AC help

[otto B]

My 1985 BMW 325e it has the AC update it to R134. The issue is that once the vehicle is stop the AC stops giving cold air. I only get cold air when I am in the Highway. Any guess what could be the issue?

[aaverhulst]

It could be low on R134A. Then again my 89 325i has been converted to R134a and it does not cool well at low RPM. On the highway it is good. R134A is not as good as R12 especially in a system designed for R12. Check to see if you are low first.

[Jeffnhiscars]

Jumping the resistor on the aux fan will help cooling at idle. Just remember to boost the low speed fan fuse.

[otto B]

I will check the pressure first. I saw that Pep-boys do free AC checks

[superj]

I second checking the fan. sounds like something is wrong. my first e30 was an 85 325e and I converted it to 134 and it was very nice.

also, if you get tired of the 134 and its cooling, evacuate the system and convert to r290 (common name: propane). its way cooler and doesn't leak out of the lines so easy because the molecules are larger. it works especially well in the older r12 systems because its very similar to r12, size wise. I use it and have for over a year now. my son's e30 is running it and his vent temps are 42-45 degrees in the summer. once I get tires on my truck, the ac is the next thing to fix. it will get filled with r290, also

google it because a ton of uneducated people will come on and say you will catch fire and blow your car up but its already a commonly used refrigerant in many places.

[H.J. 1981]

May i ask, to those with R134a, did you guys "upgrade" the condenser and fan? R134a really needs that parallel fins/tubing design and much more air (from the fan) compared to R12.

It is never a"must" but really recommended to get the most out of R134a conversions on R12 systems.

[superj]

I never did on my cars that I converted to 134.

[H.J. 1981]

I never did on my cars that I converted to 134.

Cooling is fine? no issues?

[superj]

It was, back in the day when i had ones that were running 134. Now all the e30s at our house run propane and cool very well

[sienayr]

Do you use the camping propane canisters to charge the system?

[superj]

I do. They say you shouldn't because they have more moisture than pure propane but i have never had trouble

[msservices]

I got a tell you, I’ve been into E30s for quite some time and this is definitely the first time I’ve ever heard of fixing the AC with propane! Thats some McGuyver stuff at its finest

[superj]

its actually very old, in other forms of transportation and cooling systems. 18 wheelers used to use it regularly in their trailer cooling systems, lots of agricultural places used to use it. people use it in their home systems, as well.

I did a lot of googling and reading when I first heard about it because so many people automatically say you will burn to death is you get a leak but riding around with a tank of gas has more fire potential than half a green canister of propane, and people have no issues riding around with 12-20 gallons of gas under them. once I found out about it being used in 18 wheelers and farmers using it in everything, I decided to try it out. I still kept reading but learning about the molecules being larger and the fact that you won't lose the refrigerant from seeping out of non-barrier hoses, I felt better about it.

I had to make an adapter to hook to my r134 charge line but after that, no problems