Dennis thanks. That makes a lot of sense. I'll look into it.

John

On 7/17/2012 11:30 PM, Dennis Haynes wrote:
> Didn't you just recently add refrigerant? Not a good idea to just keep
> topping off a system.
>
> The radiator fan should be running in a low speed whenever the AC clutch is
> engaged. Either excessive head pressure or the radiator fan switch high
> speed will put the fan into high speed. If the radiator switch puts the fan
> into high speed the AC should disengage until the rad temp goes down.  It
> should be a rare occaision for the fan to run in the high speed mode.
> Usually this is a sign of an over charged system.
>
> R134a is a zoetrope. When it leaks out not all of the compounds leak out at
> the same rate. So when you just add you lose a lot of the efficiency and
> things go wrong, you can't rely on pressure readings to determine a proper
> charge. Charging should always be done be recovering what is left,
> evacuating the system, and then charging the system by weight. The proper
> fill is 80 to 85% of what the system called for in R12.
>
> Dennis
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> JRodgers
> Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2012 11:18 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: AC Question
>
> AC was putting out the barest of cool air on full at night - could not feel
> but hot air during the heat of the day. Added R134a and now it works great.
> BUT - it seems the radiator/condenser fan up front runs as long as the AC is
> turned on - and I think that is as it should be -or is it? But this evening
> - while ambient temp was still quite warm, not far from home I turned the AC
> off when stopping for a light (idle stabilizer doesn't work so engine would
> stall otherwise) and when I turned it back on - I noted that
> radiator/condensor fan didn't work - didn't turn on.
> The AC continued to put out cold air - but now fan doesn't run - which
> incidentally up to now sounds like a jet engine running.
>
> Can anyone tell me about how this is supposed to work - and do I have
> something wrong? Or am I fretting over nothing?
>
> Thanks,
>
> John
>
>