Chrysler Cirrus Forum : “1999 chry cirrus wont hold a/c charg”

you have a leak in system.take to garauge you trust have the system vacumed down replace o rings recharge system.CAUCTION-dont do this your self,high pressure holds 300 psi.is not very expensive.

ps,im AC-certified.

i suggest you take the car to a shop and have them add dye to the system and recharge it.. since it leaks out in 2-3 weeks it shouldnt be that hard to find with the u/v glasses.. i will lay odds its the evaprator or condensor thats leaking.. one last thing, i have found some products that claim to seal leaks actually work and you may not need to replace the items listed above. if its the evaporator or condensor make sure the leak sealer is for metal components and follow can directions exactly.
both of those items will be expensive to repair... several hunded dollars.. so i recommend trying the leak sealer 1st. even if you have a shop put the sealer in it should run less than a hundred

I dont know where you take your car to,but this is a 50 dollar job minus the R134.The o-rings are usually the first thing to go in the AC system being they are rubber and dry out and crack ,causing leaks at the line connectors.

well im not really sure where you can get labor for 50 dollars per hour any more and espessially since the product is usually 20 dollars. our labor rate is 86/hr and im sure the freon will be atleast 20bucks and sealer 20 bucks, also i rarely see the o/rings leak unless they have been apart a few times, usually the condensor gets hit by a rock or the evaporator get debris inside the hvac housing and causes the evaporator to corrode and leak

What we do at our shop is charge the system, add dye, give it back to you and let you drive it. When the air goes hot you bring it back and we find the leak and go from there. no need in replacing seals/etc. for no reason.

if you look at where the fittings hook together,if black and wet you know the o rings are bad.that is the first place to look.i been at this for 30 years.the orfis tube is their for a reason,and probly needs changing also.

rubber ring did tend to go bad, but judgeing from the year of the vehicle it likely has silcon based rings which outlast the system in most cases.  

Goto walmart... get the uv dye kit in the auto-section, it has simple instructions... It will leave a UV dye that will be visible after the AC has been run on max for awhile.  (Just fill it let it idle with the AC on max for a couple of hours...) Get a cheap UV black light and look for the spot under the hood that glows blue/green...  Take it to a mechanic and tell them exactly where it's coming from.  Don't guess at the problem, find it and fix it.

Hopefully it's just a seal, but i kinda doubt it.  Don't attempt an AC repair on your own... In my opinion it's the most dangerous part of a car to work on(toxic chemicals and high pressure=bad), so take it to a professional.

lets wait until it is fixed then hopefully it will be posted on what was wrong.

sorry but im pretty sure the cirrus/ stratus veh. use and expansion valve not an ORIFICE TUBE. and i definatly wouldnt jus t guess at thje orings being bad either.. im not saying they dont leak but the highest problems ive seen have been the evaps and condensors... also if im just looking for black and wet how do i know there is not an oil leak coming from somewhere else causing the black and wet..

where the o rings are,is a sighn of leakage.

i wasnt asking a question, i was making a statement, ie: if the valve cover gasket is leaking on top of an a/c hose would you automaticly think the a/c hose is leaking? no you wouldnt, thats why i suggest the dye in the a/c system,  hopefully it would narrow it down.... i hope that was clearer

i know the difference between motor oil and freon leaks.(is that clear to you),been at this and a state certifed inspector for 30 years.i own a sucessful garage and am besey 6 days a week.-now you got that.

leak dector lets you know you have a leak-it also runes down the line.lets you knoe their is a leak.dose not pin point where it is.-fact

True in most cases... Most tell people to add the dye and come back in a week...As anyone who's used the dye knows it picks up road grime like no other and gets grimey.  If possible I say run it for an hour or so and check it immediately... It gives you a fairly close location...  But you go driving and the shit runs all over and picks up everything because it has almost no cohesive properties.

But I agree it's not a great diagnostic... and most the time you can't tell...However I think we can all say it's the logical first step in locating a leak, unless you can see the AC lubricant stains, which I've rarely seen with enough certainty to say thats where the leak is, but I don't have near as much experience as the rest of you so I'll shut up now that my $0.02 are in...

Please whoever started this topic reply with where the leak was I'm genuinely curious at this point.

WOW somebody has a cob up their butt, i am glad you are state certified, im glad you are busy 6 days a week, im also glad you have been at this 30 years as you have previously mentioned several times. now how many evaporators or condensors have you replaced on cirrus/stratus cars?  i have seen PLENTY. and you know what i rarely see? the o/rings leak unless someone has had it apart.....and unless you have x/ray eyes to see inside the hvac housing.. without the dye you would miss it.. i agree the dye can be messy but on a 9 year old car i doubt the a/c is the only leak. these cars are notorious for crank seals and cam seals leaking and what about the spilled p/strg fluid that the owner put in cuz the rack or pump is leaking. 1 small drip in the wrong place can lead you to believe the a/c is leaking. but the dye will seperate the old leaks from the new leaks... just because there is oil residue on a hose or fitting does not mean that is whats leaking, its a good start.. but, if you run your shop on guesses thats probably why your busy 6 days a week

you know whatim sorry, i was harsh, this is a help board, we all have ideas and you are intitled to yours just like i am mine..

just to let every one know, i have found 3 evaporators and 2 condensors and 0 orings so far this week, all chrysler products between 97-2003 model years, its only wed.