Safety Regulations For Working on Air-Conditioned Vehicles and Dealing With Refrigerant R134A

Safety Regulations For Working On Air-conditioned Vehicles And Dealing With Refrigerant R134a

General safety regulations for refrigerants

CAUTION: Extreme heating of air-conditioning system e.g. from sunlight shining into the vehicle or as a result of welding and soldering work.
- Danger of fire due to excessive heating of air conditioning.
- Danger of environmental pollution due to emerging refrigerant.

- When carrying out repairs on the air-conditioning system, the system must be emptied by suction and the refrigerant must be purified. Chlorine-free refrigerants must also not be allowed to escape into the atmosphere and must be disposed of correctly.
- Due to their chemical composition, different refrigerants must not be mixed with each other. This also applies for smaller quantities.
- No welding, soldering or hot-air heating may take place on parts of the filled air-conditioning system or in its immediate vicinity.
- While drying after painting work, the temperature burden on the vehicle must not exceed two hours at a maximum temperature of 80 degrees C.
- Whether or not the system is filled with refrigerant, the heating causes a very strong overpressure which can cause damage to the system or even lead to an explosion.
- R 134a is completely non-toxic at normal temperatures, but it decomposes upon contact with a flame or at high temperatures.
- Refrigerant bottles must not be thrown and must not be subjected to direct sunlight or other heat sources for an extended period when full.
- The maximum permissible temperature of a filled refrigerant bottle must not exceed 45 degrees C.
- Risk of injury. High temperatures from open flames or hot solids causes chemical breakdown of refrigerant gas. Inhalation of the resulting breakdown products leads to coughing and nausea.

WARNING: Contact with liquid or gaseous refrigerant.
- The refrigerant attacks the skin and damages the skin's surface.

- Wear rubber gloves to protect your hands.
- Treat affected skin in the same way as in the case of freezing. Rinse immediately and then consult a physician.
- Wear safety goggles to protect your eyes.
- If refrigerant still gets in your eyes, consult a physician immediately.

WARNING: The intensive effect of refrigerant on unprotected body parts can cause freezing.

- Keep an eye-rinse bottle with clear water at hand. If liquid refrigerant gets into your eyes, rinse them thoroughly with water for about 15 minutes.
- Then consult a doctor immediately.
- The physician must be informed which refrigerant has caused the freezing.

INFORMATION: The following safety measures should be followed for refrigerant R134a (additional regulations may apply in certain countries).

If repair work necessitates opening the refrigerant circuit, the refrigerant circuit is first to be emptied. Avoid all contact with liquid or gaseous refrigerants. If refrigerant should escape despite all safety measures having been taken, the resulting refrigerant/air mixture should not be breathed in. Therefore, switch on extraction systems, protect hands with rubber gloves and protect eyes with protective goggles.

If refrigerant gets onto any other body parts despite all safety measures having been taken, these should also be rinsed immediately and thoroughly with water for at least 15 minutes.

Although refrigerant R134a is non-flammable, smoking, welding, soldering and hard-soldering is prohibited in a room containing refrigerant.

Emptying the refrigerant circuit

INFORMATION:
- Refrigerant R134a contributes to the greenhouse effect as soon as it is released into the Earth's atmosphere.
- Refrigerant should not be released into the environment but is to be extracted from the refrigerant circuit using an extraction or service station. The extracted refrigerant is then prepared again on-site or returned to the manufacturer for environmentally-friendly disposal (varying or additional regulations may apply in certain countries).

Working on the refrigerant circuit

CAUTION: Emerging refrigerant in poorly ventilated rooms and erection pits.
- Danger of suffocation from odourless refrigerant.

- The leaking refrigerant is not only colourless and odourless, but is also heavier than air and therefore displaces oxygen. In poorly ventilated rooms and erection pits there is therefore an undetectable risk of suffocation.
- The gas/air mixture formed when refrigerant escapes should not be breathed in but rather extracted via suitable extraction systems (workshop extraction system).
- There should be no erection pits, shafts or cellar stairs within a radius of 5 meters.

Painting work on vehicles with air-conditioning

WARNING: Painting work on vehicles with air-conditioning
- Material damage due to the air-conditioning system bursting.

- When carrying out repairs involving painting work, object temperatures in the drying oven or its preheating zone should not exceed 80 degrees C.

Notes on general repairs
The refrigerant circuit of the air-conditioning is only to be emptied and opened if this is necessary due to safety measures or if components of the refrigerant circuit have to be replaced.

The air-conditioning refrigerant circuit also remains closed during all other standard vehicle repair work.

Contact corrosion
For this reason, the manufacturer only fits connecting elements with a special surface coating.

Contact corrosion can occur if unsuitable connecting elements (screws, nuts, washers, rivets, plugs, adhesives, etc.) are used.

Only use original Porsche parts.