YES! As per mentioned, I've been driving my car for 15days since we did the full car.
What do i have to say?
The car's handling improved alot. not only it it noticeable, but again, it took me some time to re-adjust myself to the reduced body roll of the car when taking high speed corners.
I will also have to admit that certain frequencies of my car's tire noise has been COMPLETELY CUT OFF and it is really quiet in the cabin on certain roads. For the rest of the tire frequencies that were not cut off, it was reduced.
It wasn't only me, the driver that felt the difference. I fetched my elder sister for dinner two days ago and she told me that the sound of the exhaust was also reduced compared to last time when she sat at the back of my car on the way back from Kuantan to KL.
The girlfriend, on the other hand, told me that the engine noise was reduced. This must be due to the noise being blocked off from entering the door sill area where the sound amplifies itself and penetrates through the cabin.
I now have more confidence in taking corners and tearing down highways at high speeds.
Overall, Desmond, I AM a very well satisfied customer. You deserve this review as you have delivered more than what you have promised.
Cheers to Desmond Chong, KL Auto, again :).
Next stop : Ulu Yam
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Addiction to Autofoam
And so I sent my car to Desmond to foam up the rest of the car.
5.00PM, 13th July 2010
At this very moment, my car is there :)
5.00PM, 13th July 2010
At this very moment, my car is there :)
Friday, July 9, 2010
Autofoam, Part 4
Still on Day 2,
After work, I got into my car and fired up me engine. Drove out of the basement parking lot and roaring straight down onto the highway.
The moment I took the first corner... THERE WAS SO MUCH LESS BODY-ROLL!!!! I almost oversteered hahaha.
Indeed, it took me quite some time to get used to my own car again, which i have been driving for the past five years.
The car feels much tighter, quieter, and part of the tire noise was transferred to the rear of the car due to lack of Autofoam in the rear portion.
I immediately got home and took a look at the souvenir Dezzy gave me. I pressed it and smelled it. It got harder, firmer, tighter :p. I broke a single piece out of it and observed carefully ; rub against the broken surface and you see no crumbs falling off. Unlike certain foam that crumbles off like a biscuit. Coool!
There is no need for me to describe the feeling during the third and fourth day as you guys already know what's coming next ;).
Am looking forward to go back to him for the door sills and pillars.
Credits to Desmond Cong, Autofoam, by KL Auto. Three Thumbs up!
Price : RM1,180.00 for Comfort Package + A-pillar
Pros : As mentioned Above
Cons : None
Contact :
www.autofoam.com.my
Desmond Chong
012-624 0373
-Signing Off-
After work, I got into my car and fired up me engine. Drove out of the basement parking lot and roaring straight down onto the highway.
The moment I took the first corner... THERE WAS SO MUCH LESS BODY-ROLL!!!! I almost oversteered hahaha.
Indeed, it took me quite some time to get used to my own car again, which i have been driving for the past five years.
The car feels much tighter, quieter, and part of the tire noise was transferred to the rear of the car due to lack of Autofoam in the rear portion.
I immediately got home and took a look at the souvenir Dezzy gave me. I pressed it and smelled it. It got harder, firmer, tighter :p. I broke a single piece out of it and observed carefully ; rub against the broken surface and you see no crumbs falling off. Unlike certain foam that crumbles off like a biscuit. Coool!
There is no need for me to describe the feeling during the third and fourth day as you guys already know what's coming next ;).
Am looking forward to go back to him for the door sills and pillars.
Credits to Desmond Cong, Autofoam, by KL Auto. Three Thumbs up!
Price : RM1,180.00 for Comfort Package + A-pillar
Pros : As mentioned Above
Cons : None
Contact :
www.autofoam.com.my
Desmond Chong
012-624 0373
-Signing Off-
Autofoam, Part 3
Day 2, Curing Process
Next morning, I got into my car and drove off to work as usual with the reduction of noise and body roll.
A satisfied customer I am
Next morning, I got into my car and drove off to work as usual with the reduction of noise and body roll.
