I have a couple of problems with my A/C and am wondering if anyone has some insight.

1. It doesn't blow cold. I'm assuming it needs a recharge. It has never been converted over to R134A. When converting, is there any parts that need to be changed or is it a simple evac and refill? I plan on taking it to a shop to have this done, but I just want to be prepared in case they try to sell me a complete new A/C system.
2. When turning on the fan switch with the A/C button on, the engine revs up to almost 2000rpm. I've read in other postings to check the air intake control valve, but what exactly do I need to check? Can it be cleaned or repaired or...? New ones are upwards of $400 and I don't really want to spend that much. Any ideas how to get my A/C working again?
Thanks.

 

Air bags and A/C problems eh Red92? At least they all start with an A.
Retrofiting to R134a is not difficult nor should it be overly expensive. A retrofit kit will cost around $50 and should include service valves that will thread onto your current R12 service valves as they are completely different style. A decent kit will also contain a large number of different size 'O' ring seals as the kits are universal. A good retrofit job will use these 'O' rings to replace all of the existing ones in your A/C system. They are after all 15 years old and are definitely the weak point in the system for leaks.
Find out if and what has caused the current freon to leak out FIRST. If the leak turns out to be from an 'O' ring then great but if it is from something like a compressor or evaporator under the dash that will require expensive repairs before the retrofit begins then you will have a chance to rethink if it is worth it before starting. The only other thing needed in a good retrofit job is replacement of the receiver/drier. Yours is located rust to the right side of the condenser which is in turn located just ahead of your radiator. The receiver drier is filled with a desicant (spelling?) much as you find in an aspirin bottle. This desicant is used to remove water from the A/C system and after this many years it is fairly throughly saturated. The reason you do not want water circulating around in there is that when water mixes with freon it creates a form of hydrocloric acid which can virtually dissolve the system from the inside out. Not a good thing.

Would wait on worrying about the high idle with A/C on untill the A/C is again operating correctly. The Idle Speed Control valve is used to control the idle speed. When the A/C is turned on it puts a very large load on the engine which caused your idle speed to drop considerably and possibly even stall. As a result, when the A/C is turned on the engine computercranks the ISC valve way open to compentsate for this. Since your A/C is not working, it is not putting a load on the engine but the engine computer is still cranking the ISC way open as it does not know that the A/C is not putting any load on or not. Older engine computers are just not programmed with this kind of RPM monitoring logic but is instead just going off of preprogrammed numbers. I think you will find that once your A/C is back to working and putting a load on the engine your RPM will only be slightly elevated which is normal.