Refrigerant: Service and Repair

Refrigerant Recovery and Recharging (HP2)

Special Tools

* J 43600 - ACR 2000 Air Conditioning Service Center

* J 45037 - A/C Oil Injector

* GE 48997 - Hybrid A/C Oil Injector Adapter Hose

For equivalent regional tools, refer to Special Tools Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning.

Warning

To prevent personal injury, avoid breathing A/C Refrigerant and lubricant vapor or mist. Work in a well ventilated area. To remove refrigerant from the A/C System, use service equipment designed for recovery that is certified to meet the requirements of the appropriate SAE Standards. If an accidental system discharge occurs, ventilate the work area before continuing service. Additional health and safety information may be obtained from the refrigerant, refrigerant recovery, and lubricant manufacturers.

Warning

For personal protection, goggles and lint-free gloves should be worn and a clean cloth wrapped around fittings, valves, and connections when doing work that includes opening the refrigerant system. If refrigerant comes in contact with any part of the body severe frostbite and personal injury can result. The exposed area should be flushed immediately with cold water and prompt medical help should be obtained.

Caution:
This A/C refrigerant system is equipped with a High Voltage electric A/C compressor and you must replace the desiccant if the A/C refrigerant system has been open to atmosphere for more than thirty minutes, or if the A/C refrigerant oil has been contaminated. Failure to replace the desiccant will result in damage to the A/C refrigerant system.

Caution:
R-134a is the only approved refrigerant for use in this vehicle. The use of any other refrigerant may result in poor system performance or component failure.

Caution:
This A/C system's high voltage A/C Compressor uses Polyolester (POE) refrigerant oil instead of Polyalkylene Glycol (PAG) refrigerant oil. Use only approved GM POE oil no more than two hours after removal from its sealed moisture proof packaging (reference GM POE label for proper usage) in refrigerant systems equipped with a High Voltage A/C compressor. GM POE oil is intended to be used with the GE-45037-A A/C oil injector and the GE-48997 A/C POE oil injector hose. Use of any refrigerant oil other than the approved GM POE, handled and installed per GM's requirements may result in compressor failure and/or loss of HV isolation with associated DTC's set.

Caution:
Do not lubricate A/C line seal washers as mineral oil will damage the seal and cause leaks. Use only 525 viscosity mineral oil to lubricate fitting threads for the prevention of fitting seizure.

Caution:
Failure to flush the refrigerant recovery recharge equipment hoses before adding refrigerant to a hybrid vehicle with an electric compressor may result in an unacceptable amount of Polyalkylene Glycol (PAG) oil entering the refrigerant system. This could result in reduced electrical resistance of the Polyolester (POE) oil and reduce its ability to provide the required level of high voltage isolation.

The J 43600 - service center is a complete air conditioning service center for R-134a. The ACR 2000 recovers, recycles, evacuates and recharges A/C refrigerant quickly, accurately and automatically. The unit has a display screen that contains the function controls and displays prompts that will lead the technician through the recover, recycle, evacuate and recharge operations. R-134a is recovered into and charged out of an internal storage vessel. The ACR 2000 automatically replenishes this vessel from an external source tank in order to maintain a constant 5.45-6.82 kg (12-15 lbs) of A/C refrigerant.

The ACR 2000 has a built in A/C refrigerant identifier that will test for contamination, prior to recovery and will notify the technician if there are foreign gases present in the A/C system. If foreign gases are present, the ACR 2000 will not recover the refrigerant from the A/C system.

The ACR 2000 also features automatic air purge, single pass recycling and an automatic oil drain.

Refer to the J 43600 - service center manual for operation and setup instruction. Always recharge the A/C System with the proper amount of R-134a.

A/C Refrigerant System Oil Charge Replenishing

If POE oil was removed from the A/C system during the recovery process or due to component replacement, the oil must be replenished. POE Oil can be injected into a charged system using J 45037 - injector along with GE 48997 - adapter hose. For the proper quantities of oil to add to the A/C refrigerant system.