Help! The air conditioning unit in my 2001 Mercury Sable is constantly throwing temper tantrums, and since I live in southern California with an hourlong commute every day, it’s really a problem. The A/C will work the VERY FIRST time I turn it on for the day, but after about 10 minutes there’s a musty smell and it starts blowing humid, hot air. After that it won’t work for the rest of the day at all. This has been going on for about 6 months now, and I’ve spent $200 at the dealership to have it “fixed”, but no go. What’s going on?! Thanks guys!
you proably need freon 134a.they sell it in a can.with a gauge to see how much freon you need.you dont want to over fiil the a/c unit. you can buy this at any auto parts store.and their is also a dye to put in your a/c unit to see if their are any leaks.cost$20 or less
I would find a shop that specializes in automobile air conditioning. Let them know the problem you are having and I’ll bet that they will figure it out. I had an airconditioning problem with a Ford Aerostar that I used to own. The dealer never did find the problem–the service department would just recharge the system. A good independent shop was able to solve the problem.
There’s no way of anyone here being able to diagnose this problem without knowing the high and low side pressures.
Just offhand, it sounds like either there is an electrical fault causing the compressor to kick off, a blend door is not working properly, or the evaporator core is icing up. Wild guessing here, I’d say the latter. Another faint possibility is a clogged evaporator drain tube.
When the A/C is acting up take a look at the front of the compressor and make sure the compressor clutch is engage. The radiator fan should also be running and if you look underneath the passenger front side of the firewall near the right front wheel you should see a condensation drip.
If you do not see a drip turn the A/C off, wait about 5 minutes, and note if a drip starts then. If it does, then the evaporator is icing
Does your Sable have manual controls (knobs) or EATC (thermostat and digital)?
OK440 has some good advice. Make those observations and go from there. I would complain to the Stealership about the problem that they did not fix. Tell them that you are not happy and you will not pay them any more money, but you want them to look at it and tell you why they relieved you of your money and did nothing for you in return.