A satisfied customer I am
Autofoam, Part 2
On Monday morning, 5th July.
Desmond's guy test drove my car and I decided to go with the Comfort Package.
The first thing Desmond did when he first saw me was; he shook my hand with a firm grip and pinched my right nipple saying 'Autofoam is better than Spot Welding'.
His Guy, Sam, dropped me and my girlfriend off at the Titiwangsa Monorail and we went off to Times Square to catch a movie. I paid Desmond in advanced for the Comfort Package and was informed that the car will be ready in two hours. I had also specifically requested them to foam up my A-pillar as i strongly believe that wind noise was penetrating into the cabin from there.
Four hours later
My movie ended and we took a monorail back to Titiwangsa and walked over to KL Auto.
Desmond handed me my car keys and I drove off.
He handed me a little 'souvenir' for me to take home.. the balance of the foam that was cut off from my car during the cleaning process.
Its soft, and odourless :).
Driving Experience After Autofoam
-The car feels a little bit stiff, up to my expectation.
-Tire noise went lower, but not up to expectations. But later, my expectations changed as I understood that I will have to foam up the door sills along with the B and C pillar to totally insulate the tire noise in the cabin.
Desmond told me that the curing process will take 4 to 10 days and told me that the car will feel tighter after every day during the foam curing process.
-to be continued-
Desmond's guy test drove my car and I decided to go with the Comfort Package.
The first thing Desmond did when he first saw me was; he shook my hand with a firm grip and pinched my right nipple saying 'Autofoam is better than Spot Welding'.
His Guy, Sam, dropped me and my girlfriend off at the Titiwangsa Monorail and we went off to Times Square to catch a movie. I paid Desmond in advanced for the Comfort Package and was informed that the car will be ready in two hours. I had also specifically requested them to foam up my A-pillar as i strongly believe that wind noise was penetrating into the cabin from there.
Four hours later
My movie ended and we took a monorail back to Titiwangsa and walked over to KL Auto.
Desmond handed me my car keys and I drove off.
He handed me a little 'souvenir' for me to take home.. the balance of the foam that was cut off from my car during the cleaning process.
Its soft, and odourless :).
Driving Experience After Autofoam
-The car feels a little bit stiff, up to my expectation.
-Tire noise went lower, but not up to expectations. But later, my expectations changed as I understood that I will have to foam up the door sills along with the B and C pillar to totally insulate the tire noise in the cabin.
Desmond told me that the curing process will take 4 to 10 days and told me that the car will feel tighter after every day during the foam curing process.
-to be continued-
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Autofoam, Part 1
DESMOND Chong, who needs not introduction into the chassis tuning industry, has given me the privilege to review his main best-selling product, Autofoam.
DAIHATSU Charade, my personal car, who needs not introduction into the car industry, has been with me for 13 years.
Starting off with my car, I had issues with tire noise since I-Dont-Know-When and had been doing a lot of R&D with soundproofing, noise dampening, insulation, vibration dampening. I have done extensive DIY soundproofing from applying bitumen onto my floorboard and boot area along with a layer of Insuflex for the past 3 years.
To my suprise, it has given me minimal, if not, results not up to my expectation.
Oh my, I realise all my hard work, sweat, and tears has not been paid off every time when I'm done with my DIY jobs when I go for test drives and still hear the same amount of tire and wind noise. Nevermind the engine and exhaust note.
Finally, after setting aside a small budget aside and much hesitation, I sent my ar to Desmond. He got his guy to do a test drive and came to a conclusion that the tire noise is coming through the bottom door sills and subframes.
The theory to his conclusion was :
The tire noise was amplified through the hollow sections of my chassis. Take a cave for example, shout through it and you'll hear an echo following.
So, this was what's happening to my entire car. This proves that although my car is filled with bitumen and insulflex on the floorboard and doors, noise is still penetrating into the cabin!
My car is known to be noisier compared to other sedans and hatchback for no appratent reason. It's been driving me crazy everytime I travel back to my hometown on the East Coast Expressway.
