Who has working AC?

Jim

My 400 uses R134. It does a pretty decent job. The conversion was not done under my ownership so I don't know any of the technicalities.

Aidan

 

That you're going to Alaska..I don't think A/C will be the problem

 

I have original front and rear A/C and it is still on R12 (at least there is no indication of it being changed). For the first 30-40 minutes it will freeze your a$$. After a time the cooling level decreases. It has been like this since I bought the car (3.5 years) and I dealt with it. This year I plan to debug the system and I have found a shop that will do R12 work.

Jim, if you have a dual system it is a real pain to get to the control block in the middle of the car and I believe for the conversion you need to change all of the o-rings. I think most of the interior will need to come out but I may be wrong on that point. If you have a front only A/C it is much less difficult to deal with.

Let us all know how it works out and the total cost outlay.
Ken

 

Ken

If your ac starts out really freezing cold and then seems to warm up, check your condenser coils for ice formation, which then kills the efficiency. You may find that it works better if you don't have it cranked up to full cold so that the ice doesn't form.

I know it sounds strange that a Ferrari ac could be too cold, but it just may be. Or I could be totally wrong in thinking that the system works similar to a window air conditioner.

 

I have working AC with R-12. The R-12 needed for makeup was less than the cost of the retrofit when I bought the car. My car only has a single AC unit.

Some of the new R134 mixes are incredibly cold and efficient. The next time attention is
required on my system that may be an option.

-sc

 

My 400i had been converted to 134. It is cold and trouble free. You will need to evac the system then pull all the lines apart and repalce the "O"rings. The reciever dryer was repalced as well as the schrader valves in the low and hi pressure lines to accept the new 134 fittings. It runs 42 degrees out of the vents, cold enough for our climate in Seattle. As our s is a cabriolet I really don't intend on using the air anyway.

Howard Musolf
1982 400i Cabriolet
Maserati spider.

 

John
For 2 years I have been telling myself that it is the evaporator (not condenser) freezing. the owner's manual suggest that is possible since they do not actually have an anti-freeze protection in the system. So I turn the fan up and reduce the cold setting (less cold). This has not worked and I am less sure it is the evaporator freezing. I will get a long temperature indicator and check it when it is running cold to see how low it is going. That will answer that point.

Another symptom of my issue is that it does not cool much at all when in traffic even when just starting out. It takes some steady RPM to get it cooling.

I hope to do some testing this weekend at we are expecting 80 F.
Ken

 

These early a/c systems are marginal at best. Your issue with limited cooling at idle could be caused by one or a combination of several things.

At idle the a/c compressor may not be turning fast enought to refrigerate. This may be caused by the belt slipping and not allowing the compressor to overcome the line pressure. Keep in mind the obsenely narrow belts Ferrari used. These belts must be tighter than a "G" string and ride as hight in the pulley as physicaly possible. A second issue may be the compressor clutch. This is a magnetic coupling that may be weak and not totaly engaging or slipping as the pressure starts to build in the system.

The other issue with limited cooling at idle could be lack of air flow through the condensor, causing the temperature to build up in the system and not cool until colder air from the outside passes thru the condensor when the vehicle speed is increased. The V-12 motor produces a huge amount of heat in a relatively small area. The cooling fans at idle will not draw enough air into the engine compartment through the a/c condensor and radiator to dispell the unwanted heat. Heat is the enemy of any a/c system.

The other parts of the a/c system that cause grief are the drier/reciever and the condensor. If the drier/reciever is clogged or restricted it will cut the flow of freon and limit the ability of the a/c system to produce cold air. The faster the engine rpm the more pressure the compressor will produce. If the front of the condensor is restricted or covered with debris cold outside air cannot pass through it and let the system produce cold air. The final piece of the a/c puzzle is the freon level. You should evacuate the system then see if it will hold a vacumn for a period of time. If the system is sealed, it will hold 10-15 inches of vacumn for an hour. Then refill the system with the correct weight of freon. If the freon level is low the system will not refrigerate correctly.

I suspect your system is low on freon due to leaking "O" rings or hose connections. Evac the system and recharge, change the belt , then try the system again, it should produce 40-42 degrees at the vents with the system set at the coldest setting and the fan on high speed.

Good Luck,

Howard Musolf
1982 400i
Maserati spider

 

I'm running R134 and it works reasonably well.

 

I noticed this thread and thought I should ask you guys if you've had any problems obtaining filter/driers for your A/C systems?

I posted in the Tech Q&A section about how I recently broke my thermostat switch on my 308 GT4 and so while removing the remnants of the thermostat's sensing tube from the car, I also removed the filter/drier as I should be replacing this as well once I get this thing up-and-running (don't know when it was last done... Could be original, or probably decades old).

I visited the shop I had used to re-core my radiator (who also repair A/C systems) and they looked through ALL of their parts catalogues and could not find anything remotely close to matching up (both for the switch and the drier). They gave me a contact to a long-established, reputable shop here in Vancouver which I'll go to on Monday. The rad shop said if they don't have it, they'll know where to get it. I hope so.

I can't imagine Ferrari would have used bespoke components for the A/C system... Did they? Have you guys had problems obtaining parts for your A/C systems?

 

intermittent systems are often due to water in the system that plugs the expansion valve. A very simple an cheap thing to do is to remove the reciever dryer nad put it in your wifes oven for 1hr @ 250F. Then replace the part and put a 1 atm vacuum on the system for and hour. Then recharge the system. You could be surprised at how this can change things.

 

Ferrari recommends replacing the dryer/filter and evaporant every two years on the late model cars, and that is with a modern compressor, not a piston York. FBB's baking will stretch the life of a dryer, but the evaporant change is probably a good idea for optimum cooling. Also, leaving the system under vacuum for an extended time period, like overnight, will really purge the water from the system. I believe you taught me that trick, FBB, and it really works.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Receiver drier on my GTB apparently pretty common because the shop that re-gassed isystem mainly does auto electrical and aircon work on trucks and machinery and they had a suitable one on the shelf, i think they said it was the same as used on some Caterpillar machinery. It is the same diameter, same outlet location, fits the oem bracket, evertything.

M

 

Thanks for that bit of info - every little bit helps. Like I mentioned, I'll be going to this A/C place on Monday, so I should hope there'll be some success out of that visit...

 

I had thought about that, but my concern is if there is any oil residue in the canister and in the desiccant, it would obviously be removed as well (causing undesirable fumes in the kitchen) and if it were not totally removed, would that reduce the efficiency of the desiccant if it were to remain in there?

 

absolutely, a new unit is always better. It is a cost/benefit compromise.

 

Ken,
Your system may be under charged.

As for me, I'm using R134 and it works fine. I removed the hoses and flushed out the system. The condenser was filled with black muck. I replaced the R/D and any O-rings I could find, filled it until it peaked and it's been great ever since.

 

I found a local shop that does R12 AC work. I took it to him this morning and it needed just about 1 lb of Freon. They think everything else is okay. Since I had not added any Freon in three years they expect a small or no leak at all. They added dye in case it does leak down.

I have a long trip to Williamsburg, VA and back at the end of the month. That will be a good test of the cooling.
Ken

 

I'm running a stock system with R12 and you can hang meat in my car even in August in Texas.