How do I know if I'm low on Freon?

Some of the questions we hear are "How can I tell if I'm low on Freon?" or "How do I know if I need freon?"

Welcome to Mercie J Auto Care, Where Compassion and Craftsmanship come together. I’m your host, Rick Smith, ASE Certified Master Technician.

First, lets talk about how to know exactly how much freon is in your car. There is not much refrigerant in most of our cars unless you have big system like in a van. We only have about 16 to 20 ounces. If we have too much in there, it will damage the compressor, especially here in Phoenix where our summer temperatures get so high and it puts the pressure really high on that compressor. If we get a little low, the deceptive thing is that our air may be blowing cold out of the vents, but there's two problems if we're running low. Number one is the refrigerant carries oil in it to lubricate the compressor so it wont carry enough lubrication. Second, we need enough to go the inside of the car and get a tiny bit out to the compressor to help cool it and make it last longer.

There's one simple test you can do at home if you're comfortable under your hood. There's two refrigerant lines. One is fairly big and one is smaller. The small one will be very hot, so be careful touching it. The big one is going to be cold, especially if you feel it as close to the compressor. If it's barely cold, you're probably low.

In the shop we use gauges, but the best way is we suck it out into a machine. We do not let it into the atmosphere because it is a global warming problem. Then we recycle it, clean it and put back the exact weight that your car requires.

We hope this has been helpful to you, if you have any questions you'd like our next video to cover, please ask us below.

[nolby]

Excellent info! I'm comfortable working on cars so I'm going to give a recharge a shot.

[jimcalderwood]

Like this video a lot! This man seems like a straight arrow and also straight to the point. I learned something and that is to check the cold line close to the compressor, if it's cold or colder that's good, if it's just a medium cold then the system needs some freon. Actually didn't know that trick. Thank you.

[carlad]

i trust this guy with my car no questions asked

[Otto-mqlg]

When I wake up in the morning the AC works and blows cold air. When I get to work and park the car until the middle of the day to grab lunch, the AC does not run and blow cold air, also does this when I leave work to drive how.
My question is, do I need a new AC motor or do I need to recharge it? Vehicle 2018 Toyota Corolla, drive in Phoenix, AZ.. 🔥

[arnoldrodriguez]

I’ve got a vintage ax system in my 67. They call for 2.8 pounds in these systems, but lines need to be custom made sometimes and vary in lengths thus requiring different levels. My problem is my system cools much better around town than in the highway. It leads me to believe I’m low on Freon and as the pressures drop due to increased airflow on the highway, my compresor cycles off unnecessarily. Any thoughts?

[Czrx]

Mine takes a while to cool off.. does it need recharge?

[alandust]

What if the system won't take the full measured amount of refrigerant. It calls for a little over a pound but will not take more than 12.5 ounces.

[tommyteamer]

Thanks on the tips on how much freon you shuld put in your car and if you put to much you well damaged the car capricer

[nicknickels]

Mines goes of and one all the time what can that be?

[garyr]

Are they really worried about the atmosphere?... NO. If they were they would design a system that doesn't leak off near as much and we couldn't buy froen off the shelf. They tell us it's bad for the ozone but then place rubber seals in the lines that go bad in a few years, when compressed copper seals like used on some break lines and last for decades without removal.

[juanjimenez]

Idk my car cold air it's no longer throwing cold air Everytime i turn on the cold AC it makes a noice but i turn it off and leave the air on and the noice is gone the only time the noice comes is when I put ac

[tigran]

How about you show us instead of just talking about it?

[mcdavidhome]

I really thought you were gonna show is with gages

[edbrandt]

The air blowing out of my vents wont go below 60 degrees. Time for service on it to see what's up

[Swenser]

Dont worry about recovery machine. Asian countries let it out to the air by the truckload.

[Scotty]

So make sure your air conditioner is always full blast so we dont let our global warming get too hot

[RadyUp]

Too much yapping bro just get to the damn point

[garymartin]

you lost me when you said global warming

[aks]

Show the lines in the car. Only theory and preaching doesn't work in these things.