How to Recharge Air Conditioning Hyundai Santa Fe
How to Recharge Air Conditioning Hyundai Santa Fe: Low refrigerant level will cause air conditioning in your car to stop working. Leaks on air conditioning lines, seals or condenser are usually the culprit of low refrigerant levels.
Proper way is have your AC system diagnosed and repaired by a professional repair facility but there are times when recharging it yourself can help. If you have low refrigerant levels chances are you have a leak in air conditioning system. Recharging will help if leak is small but it will not help if you have a large leak, refrigerant will leak again soon after.
2011 Hyundai Santa Fe, 4 cylinder engine. Recharging procedure is similar to other Hyundai models with 4 cylinder engines, 2005 to 2012 Santa Fe production years are identical.
1) Safety First When Recharging Air Conditioning
Be careful when recharging air conditioning in your car as you will be in close proximity to hot engine with spinning pulleys and belts.
– Wear gloves and safety glasses.
– Do not wear lose clothes. You dont want to get any clothes caught by an engine pulley, it will be a very bad day.
– Stay away from engine.
– Keep your hands away form serpentine belt.
– Avoid contact with refrigerant as it can irritate skin, watch your eyes too.
– Use Only Low Pressure Port for recharging.
– Read safety label on refrigerant bottle or recharging kit manual.
2) Buy a Recharging Kit
Air conditioning recharging kits can be purchased almost everywhere, Walmart, Canadian Tire, Amazon and local automotive stores. Cost is about $50 or so. Kit includes a recharge hose with pressure gauge and two refrigerant bottles.
3) Locate Air Conditioning Recharge Port 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe
Low pressure recharge port on Hyundai Santa Fe is easily accessible. There are two ports on air conditioning system, Low pressure port and High pressure port. Make sure to use Only low pressure port for recharging.
Low pressure port on Hyundai Santa Fe is located under the hood, front passenger side, behind headlight and next to power steering reservoir (image below).
Recharging ports are clearly marked, Low (L) and High (H) on protective caps. Do not try to fit recharging connector into high pressure port, only low pressure port should be used. Reason being, low pressure side has about 50psi but high pressure side has 250psi, recharging kit can not handle that kind of high pressures.
In any case, high pressure port valve is bigger in size and should not fit on recharging connector.
4) Prepare Recharging Kit
As we said, recharging kits usually come with two refrigerant bottles. Open recharging kit valve fully. Take a refrigerant bottle and screw it on recharging valve, make sure is tight (image below)
Close valve fully. Valve has pin and will puncture refrigerant bottle to allow flowing of refrigerant.
5) Connect Recharging Kit Connector into Low Pressure Port
Recharging kit connector is lock type, same as air connectors on air powered tools. Connector has lock ring which locks connector on low pressure port.
Remove low pressure port protective cap, just unscrew it.
Pull on recharging kit connector lock ring and push connector into low pressure port firmly, release lock. It should lock in place.
Pull on it to make sure is installed properly and is locked. If not, try again.
6) Check Air Conditioning Pressure
Look at pressure gauge and check pressure on system, see what you have. If you still have pressure left then leak is small and you can get away with recharging it. If you have zero pressure then leak is likely large and will leak soon after. However, nothing to lose in trying to recharge it, you are already set up.
7) Recharge Air Conditioning 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe
Start engine and turn air conditioning on max setting, turn fan on max setting too. Open recharge valve and shake refrigerant bottle. Compressor will kick in when pressure reaches about 20-25psi, you will hear compressor engage.
Keep an eye on recharging kit gauge when compressor engages to check pressure.
8) Checking Air Conditioning System Pressure Hyundai Santa Fe
You should read pressure only when compressor is working. Do not look at pressure when compressor is off, it will show a higher than normal reading. Check pressure frequently when compressor engages and keep recharging until pressure reaches 40psi.
Stop charging when 40psi pressure is reached with compressor working. System is now fully charged, do not overcharge and do not charge it more than 45psi.
9) Disconnect Recharging Hose
Once system is fully charged, turn engine off and disconnect recharging connector from low pressure port.
Pull on connector lock ring and remove it. Listen for any leaking noises, if you hear hissing noises than you have a large leak and system will empty again soon. You will need a professional shop to diagnose leak and repair it.
(If you are also looking for fast and easy solution to sell your car, more here on “How To Sell Your Car Fast” in Ontario)
10) Do Not Overcharge Air Conditioning System
Overcharging is as bad as undercharging, if not worse. Air conditioning has a sensor pressure which will prevent AC compressor from engaging if system has too low or too high pressure. This is done to protect compressor from damage that might occur is case of overcharging or undercharging.
Do not try to release pressure using a screwdriver from low pressure port with engine off. Refrigerant is under pressure and will spray all over the place. It is also illegal in most jurisdictions to release air conditioning gas into atmosphere, as it causes damage to environment.
Refrigerant is poisonous if inhaled, will irritate skin and eyes. Have your car checked and system evacuated by a professional repair facility if you overcharge it.
Comments: If you have any questions or suggestions related to this post or Used Car Toronto in general, don’t hesitate to use comment section below.
