So I had my AC compressor replaced and charged and boy does it blow cold. When I got home I could hear a slight hissing sound under my hood. Popped the hood and the compressor is right there. It was pretty frosted up. Is that normal? Supposed it is. Thanks guys and gals.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: old rugged cross,

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
So I had my AC compressor replaced and charged and boy does it blow cold. When I got home I could hear a slight hissing sound under my hood. Popped the hood and the compressor is right there. It was pretty frosted up. Is that normal? Supposed it is. Thanks guys and gals.

Not normal. There are a few things that can cause this such as moisture in the system, improper (low) refrigerant charge, or a dirty or restricted evaporator. Take your car to someone who knows what he's doing and have it looked at. If wasn't vacuumed long enough and/or filled with those 12oz cans of freon, then there's where one of the problems is. The orifice tube or expansion valve should have been replaced with this job and if the old compressor had eaten itself the system should have been flushed.

Thanks Houndawg, I had them do a similar job on another vehicle last year. I feel like they are pretty knowledgeable. I ran it for about twenty minutes to get home. I would say there was a thin icey layer covering about 2/3 or the compressor. Once shut off it quickly melted off.
???

I checked the other vehicle and ran it for a short time with the AC on. The exterior of the compressor had condensation (wet) on it. But I had not run it near as long. Same make and model of vehicle???

liquid refrigerant is making it back to compressor....

Most likely an overcharge situation in your case.

Is it a problem? Gas compresses, liquid does not... It can also "wash" oil out of your compressor into the system. This can cause issues other than most important being no lubrication in compressor.

I would go back.

so it is the accumulator that is frosted up. It is right under the hood on the left hand side. not sure about the compressor to this point. The accumulator on my other chevy van is wet not completely iced up. So is this normal? Guessing not.

The compressor icing never made sense to me. But the accumulator icing makes more sense. Since you said it is blowing cold, I'm inclined to tell you to take yes for an answer. However, two problems can cause excessive icing. One is the orifice tube not being replaced and being partly clogged. The other (rare) is the switch on the accumulator not cutting off the compressor when a low enough pressure is reached, typically ~19-21 psi. These switches usually fail open, however.

Was the Accumulator truly iced up, it was it sort of frosty?

Thanks guys. a couple of things OKC, it was pretty iced up. You had to scratch pretty hard with a finger nail to get to the metal of the accumulator.

The shop wanted to check it so when I got there. Had been running the AC for close to thirty mins. Popped the hood and guess what? Yep, just wet. The manager said that is how I like to see it. He wheeled it in the shop to check a few things. A few minutes later he said all is good. He said please bring it back in if you have any other issues. They will stand behind the work. They are a good that way. I was comfortable the whole way home