R134a or R12
Moderator: RichardW
R134a or R12
My ZX's aircon isn't cooling as it used to so I assume a refill is needed. Now, how do I know if my car uses R134a or R12? Please note that I'm in Guatemala.
Oscar,
There are a few different ways but Governments being Governments, no two countries seem to have the same set of rules on it.
The fittings on R-12 had flare types whereas the R134a use an "O" ring type which in some places are marked by a colour coding.
The surest way is if the last repairer put a bright green sticker somewhere under the bonnet near the receiver dryer usually on the cross piece directly above the radiator or under the bonnet indicating that it had been converted. I would take it to the local air/con man & let him make the decision as you will have to probably get it converted anyway if it hasn't been done as R-12 is getting a fairly rare commodity these days.
Alan S
There are a few different ways but Governments being Governments, no two countries seem to have the same set of rules on it.
The fittings on R-12 had flare types whereas the R134a use an "O" ring type which in some places are marked by a colour coding.
The surest way is if the last repairer put a bright green sticker somewhere under the bonnet near the receiver dryer usually on the cross piece directly above the radiator or under the bonnet indicating that it had been converted. I would take it to the local air/con man & let him make the decision as you will have to probably get it converted anyway if it hasn't been done as R-12 is getting a fairly rare commodity these days.
Alan S
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by PowerLee</i>
Seeing as R12 is banned in the U.K. it should be running R134a gas already.
If not, It can be coverted fairly cheaply by an aircon place.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Oscar is in Guatamala and a lot of these Countries are not involved in bringing in these regs at the same rate as some of the others. The Yanks and Australia for example are working on differing resolutions associated with the Kyoto protocol with the Yanks pulling out in recent times I understand so it can't be assumed that the car will have R134a or that R12 is not still available.
If there is the same as here, it's not as dear now as it was to get converted, but up to about 12 months ago it was possible to pay around A$900 to A$1500 to get converted from 12 to 134 which can almost make it cheaper to buy another car than get the air/con fixed if the Guatamalan prices are comparable to UK car prices.
Alan S[;)]
Seeing as R12 is banned in the U.K. it should be running R134a gas already.
If not, It can be coverted fairly cheaply by an aircon place.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Oscar is in Guatamala and a lot of these Countries are not involved in bringing in these regs at the same rate as some of the others. The Yanks and Australia for example are working on differing resolutions associated with the Kyoto protocol with the Yanks pulling out in recent times I understand so it can't be assumed that the car will have R134a or that R12 is not still available.
If there is the same as here, it's not as dear now as it was to get converted, but up to about 12 months ago it was possible to pay around A$900 to A$1500 to get converted from 12 to 134 which can almost make it cheaper to buy another car than get the air/con fixed if the Guatamalan prices are comparable to UK car prices.
Alan S[;)]
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tomsheppard
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- Joined: 19 Dec 2002, 14:46
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Oscar: from my own limited experience, your car will need: Two connector adapters, a set of O rings, The correct compressor oil and a drier to convert over to R134a. If the car has a/c fitted, then you are more than half way there and the job can be done by yourself using the local a/c man to remove the old refrigerant for you (Saves you from Frostbite,) and tell you how much has been lost before you convert it. He'll be needed to commission the system, too, Leak testing, vacuuming down the plant to boil off water vapour before refilling it. I would start by having the system emptied as this will tell you if the poor performance is due to natural losses in the system over a couple of years or if it is due to something more sinister. You will not need a new compressor, valve, condenser, or evaporator if everything is healthy but you will need to drain the old compressor oil which means taking it off the car. Many "Experts" over here (UK) insist that you need lots of new parts to do the conversion because they want your money and I'm sure that mechanics are the same the world over! Being a 1994 car, the likelihood is that it has R12 because the data for BXs from that time shows that a kit was available to convert up to R134a, suggesting that R12 was then standard. One simple point: if your a/c man has the knowhow, he should be able to recognise an R134a adaptor. if that is present, then it is definitely R134a .