OHSIXX

My AC Compressor has a decal on it that says it has R-12 in it. So, when I bought the car the previous owner told me he had changed it over to the new system.

This led to a little confusion on my part and had me thinking R-12 was the new thingy. I now know it is 134a.

E-mail address for the previous owner is outdated. So, I wrote him a letter.

What if I do not hear from him? Is there a way to tell what refrigerant it contains?

FeedVaal

An A/C shop will have a sniffer that can determine the difference.

ManFromEagle

When they change to the new R134 the connectors change to prevent screwups. Also the color of the caps is suppose to change on these connectors. At the moment I can not remember what the color is suppose to be.

This reply will pop you to the top again and someone will know.

Hope this helps

FeedVaal

134A caps are blue and fittings are quick connect. When I switched to 134a I kept my old fittings in order to reuse my r12 gauges. So if the conversion was done by the previous owner, it might not have the right fittings.

OHSIXX

Looks like the caps are black:

FeedVaal

Back to square one. Only way to tell is with a sniffer.

OHSIXX

Thanks for your help. I will be doing that next week. :cheers:

rainman69

You might also want to be careful, because legally, if you have R-134a in the system, you need an R-134a label and connectors.

OHSIXX

The previous owner just answered my letter. He changed it to R134 and installed all new seals. :party:

Kevin_73

Those look like 134 fittings to me. R-12 fittings are simple Schraeder vlaves (look like tire vlaves) R-134A fittings will have a machined outer surface with a shape similar to (but larger than) the quick disconnect on an air compressor hose, and the high side fitting is slightly larger than the low side fitting.