vs ac gas.

[alan smithy]

g,day is there any way to check vs ac. gas ? on the falcon you could tell by a glass bubble to look for foaming. can,t see anything on search. seems to work ok but think it could be better. maybe local mechanic could check but open for suggestions. thanks to any replies.

[hako]

The glass window was used for R12 gas which is not used anymore (illegal) - they use R134A now which does not work the same as the old R12 and the window is no longer applicable. Nowdays they add a measured weight/mass of gas to an evacuated system and it's supposed to work. For the average Joe Blow like you or I, all you can do is check that one of the A/C hoses going thru the bulkhead is colder than the other or stick a thermometer in the cold air outlet and it should be about 20 deg C colder than ambient or outside air.
If you think there may be no gas in the system, the compressor will not engage (it has a low pressure switch)....but if you think the air in the cabin is not cold enough the first thing you should check is whether the heater tap is turning off otherwise you are mixing hot and cold air.
Good Luck.

[08sky_way]

I go along with Hako's suggestion to check if the heater is on when you have the dial turned around to cold. An easy check is to reach down by your left foot in the drivers-side footwell and reach up to touch the heater pipe after the car is warmed up.
If, when you sort that out and the A/C is still not satisfactory, and you decide to get the system re-gassed, I would suggest you ask the mechanic to replace the two 'O'-rings that seal the pipework coming off the top of the compressor. I had 2 regasses that only lasted about 6 months before I asked them to replace the 'O'-rings (an extra $20 at the time in October 2002). The A/C is still nice and cold.

[alan smithy]

yep, how silly i am. the heater was on . thanks for re gassing suggestions.