2 ?'s–AC and Alternator
Question:
> I have 2 different questions but they are on the same car–a 86 Suburban > 350. > 1. I am not getting enough amps out of my alternator. It stays between 8 > and a little less than 13, and then when I turn front and rear AC and lights > on it drops closer to 8. I just bought a brand new 94 amp. alternator and I > am still not above 13. Battery is new and belts are tight. What else can I > do?
****** I had the same problem in a GMC Jimmy, I had a 100 amp alt put in and the gauge did the same thing. It turned out to be a loose ground wire under the dash, it was the main ground for the instruments, radio, cir lighter, etc. On mine, the wire was on the far left side at the bottom and it bolted to a steel support, the bolt was loose. The loose ground was making all of my gauges act goofy, I found it by accident when I was replacing the vacuum actuator for the air conditioning. ****** > 2. I also just had my AC serviced (switched over to 134) and "plug" > cleaned. It never goes below 60-64 degrees (on metal meat thermometer in > middle vent). I can leave it on Max with the blower on high and it never > really cools it down inside. I also have found that my AC runs even when > the gauge is on "off"–the only time it doesn’t cycle is when it is in the > "vent" position. Any ideas? What is the normal temp supposed to be coming > out of the vent–I had heard 40-50. > Thanks for your help.
****** I’m not sure what’s involved on your Surb. ac system, check out the folks over at: http://www.aircondition.com/ in the retrofit section, lots of help on R134a conversions. I did the convert on my Jimmy, I put in a new accumulator, and changed the orifice valve to a smart VOV. From doing just that, I was only able to get 50 degrees out of the center vent. I then replaced my clutch fan with a large flex fan and spacer, this helped get the center temp down to 45 degrees. I also made sure the condenser air flow wasn’t blocked and checked the evaporator, making sure no engine air was getting in. To see if you need better condenser cooling, while it’s running, spray a mist of water from your garden hose onto the condenser and see if the center duct temp drops. If it does, your clutch fan may not be working right, or you could need additional cooling with an electric fan. You may also want to check the operation of your Heat/AC bypass door, it may be slightly open, allowing heat to mix with the AC air. I’ve also see in a service bulletin from GM, where they have an electric valve that hooks into your heater hoses and prevent heated water from entering the heater core when the AC is on MAX. ****** mH
Response:
I have 2 different questions but they are on the same car–a 86 Suburban 350. 1. I am not getting enough amps out of my alternator. It stays between 8 and a little less than 13, and then when I turn front and rear AC and lights on it drops closer to 8. I just bought a brand new 94 amp. alternator and I am still not above 13. Battery is new and belts are tight. What else can I do? 2. I also just had my AC serviced (switched over to 134) and "plug" cleaned. It never goes below 60-64 degrees (on metal meat thermometer in middle vent). I can leave it on Max with the blower on high and it never really cools it down inside. I also have found that my AC runs even when the gauge is on "off"–the only time it doesn’t cycle is when it is in the "vent" position. Any ideas? What is the normal temp supposed to be coming out of the vent–I had heard 40-50. Thanks for your help.
Response:
The ampmeter needs to be a high current one (duh!) and needs to be between the alternator and the rest of the world. If you plugged into the battery cable, you will be looking at the charging current to the battery which isn’t all of the output of the battery. Isn’t the Air Conditioning system the run all the time Climate Control system? That system cools the air and then heats it back up again with the heater and thus, the temp is dependent upon the cabin temp. This means that the temp output is closer to the temp of the cabin. — Bob May I don’t read attachments to posts as they may give me a virus If I expect an attachment from you I will open it.. You may have a brilliant thought but if you put it into an attachment I won’t read it and thus both you and I lose. I don’t like to say it but unfortunatly, there are those who insist upon being nasty to the rest of us. Bob May
Response:
>I have 2 different questions but they are on the same car–a 86 Suburban >350. >1. I am not getting enough amps out of my alternator. It stays between 8 >and a little less than 13, and then when I turn front and rear AC and lights >on it drops closer to 8. I just bought a brand new 94 amp. alternator and I >am still not above 13. Battery is new and belts are tight. What else can I >do?
Check the cables. Especially ones that go to the chassis. Are you sure you trust the gauge? For $15 or so you can get a dvm and verify. BTW – the 8-13 is VOLTS, not amps. But that is low. >2. I also just had my AC serviced (switched over to 134) and "plug" >cleaned. It never goes below 60-64 degrees (on metal meat thermometer in >middle vent). I can leave it on Max with the blower on high and it never >really cools it down inside. I also have found that my AC runs even when >the gauge is on "off"–the only time it doesn’t cycle is when it is in the >"vent" position. Any ideas? What is the normal temp supposed to be coming >out of the vent–I had heard 40-50.
My local shop will do diag for free as part of estimate. It ain’t nice if you intend to do your own work, but might be best way to go. Then again, they may may be able to do whatever to fix it cheaper than you can… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Thanks for your help.
