lexrally

Hey Forum, I noticed in front of and halfway near the top of the radiator
there is a (refrigerant?) line that runs all the way from left to right,
and on the line is a little glass that you can look inside and see the liquid in.

What is this glass for? Can I measure the refrigerant levels
using this?

Thanks !

Nova

iTrader: (21)

do you have a picture? if it is what im thinking it is used when filling the a/c system

when the air bubbles stop running thru the glass, the system is full. much more accurate then using a pressure gauge

mckellyb

It is used for measuring...to a degree. No pun intended. While ultra-rudimentary, it can be useful for initial diagnosis.

When the system energized, you should see a puff of bubbles, followed by liquid. If no puff of bubbles, it over- or under-filled, about 99.999% of the time, it's the latter.

If there are bubbles all the time, it's a bit low. You really should have gauges to measure the pressures, however. If for no other reason, to make certain everything else is performing as it should be.

lexrally

I started the engine and see liquid/gas turbulently moving across the glass.
Normal? or do I get a check up before something expensive happens :-)

lexrally

BTW, the a/c is blowing cold. I had it checked 2 years ago, and they said it was perfectly fine. If this glass can be used as a way to avoid getting periodic a/c checkups, I can save
that for beer money :-)