Apologies for any misinformation

["content22207" <brobertson@xxxx>]

It's been a busy 24 hours...

Have decided Laurinburg's suppposed A/C guru isn't so wise after all.
Took much of what he said as Gospel. Now will not repeat ANYTHING he
says. Yes, he's been messing with A/C longer than any of us, but
really don't think he's got the full grasp:

Asked following questions at lunch:
Why is DeLo accumulator on low side where nothing is being metered?
If high pressure occurs after liquification, why is DeLo high pressure
port BEFORE condensor?
He honestly couldn't answer, and proclaimed DeLorean a hopeless anomaly
So...

Stopped by GMC truck owner's house after work to really examine its
system. IS 100% IDENTICAL! (high side gauge port further down line).
Uses orifice tube metering device. Accumulator located AFTER
evaporator (that one still has me befuddled) with a low pressure
switch. Etc. If you can work on GM A/C, you can work on DeLorean.
Systems are totally the same.

Also examined my pressure switches at lunch. Low pressure switch
indeed two conductor -- just has extra line taking off elsewhere from
one terminal. High pressure switch is odd -- CLOSES at normal
pressure, but OPENS when there's a fault. Totally backwards of what
you'd expect. Fired up A/C and water poured off my accumulator -- no
doubt is on low side.

Also popped hood of one of the Lincolns and guess what I found on
compressor -- a pop off valve! Never noticed before. Looks just like
DeLo valve. Guess that's where Ford decided to put high pressure
protection. Rest of system of course totally DIFFERENT from DeLorean...

Background info: back in my R12 days took a new-to-me Lincoln to 3
different shops to make A/C work. No one could do it. That's how I was
introduced to Guru. If anyone could do it, he could. Well, he replaced
every single component (am sure that's why Two Tone Lincoln's A/C now
outperforms all the others) and still couldn't make cold air come out.
Car was proclaimed hopeless. I sat down with factory literature to
study the situation, and that's when it hit me: CAR HAD NO LOW SIDE
PORT. What everyone had been using as a low side port was really just
a guage attachment to diagnose throttle suctioning valve. In
subsequent trips to junkyards popped hoods of every '79 Ford -- not a
single low side port on any! Ford did not use low side ports in 1979.
Unfortunately my factory literature is 1978, so I have no idea how
they suggested anyone charge the system. Transplanted a low side hose
from a '72 LTD (so much for theory that hoses themselves become
pourous and leak). Also converted to R134 because that's all I could
buy (tools and freon). Imagine thrill when ICE cold air hit me in face
(from my "hopeless" car). Sealed the fate -- subsequent cars or failed
systems have all been converted to R134. Now have only one vehicle
still burning R12: an old blue AMC that will soon be given to my
little brother...

Again, apologies if any misinformation was repeated. Physics of freon
remain unchanged (evaporates even colder than freezing point of water,
condenses back to a liquid under pressure, etc), but some of the finer
points were definitely off. A clogged system will NOT return to static
pressure. High pressure is high pressure whether freon is liquid or gas. 

And I just had a thought: does location of GM/DeLorean accumulators
have anything to do with cycling compressor? While the thing is
sucking obviously no freon is going to accumulate. But if it cycles
off, does accumulator give evaporating gas a place to expand until
compressor comes back on? Kind of like fuel accumulator? Would allow
system to continue cooling. Don't know, but it's in that particular
location for SOME reason.

Bill Robertson
#5939