it is unlikely that some vandal is going around over-charging people's air conditioning systems.... No maintenance has been performed on that since I bought it last year and it has been working fine until yesterday. What would cause that system to increase pressure internally like that? |
The government is just a corporation with a monopoly on violence.
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goes high pressure with the engine/compresssor off?? to me thats indicates a guage that is a liar. Does compressor switch on when commanded? Rad Fan comes on? \Sudden loss of cooling or gradual? |
Dobro is watching you, and you dont even know it
when arfcom cares enough to let GD be searchable, ill care about dupes
when arfcom cares enough to let GD be searchable, ill care about dupes
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The gauge on the bottle goes from zero when disconnected to over-pressurized as soon as it is connected. That was with the engine running and A/C set to maximum cooling. I don't remember if I checked it the same way with the engine off. I bought the recharge kit on the way to work and spent 10 minutes trying to charge it before my shift starts. I probably won't get another chance to get back out there and try again until tonight. This has been a sudden loss of cooling. One day it worked, the next morning it didn't. I suspect that there's some internal blockage that isn't letting refrigerant back into the rest of the system, but I don't know enough about automotive A/C systems to know where that might be. Just checked my IM inbox, but there's no new messages. ETA- Just found this article: https://rubensautocare.com/blog/car-ac-pressure-too-high/ |
The government is just a corporation with a monopoly on violence.
| Get actual gauges where you can check both high and low sides. Otherwise, you’re just guessing. |
"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
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The proper thing to do is pay a shop $100 or so to drain and recharge the system. The improper thing would be to ignore the cheap single gauge on the can and just send half the can in to the system. But you really shouldn't do that since it could wreck quite a few things. Also if you are going to do the improper thing at least make sure the product you are using doesn't contain any sealants or weird stuff. You just want straight refrigerant, maybe with a UV dye if you care about finding the leak. |
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I checked the pressure tonight with the engine off, and having been shut off for ten hours, and the pressure on the bottle gauge still spiked right into the red high pressure band. This is much more involved than I was hoping. That's just the way it goes sometimes. |
The government is just a corporation with a monopoly on violence.
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Originally Posted By Gingerbreadman: I checked the pressure tonight with the engine off, and having been shut off for ten hours, and the pressure on the bottle gauge still spiked right into the red high pressure band. This is much more involved than I was hoping. That's just the way it goes sometimes. Which tells us nothing. Buy a set of gauges and use them. |
"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
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Originally Posted By Gingerbreadman: I checked the pressure tonight with the engine off, and having been shut off for ten hours, and the pressure on the bottle gauge still spiked right into the red high pressure band. This is much more involved than I was hoping. That's just the way it goes sometimes. If the compressor isn't running, the low side pressure will be too high when the charge is good. What you saw doesn't prove your charge is good, but it sure doesn't mean anything is wrong. Get a set of gauges, and learn the basics of the system. Pressures mean next to nothing if the compressor isn't running. |
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this may not be your problem, but on that same vintage avalon, my FIL told me his A/C quit working one day. he liked to push the button to turn off the a/c before he shut off the car, and press it to turn it on after the car had been running a min. not sure who decided that was a good idea. anyway turned out that the button detent no longer held the button all the way down. I shoved a paper clip to wedge the button down and it worked till he got rid of the car. |