A/C Refrigerant - Service Information: Overview

NO.: TSB-96-55-006

DATE: May, 1996

MODEL: All with A/C

SUBJECT:
A/C REFRIGERANT SERVICE INFORMATION

PURPOSE

Beginning January 1, 1996, the production of CFC (chlorofluorocarbon) refrigerants such as R12(Freon) was prohibited in the United States as part of an international agreement to protect the atmosphere. New HFC (hydrofluorocarbon) refrigerants such as R134a are now used in all new-vehicle automotive air conditioning systems instead of the formerly-used R12.

This bulletin describes:

^ refrigerants and their availability,
^ differences between A/C systems, refrigerants, and lubricants,
^ retrofitting R12 systems to use R134a,
^ recovery and recycling of refrigerants,
^ storing and transferring recycled refrigerant,
^ typical causes of A/C system contamination, and
^ disposal of contaminated refrigerant.