A/C compressor kicks in and out

[Lefty7]

Hello All,

My wife's little RTV-X1100C is over a year old, and the A/C is working, but the compressor kicks out - and then in again - when the A/C is on. With my older road vehicles, this tells me I need to top up the refrigerant. Is that the case here? I found the refrigerant port easily enough.

When I look into the sight glass with the A/C on, and some rpms up, I see nothing. No bubbles, no nothing, your basic colorless and transparent.

The compressor shouldn't be cutting in and out like that, should it? ~Lefty7

 

[JMER817]

Hello All, My wife's little RTV-X1100C is over a year old, and the A/C is working, but the compressor kicks out - and then in again - when the A/C is on. With my older road vehicles, this tells me I need to top up the refrigerant. Is that the case here? I found the refrigerant port easily enough. When I look into the sight glass with the A/C on, and some rpms up, I see nothing. No bubbles, no nothing, your basic colorless and transparent. The compressor shouldn't be cutting in and out like that, should it? ~Lefty7

I just added refrigerant to my 2008 Silverado tonite. It was doing the same thing and watched the pressure on the gauge go up and down while cycling. Started adding refrigerant and it stayed on and the gauge settled down. Was low starting out at 29psi and filled it until 45psi as recommended on the can. Used one of those do it yourself kits. Worked well... Nice freezing cold air now.

 

[boudreaux81]

High pressure could be cutting compressor off also. Check pressures and see what high and low are. If it is high pressure make sure condenser is clean and fan is working.

 

[Lefty7]

I appreciate your responses.

Yeah, I have an old Dodge van that goes through this every couple of years. Wasn't sure that the RTV was the same.

I'll check the pressure, and take it from there. Thanks.

Have some fun. ~Lefty7

 

[Tractor Seabee]

If it needs refrigerant then there is a leak. They never get better with time.

Ron

 

[Loadstar]

It has a sight glass and you see nothing? So is it a full glass or completely empty? That's the million dollar question.

 

[Tx Jim]

IMHO to add refrigerant to AC system solely by looking at low pressure is a crap-shoot as there are too many variables other than low refrigerant. One needs to observe both low & high pressure gauges to correctly add refrigerant. Is radiator,condenser & evaporator spiffy clean on your wife's little RTV-X1100C?

 

[Winmac]

Not all auto compressors are designed to run continually, depends on pump type.

 

[dstig1]

All compressors cycle depending on the demand and ambient air temp. Lower demand, lower ambient temp = more cycling. Higher temps & demand = less cycling or full on if the load is enough. Is the AC blowing cold or not? If yes, then you are fine, if not, then you need a set of gages to see what is going on. You need to check at idle and some elevated revs (2-3k) and watch and record pressures when it is running and off. Plus pressures at rest before you start it. Those things will give the entire story as to what is going on. Without a pair of gages (hi/lo), you will not get this data, and will be guessing. You may be able to borrow/rent from a parts store, or perhaps a friend has a set if you don't want to buy.

Get the readings, post them back here, and we can help.

 

[crazyal]

When you say 'over a year old' do you mean as in less than 2 years? If so then I would call the dealer. It may be out of warranty but your dealer should be able to tell you if it's normal or not. A good dealer should be willing to put a set of gauges on it so you will know what's going on (assuming you have a way of getting it there). If it does have a leak a dealer can add dye into the system and find the leak. For something that will last decades I wouldn't want to start down the road of topping it off every summer. Plus you could damage the system by adding too much, I know I wouldn't want to break something that's basically new and have to live with a much larger repair bill or no A/C at all. If nothing else get yourself a set of gauges and watch a youtube on how to use them.