good day acers:
i have a 1991 toyota hi-ace supercustom imported from japan. i am in manila philippines by the way, i have the following queries which i hope someone could reply
1) i had a problem with the airconditioning before, i noticed that it only becomes cold when i am mobile, once am stuck in a traffic, heat sets in terribly. i brought my van to a technician and he installed additional condenser which he mounted under the chassis, under the rear side door. it solved the problem, but i want to ask if this in any way has a long term effect in some of the systems, e.g. electrical and engine; 2) when the van is idle, there is a signal on the dash, it looks like an oil lamp but has wave under (color orange), i know it's not the oil warning coz i notice a separate one for the oil (color red), it disappears when the van is moving..what is it?i have a manual but its in japanese and i cant understand anything...please advice...tnx
- (#11633) Atty. Alexis Claros, 10 Nov 03 23:17
The orange light is for low oil level, the red for low oil pressure.
Don't know what the extra condenser will do if anything long term, however, do you have a idle up switch?
- (#11634) Clive, 11 Nov 03 1:54
Tnx for the fast reply. i do not have idle up swithc for the additional condenser, but the condenser whitches off with the compressor when the temperature is already low. can you please explain more on low pressure oil? it's principle and what to do if the indicator turns on? by the way, when check the dipstick for the oil in the morning it indicates its full...but am willing to try putting on some more to get rid of the orange light. tnx.
- (#11635) Alexis Claros, 11 Nov 03 2:30
Don't put more oil in if on full!
Try an oil change with a deep flush and refill with a good quality oil.
The orange light indicates low oil, may be due to clogged oilways, thick oil, worn oil pump etc.
The RED lights means low/no oil pressure and stop!
- (#11636) Clive, 11 Nov 03 4:02
The additional condenser on the A/C system is to help it to dissipate the heat more effectively than it proviously did. This is because yours has been changed from R12 to R134a refrigerant, R134a is around 20% less thermally efficient at transferring heat, and you also have less weight of refrigerant than you would have had with R12. Adding this extra condenser increases the size of the system (More refrigerant in the system) and gives more surface area to dissipate the heat away from the cabin. Long term effect, none I guess, except that the compressor might have to work a bit harder!
Regards Rob.
- (#11637) Rob Drinkwater, 11 Nov 03 15:43
You sure they're using R134a in the Philippines, Rob?
I'd be sure to check there's enough gas in the system, and that the pressure switches are turning the fans on correctly...
- (#11638) david miller, 12 Nov 03 1:28
Thanks so much for the advices! I checked my oil dipstick this morning,and it indicates that the oil is in its minimum level so i added some. The orange oil lamp did not appear anymore when i started the engine, better it's not appearing anymore when I am idle in a traffic. Can I please ask for the symptoms of faulty cylinder head gasket? I am constantly adding water in the expansion tank because it is always dried when i check it, there is no leak in the water pump or radiator system. can a crack in the cylinder head gasket be causing this? Tnx and more power!!!!
- (#11639) alexis, 12 Nov 03 1:49
Dave,
Just as a point of interest, the Phillipines banned the use in new vehicles, or refilling of systems with R12, as from 1999, so if it has been re-gassed over there, then it will almost certainly now be running R134a.
Regards Rob.
- (#11640) Rob Drinkwater, 12 Nov 03 15:57
Well not necessarily Rob. There are over a dozen different drop-in replacements for R12. R134a is the most commonly used over here but who knows what they prefer in the Phillipines.
- (#11641) Ian Dunse, 13 Nov 03 3:48
Just had my air con re-gassed in Perth, Western Australia.
134a is the standard here too.
I asked the guy about one of the other gasses, because my system had not been converted. He said there are several other gasses, but they all would be phased out and would be unavailable in two or three years, so I would have to convert sometime - spent the extra cash this time and got it done.
Now a question - Mine is not cold at standstill either, just cool but cold when on the run.
That's not really the problem - they told me the compressor is a bit weak which is the cause, but I get a clicking from a relay under the dash just to left of centre - only when the air-con is switched on, and really only when front and rear are on, or whenever the cold box is on ICE.
Would replacing that relay make a difference to me?
Or is it switching because of the 'weak' compressor?
(I asked it here because it may be relevant to the discussion.)
- (#11642) DaveW, 13 Nov 03 15:12