Anyone think of moding their AC to make it blow colder?? Options

[stephen_lee]

Here in TX it gets 110 and HIGH humidity.. so in the middle of the day my ac barely blows 55-60*.. keeping it quite warm in the car still. So has anyone tried adding a second condenser and fan to the AC system? Or is there another way to make it blow any colder? It has a good freon charge, and i already added insulation around the lines to the evaporator..

[jimmykay]

While I'm glad that I don't have to deal with the TX heat right now. I think that my problem in my car isn't the AC, it blows cold enough, but rather the lack of insulation and abundance of glass in the car means that it warms back up quickly.

Air conditioning works off of a temperature differential. If it's 110 outside and you're still pulling 55 degree air through. That's better than the air conditioner in my house.

With that said, instead of a second AC unit, one possibility might be that you may want to start looking into swapping out a bigger compressor. maybe something out of a seinna or a tundra would be bigger. Good luck.

[stephen_lee]

i didnt mean a whole second ac unit, just adding a second condenser in line with out stock one. although a larger compressor might increase the refrigerant flow/pressure, it might not make much a difference since then it would have less time cooling in the condenser and therefore being hotter going into the evap core. hotter liquid and more flow may mean same temperature or even warmer.. plus the expansion valve will still only allow X amount of refrigerant flow.

I was thinking having more evaporator surface area will allow a better drop in temperature no matter how warm it is outside. Also an increase in refigerant would mean it would have even longer in each part.

I have thoroughly insulated my car, too. all the body panels have foil/foam insulation including the roof floor and doors, and the quarter panels are full fiberglass. the doors have 2inch sheets of backed & duct taped fiberglass as well. under the carpet is also carpet padding. but you're totally right about the windows... maybe i should get darker tint first and see how it helps.

[jimmykay]

darker tint would be a much easier and cheaper fix. hang in there, this heat should pass in the next month or two

[njccmd2002]

see my lines...

it helps a little...

[azian_advanced]

i'm sure toyota designed the condenser & fan so that the refridgerant will completely condense while using the stock AC compresser even in very hot weather. in this case upgrading the condenser alone won't make the refridgerant any cooler. the easiest way to make the system blow cooler would be to upgrade the compressor and upgrade the condenser & fan (to compensate for the higher refridgerant pressures). but i would prefer insulating the car and tinting the windows than upgrade the AC system since these don't cost any hp from the engine. i use a 2-way alarm/starter to prestart the car so it's cold when i get in which helps a lot, especially when my 2-way remote displays the interior temperature so i know what i'm getting into before getting into the car.

[stephen_lee]

I did the insulation around those lines already. I've been in plenty GM and ford cars that blOw ice cold nearly instantly even in super hot weather. I know out condensers take a beating from rocks maybe it needs to be replaced. Also a 16 yr old expansion valve may be less than working properly. I'm just thinking it won't take much effort to add a second condenser plus I can get the parts cheap. Since my system would be open might as well do it all.. Condenser, expansion valve and dryer.

[azian_advanced]

mine blows ice cold but takes about 30 secs to a minute of idle in 90 degree outer temperatures.. and less if i'm driving. i recently rented a new ford escape and chrysler sebring here in vegas, and while they blow cold in less time while idling, they're able to do this because ford & chrysler may have put higher performing compressors since both cars have higher hp engines (V6) compared to the celica.

[boomer]

Here in TX it gets 110 and HIGH humidity.. so in the middle of the day my ac barely blows 55-60*.. keeping it quite warm in the car still. So has anyone tried adding a second condenser and fan to the AC system? Or is there another way to make it blow any colder? It has a good freon charge, and i already added insulation around the lines to the evaporator..

had simalar problem this spring ice cold last year only blowing 56/60 this year had full freon charge. suggest you check your high and low pressure readings mine were erratic . changed tx valve and dryer . now blows 35/40 even when driving or idling in high 90s

[cyprus_gt]

I am from Cyprus so here during the summer is 40 degree normaly and..
...when i start my car i need 10 seconds and the AC start blow so cold so i need to turn the fan less!
Just need to check your system - the celica that i have is SS2 1994 year and is the most cold AC that i ever driven

cheers

[presure2]

r-12 = colder than r134.

[Hanyo]

a second condenser fan would only help if your driving around in town. When your on the highway, our condenser gets more then enough air to flow over it to cool the freon. So the coldest our ac system can get is when your driving on the high way.

[stephen_lee]

on the HWY it blows 45-50 so it IS an airflow/condenser efficiency issue. stopped and revv the motor doesnt change temp much

[opie_7afe]

have you checked to make sure your cooling coil is nice and clean and not full of dust/muck?

[delusionz]

what about modding the heater to blow hotter, thats what i wanna do, i was thinking of smoothing off the sharp turn in the end of the water outlet, possibly enlarging it ever so slightly and shortening the hoses??

[stephen_lee]

my heater blows FAWKIN hot. close to 200. i bet your core is plugged. but i imagine if u find some sort of small electric pump to push coolant through there faster it'd blow hotter, but remember, you can only blow a max of 180-200 degreees

[delusionz]

i live in a cold climate.,,,

its middle of winter right now...

sometimes have to turn it all the way unless i drive the car hard then all of a sudden really hot are blasts thru ...

[match220]

i'm sure toyota designed the condenser & fan so that the refridgerant will completely condense while using the stock AC compresser even in very hot weather. in this case upgrading the condenser alone won't make the refridgerant any cooler. the easiest way to make the system blow cooler would be to upgrade the compressor and upgrade the condenser & fan (to compensate for the higher refridgerant pressures). but i would prefer insulating the car and tinting the windows than upgrade the AC system since these don't cost any hp from the engine. i use a 2-way alarm/starter to prestart the car so it's cold when i get in which helps a lot, especially when my 2-way remote displays the interior temperature so i know what i'm getting into before getting into the car.

depending on the cooling system, sometimes you can't just upgrade the compressor or add more refrigerant. You would have to change out the high or low pressure switches too. Adding more refrigerant adds more pressure. So the compressor will come on quick and shut off quick, or too little refrigerant will keep it on longer. The switches on the high and low presure lines are designed to shut off the compressor if the high high pressure switch senses too much pressure or come back on when the low pressure switch senses too little pressure. With that said though, I don't know how the celica cooling system functions because I've never had to troubleshoot it, but I have troubleshot other ones, and that aren't all exactly the same. Some have a high/low pressure switch combo, some have separate, and some just have one.

[stephen_lee]

we have a hi-low pressure switch, and a block style expansion valve. adding a larger condenser and more refrigerant will not affect the pressures much as there is more room for the r134 to take up in the additional condenser space. Also an additional fan, or higher CFM replacements for stock, will allow lower temperatures in the condenser and therefore lower pressures.

[presure2]

Steven, its really as simple as converting to r12 if you want it colder. But before you do, are your reciever and drier in good working order? I'd be willing to bet that is part of your problem.

[Galcobar]

One point on the tinting windows idea, which does make a ridiculous amount of difference -- quality matters. While the simple black tints do reduce the temperature, those which are designed to block infrared wavelengths do a better job of keeping the heat out by blocking not just the sunlight, but the infrared from the sun and sources around you. They also allow for higher VLT, which is to say, you get a lower temperature while still complying with regulations on how dark your tint may be. Such films have a metallic layer to them, which is the silvery sheen you see on some window tints.

[stephen_lee]

i agree quality tint makes a different.. my autozone tint has faded over the last year

how can you even get r12 anymore? the stuff is outlawed. there are other refrigerants out there.. like propane(illegal cause its flammable..), nitrogen, 152a.. etc

[presure2]

Yea, actually getting the r12 will be the hard part but I'm sure you have friends...

[rave2n]

Hmm, mine blows warm at idle, but usally I just hold the gas and brake if its really annoying me. Otherwise in motion its plenty cold. Nvr seen a need to upgrade, but I also rarly run my AC due to the drain I feel when its on. Moving to FL though is making me reconsider the drain. All in all, how damn cold to you wanna be to upgrade that =P

[4-eyed-freek]

when was the last time you had the a/c system serviced. it may be low on refigerant, that would make it blow a little warm. and you have to take into consideration that its 110 out side the celica doesnt hold as much refigerant and most usdm cars and when its that hot its just hard for it to keep cool. another thing always use you recerculation when its that hot, no need to take in hot air to try to cool it when you can take precooled air and reuse it.

[richee3]

I would actually suspect the a/c condenser on that one. The fins are probably bent so it works on the highway with wind blowing through but not at idle when the fans have to do the work.

[4-eyed-freek]

I would actually suspect the a/c condenser on that one. The fins are probably bent so it works on the highway with wind blowing through but not at idle when the fans have to do the work.

yup ive seen that happen to many times, along with "my car is over heating and my a/c doesnt work!" lol. usually a bag covering the front end.

[Hanyo]

To be honest with everyone. My celica AC blows too cold. I sometimes have to turn it down because it gets uncomfortable. Its much colder air then my corolla.

If you put the ac into recirculate mode you get colder air. And you will not have to cool 110 degree temperature from outside, instead your cooling the already cool air and have a shorter path for the ac blower to move air.

Maybe you can upgrade the secondary fan for the ac condenser to a higher CFM fan. Hook that up to a separated relay system so you don't melt the factory wiring and your gold. That way you get OEM ac functionality but much better AC cooling capabilities. You can also flush and fill your AC system and refill with Quest Sub-zero AC booster that promises 18% improvement on cooling performance.

[Hanyo]

Yea, actually getting the r12 will be the hard part but I'm sure you have friends...

You have to remember the r 12 freon reacts with the PAG oil in our ac system. So if you simply filled the AC with r12 you will blow up your compressor. IF you want to use R12 you will need to flush the whole system and refill the system with ester oil or mineral oil. Even then I cant garentee the weight of the ac oil will meet the standards of the celica's compressor.