NOTE: Operate the air conditioner for a few minutes, every month or so, during the cold months. This avoids the possibility of the compressor seals drying out from lack of lubrication.
NOTE: To properly discharge and charge the A/C system a special charging system, quick connectors, complete training in refrigerant recycling and service procedures and a certification license is absolutely necessary. DO NOT VENT ANY AMOUNT (EVEN SMALL AMOUNTS — UNDER PENALTY OF LAW) OF REFRIGERANT INTO THE ATMOSPHERE.
The most important aspect of air conditioning service is the maintenance of a pure and adequate charge of refrigerant in the system. A refrigeration system cannot function properly if a significant percentage of the charge is lost. Leaks are common because the severe vibration encountered in a truck can easily cause a sufficient cracking or loosening of the air conditioning fittings. As a result, the extreme operating pressures of the system forces refrigerant out.
The problem can be understood by considering what happens to the system as it is operated with a continuous leak. Because the expansion valve regulates the flow of refrigerant to the evaporator, the level of refrigerant there is fairly constant. The receiver/drier stores any excess refrigerant, and so a loss will first appear there as a reduction in the level of liquid. As this level nears the bottom of the vessel, some refrigerant vapor bubbles will begin to appear in the stream of liquid supplied to the expansion valve. This vapor decreases the capacity of the expansion valve very little as the valve opens to compensate for its presence. As the quantity of liquid in the condenser decreases, the operating pressure will drop there and throughout the high side of the system. As the refrigerant continues to be expelled, the pressure available to force the liquid through the expansion valve will continue to decrease, and, eventually, the valve's orifice will prove to be too much of a restriction for adequate flow even with the needle fully withdrawn.
At this point, low side pressure will start to drop, and a severe reduction in cooling capacity, marked by freeze-up of the evaporator coil, will result. Eventually, the operating pressure of the evaporator will be lower than the pressure of the atmosphere surrounding it, and air will be drawn into the system wherever there are leaks in the low side.
Because all atmospheric air contains at least some moisture, water will enter the system and mix with the refrigerant and the oil. Trace amounts of moisture will cause sludging of the oil, and corrosion of the system. Saturation and clogging of the filter/drier, and freezing of the expansion valve orifice will eventually result. As air fills the system to a greater and greater extend, it will interfere more and more with the normal flows of refrigerant and heat.