Low side location on 318ti

[ConMasta]

I am looking for the low side A/C line to recharge my freon on a 98 model 318ti. I see one very obvious port but it is a little too big to attach the the A/C recharge kit that I got from Walmart, manufactured by Interdynamics. The location of the port is in the far passengerside/front corner of the engine bay. Since the A/C kit didnt fit, I am guessing that this is a high side port, but I cant tell where the low side is.

Anyone have a picture handy?

-Conan

[cooljess76]

Yep, the one on the front passenger side of the engine bay with the red cap is the high pressure port. Stay away from that one as you run the risk of blowing up the can of refrigerant! The low pressure port that you're looking for is located next to the battery back towards the firewall. It has a blue cap.

[ATF]

Considering this is a fairly new thread..

Today was quite a hot day here in the northeast, again.. I finally had a reason to drive my car today as well. I went to turn on the A/C to find that it wasn't getting cold at all :( :( :(

I'm x'ing my fingers that the R134A just needs to be recharged. I've never done the procedure so as usual I'm a bit hesitant. So I'm going to go poking around for this blue cap next to the battery near the firewall, but I guess my next question is, is there a certain PSI that it needs to reach or how will I know I've done it correctly? Is there a gauge or indicator on the can? I haven't gone out and purchased a can of this stuff. Is it possible to 'overfill' the system if I go and buy two cans of the stuff? Just want to cover everything before I poke my head under the hood.

-Nick

[pnosker]

I just charged mine (I was bored... and I have a long trip tomorrow) and both my caps were black. But yeah, it's near the firewall by the battery... it's a little hidden.

Autozone has a helpful pamphlet. At 75 F it says to charge to between 35-45 PSI. A little bit higher for higher temps. The filling hoses usually have a gauge. Don't overfill... do it to the max allowed pressure. Mine is color coded to the optimal pressures.

[ATF]

Hmmm if I'm faced with two black caps, are they different sizes? I'm going to run over to AutoZone after classes today and x my fingers :|

[LimitlessTI]

Not to jack you thread ConMasta but I was about to refill mine and I only see one place to connect the can to. Everything else I read says there will be two connections a high and a low. Mine is a 95 Ti if thats any help.

[ATF]

I think the High is located behind the passenger side headlight, so It'd be hard to hook it up to the wrong spot

[LimitlessTI]

Thanks ATF, I was coming back inside to post that when you replied. The High runs just behind the passenger headlight and the low is up by the battery. I'm still finding new things out about this car everyday :biggrin: