> When it gets really hot, as it does for a lot of the
summer in Houston, I still sweat.
You can make your R-134a system blow as cold as an original R-12 system
just
by replacing your fixed orifice tube with a modern variable orifice valve
(VOV). These cost around $35 wholesale, and the place I buy them from
also
sells the OEM fixed orifice tube for $1.50. In the case of the VOV, you
really do get what you pay for. DeLoreans in Florida using R-134a with a
VOV cool as well as R-12. I've driven them; I've watched a thermometer; I
know.
> My stock compressor was going bad (the clutch, actually) and wouldn't
run
And then again maybe actually not. Check the fuse. (sorry!) It is one
of
those 20A ones that tend to melt in the fuse block. When it gets dirty
then
the clutch slips and dies. An owner had just paid around $1000 for a shop
to fix his a/c. This included a new compressor since they said the old
one
had a bad clutch. When it still didn't work, he brought it to me and I
found a slipping clutch, a smoldering fuse and a sucker. Well really it
was
an honest mistake. Who would think that Lucas had a hand in such a car?
> The secret advantage here is that all the modern Sanden
units, even those labelled for R12 and with the same old part numbers,
have R134-grade mechanisms
{coughing and yelling bullshit at the same time}
As it is with a/c compressors, some varieties are claimed to have wear
surfaces that benefit from being soaked in R-12. The idea is that this
builds & maintains a thin wear-resistant film of metal chloride. The
industry urban lengend also maintains that if an R-12 compressor has been
broken in with R-12 then it has accumulated enough metal chloride residue
to
keep it lubricated with R-134a for life. Well maybe so and maybe not. I
say that the difference is not remarkable. If Sanden or Sankyo says that
a
newer version of their compressor is better suited for R-134a, then I want
to know what the difference is. Maybe, just maybe they are referring to
the
rubber seals. There is an o-ring under the oil plug on the top of the
compressor that technically should be replaced with the new green or blue
variety of R-134a tolerant rubber. And maybe the shaft seals are made of
different materials as well. In any case, replacing seals is generally
unnecessary when doing R-134a conversions. At least that is how most
profit-first-minded a/c shops do it. I would rather do the extra work if
only for general principles. The important thing is to use Ester oil and
not any of that PAG crap. I think that lack of oil is the primary reason
for failed compressors on the DeLorean. It leaks out with the
refrigerant,
but people don't normally add it when they add refrigerant.
> so I'm not reducing the useful life of my
compressor any by running higher head pressure than it's built for.
Then why did Sanden/Sankyo technical support claim that there were no
issues
with using their old compressors when converting to R-134a? I've seen an
electronic copy of the document being passed around. They didn't mention
anything about being broken in with R-12 first.
> Check my grounds? Check my grounds. Check my grounds. I'm getting
tired
of checking my grounds.
heh heh. Did you check the one on top of the intake manifold? (drivers
side toward the front.) It never occurred to me to check that one until I
had the manifold off replacing the water pump. My volt meter reads a bit
higher after that.
> The alternator is good (140 amp Hervey
unit).
Ah yes, my favorite vendor. Just curious: Does the alternator pulley line
up properly with the belt? I bet it sits too far toward the front of the
car by about 1/8th". For troubleshooting, I suggest double-checking the
alternator. Try a different one preferably from a good-running DeLorean
IF
you have access to one. How about your old alternator? What was it
doing?
> I stop at a light and the volt meter drops to about 9, the
blower, if it's on, slows to a crawl, the lights dim, and pretty
frequently the radio even resets itself.
Ding ding ding! This is NORMAL! Even with regular cars this can be
normal.
Many cars cannot maintain being run at idle continuously with the a/c on.
The alternator doesn't put out enough at idle, so the battery slowly
discharges. Soon the car stalls with a dead battery. This problem got
better on my car after replacing the battery. The old one was still good,
but the new one was better. I got an Optima sealed gel battery. The
system
voltage recovers much quicker after sitting at a light.
> If I start the car cold and don't turn on draining accessories like the
AC
or headlights, I'll actually get good voltage at idle for a while, the
first several minutes at least, but then it goes away.
This is also normal. Believe it or not, the volt meters on our dashes are
actually meant to work on 6 volt systems. To make it work on 12V they put
a
big carbon resistor in series mounted right on the back of it. As it
warms
up, the resistance increases and the gauge reads less. Try your test
again
only this time forget to start the engine. As the gauge warms up, it will
read less. But then it is also possible that your system has other
issues.
Double check it with a multi-meter connected at the battery.
> Cooling fans,
you're probably thinking. Nope.
Yep, more modern fans can certainly help. A local friend here put new
flat
fans in his DeLorean. First he tried 10" and those didn't work good
enough
in city traffic. So he installed 12" ones (950CFM each I think) and they
work as well or better than OEM. He mounted these using 3/4" aluminum
brackets. He didn't use the original fiberglass shroud. It didn't need
it.
This type of fan is installed flush like on newer cars with electric fans.
These new fans draw so little current that you could get away with using
the
original fan fail module. I took plenty of photos. Too bad I don't know
how to put them together in a web page. Anyone? Rich?
Walt
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