Hello everyone
I have a 99 E430 and my AC doesnt work it only blows hot air, the ec button on my temp controll is allways on. I just purchased a refill kit and when i connected it, the pressure gage on the kit jumped to 115 before doing anything. the valve to pierce the can would not turn proberly to brake the seal when connected, i am assuming that that is because the pressure is to high because it turns proberly when i disconect it from the car.
the valve i connected it to is on the driver side right by the abs unit and it had a black cap? i dont know if that is the right one but i think it is ?
Im not sure what to do to solve this problem, if anyone can help me it would be greatly appreciated. thanx
Welcome to the forum, Benzzino. Please take a moment to complete your user profile with your vehicle model and year, and your location.
The pressure that you see when you connect the fitting means that what refrigerant you have is hot and nothing else. It tells you nothing about the refrigerant quantity.
Start with the "AC stops blowing cold air" thread in the DIY sticky above, to extract trouble codes and current sensor values.
Do not add refrigerant to the system until you find out if you need any.
OK the first thing you have to check is to make sure the compressor is turning ON when you turn on the AC switch (depress the EC switch and the light should go OFF).
If the EC light does not go OFF, it means the compressor is not ON, because of three conditions... 1. there is not enough Freon (R134a) in the system, 2. the temperature parameters will not allow the compressor to turn on, 3. bad thermo switch on the receiver dryer.
Question... Was the AC always ice cold, but suddenly stopped working because the EC light was always turned ON... OR was the AC cold temp gradually getting less COLD over a period of weeks?
I am going to take a guess that it was the first case... since you said the EC light was always ON. I think there is enough freon in the system to cool it down but you have to check it with a thermometer in the center vent to be sure if it needs more freon added.
Go do a search on this forum or the W124 forum for AC EC light always ON...
It will bring up a thread where it explains how to reset the AC temp parameters using the AC front control panel; the object is to get the EC light to turn OFF meaning the compressor will turn on so you can check the degree of cooling.
Assuming the problem is not a Thermo switch (on the receiver dryer), and you follow the procedure correctly, the compressor should turn ON.... set the temp to MAX cold and MAX Fan speed... stick a 6 inch dial thermometer iinto the center vent and watch the temp scale. Depending on the ambient temperature (not a hot day) the dial thermometer should read about 50 deg. F around 1500 -2000 rpm (yes, give it a little GAS). If you read only 60 deg R. then add a can of R134a while watching the temp.
The BLACK cap is the LOW (suction) side where the freon is added... The high side is a larger valve so the freon can/hose will not fit on the valve. You should have the engine and compressor running before connecting the freon can as the LOW side should be around 30-45 psi while the HIGH side will be around 150-180 psi.
I would recommend not using the plastic cap/valve that comes in the AC kit and attaches to the freon can, but buy from Kragen the metal brass freon can valve for $6.95 which will screw on the can straight (not angled) and allow the pin valve to puncture the can without leakage.
That should be enough to get you started for now... let us know what happens.
thank you unitfreebie for all that information this is my first summer with this car, the ac was not working for as long as i have had it so i dont know the conditions underwhich it stoped working.
the first time i tries to turn on the ac it didnt work and later i noticed the ec light wouldnt turn off.
i tried looking for the W124 forum for AC EC light always ON but i couldnt find it.
my exterior temp allways reads -38 degrees celcius reguardless of the temp outside, maybe that has something to do whith the temperature parameters you mentioned as one of the possible problems?
could you please post a link to the forum that shows how to reset the AC temp parameters
thanx for your help
compressor won't turn on/ec won't turn off.
go into error mode and record errors then press both auto buttons at the same time to clear the errors,sometimes that triggers the ec to turn off.Try the override
Switching of the "EC" lamp low refrigerant level detection via the AC Push-button Control Module can be accomplished as follows:
Switch ignition to position 2.
Set the left temperature to "HI" and the right to "LO"
Switch the ignition off.
While holding the "REST" button, switch the ignition to pos. 2. On the left side of the display, "P1" will be blinking and on the right side, the version code is
displayed. Press the "EC" button, no change is needed for the P1 value.
Press the "EC" button again. "P2", will be blinking on the left side of the display and the value on the right side.
Record this value. Using the right side temperature (red) button add 16 to the displayed value.
Press the "EC" button to store the updated version code.
Turn the ignition off and on again. Reset the left and right side temperatures to 72?F (by pressing the red and blue buttons at the same time).
cleared the error codes,reset the ec to trigger the compressor and still nothing.back to the drawing board.If it triggers the compressor on then add some r134a,if it cools then you had a leak and you need to find it with a sniffer and fix it or get it to a ac shop and fixed,flushed,a new dryer installed and properly filled.
ohlord
pm Matt L on the forum he had ec issues also about a year ago.
Vehicle: 2001 SLK 320(93K Miles), 2002 E320 Special Edition(112K Miles)
Location: South Bay Area,L.A., CA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by benzzino
my exterior temp allways reads -38 degrees celcius reguardless of the temp outside, maybe that has something to do whith the temperature parameters you mentioned as one of the possible problems?
The AC is independent of the exterior temperature sensor. Search this forum and you'll find the outside sensor location. May just unplugged or maybe the sensor is gone. Or maybe the outside sensor is correct - you ARE after all in Canada.
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i just did the diagnosis and these are the values i got, this is in celcius
1-30
2-E
3-31
4-31
5-29
6-70
7-07
8-30
Error codes were
E61 227 or as the link shows B1227
E61 234 or as the link shows B1234
E61 241 or as the link shows B1241
according to that diagnosis it looks like all i need is a refill of refrigerant ? but for my sensor 2 i got an E instead of a number ? anyone know why ?
The AC is independent of the exterior temperature sensor. Search this forum and you'll find the outside sensor location. May just unplugged or maybe the sensor is gone. Or maybe the outside sensor is correct - you ARE after all in Canada.
lool yah it gets pretty cold here but not this time of year its more like +30. I just read that forum about the outside temp sensor im going to chech it out tomorow i hope its just unplugged