-to be continued-
DAIHATSU Charade, my personal car, who needs not introduction into the car industry, has been with me for 13 years.
Starting off with my car, I had issues with tire noise since I-Dont-Know-When and had been doing a lot of R&D with soundproofing, noise dampening, insulation, vibration dampening. I have done extensive DIY soundproofing from applying bitumen onto my floorboard and boot area along with a layer of Insuflex for the past 3 years.
To my suprise, it has given me minimal, if not, results not up to my expectation.
Oh my, I realise all my hard work, sweat, and tears has not been paid off every time when I'm done with my DIY jobs when I go for test drives and still hear the same amount of tire and wind noise. Nevermind the engine and exhaust note.
Finally, after setting aside a small budget aside and much hesitation, I sent my ar to Desmond. He got his guy to do a test drive and came to a conclusion that the tire noise is coming through the bottom door sills and subframes.
The theory to his conclusion was :
The tire noise was amplified through the hollow sections of my chassis. Take a cave for example, shout through it and you'll hear an echo following.
So, this was what's happening to my entire car. This proves that although my car is filled with bitumen and insulflex on the floorboard and doors, noise is still penetrating into the cabin!
My car is known to be noisier compared to other sedans and hatchback for no appratent reason. It's been driving me crazy everytime I travel back to my hometown on the East Coast Expressway.
-to be continued-
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Custom Grounding Cables
Hey Guys,
Over the past Monday, it was my off day and I had nothing much to do. Therefore, I carried on with my long procrastinated project ; Custom Ground Cables :D.
I and a few friends strongly believe that a a 6mm DC cable is already rated at 36A is most suitable for grounding, compared to come aftermarket speaker cables what are widely sold in the market.
However, this is too technical of a spec for us to find for people dumb lke me :), so we opted for welding cables.
Ask yourself this question :
You jump start a car, can your 'speaker/amp' cable do it? Or you use welding cable to do it?
Welding cables are very high in conductivity and lets high amp travels right through from one end to the other. We also have to keep in mind that the length of the cable matters as you try to jump start a car with a 10m long welding cable, you will be unsuccessful.
So, things you will need :
2-3metres of 25mm welding cable
25mm cable lugs
Scissors
Cutters/pliers
Crimpers
Optional :
Solder equipments
Hot glue gun
Trunking
I will be doing a 5-point set as there isn't much personal theory to be applied to how many do we need.
1.We start by measuring the length of the cables needed to connect all parts of the engine to the body and cut them into pieces.
2. Then, we start cutting off the outter rubber insulator of each ends of the cable. You can opt to add some trunking around the cables. You have to do this before you fit the lugs.
3. From there, use a crimper, or plier to fur the cable lugs onto each end of the stripped cable. This may be abit hard. To make things easier, you may want to get a slightly oversized cable lug to fit them on as you dont want excessive 'cable hairs' sticking out of the lugs.
4. This step is optional : You can solder the wires down to the lug. Sorry for the bad workmanship as i do not have a proper solder nor soldering grease to spread the jam evenly. This is (along with the next step) quite important as the cable hairs may or may not break over time.
5. You can also use some hot glue gun to seal up the cable to cable lug joints.
6. Wallah! This is the outcome :
_________________________________________________
You are going to have to fit them onto the car. Keep in mind that it is not necessary to connect them all to the negative termila of the battery. Instead, you can bolt them down from the throttle body to absorber mounting nut, ignition coil to absorber mounting nut, air cond compressor/starter motor to body/engine block, and so on.
It would be best if you have a clamp-type ammeter to measure current flow into the ground and try various ways to fit your grounding cable and see which one gives the highest reading.
Sorry I didnt take any pictures after fitting as it was already dark at that time.
Took me about 4-6hours to make the cables and fit everything in as its been quite awhile since i did this.
Credits to Steven aka mxsteven for the welding cables and Zam for the cable trunking :).
Results : Didnt really noticed the improvement in audio quality nor headlamps as I was using HIDs. However, engine was smoother and fuel consumption improved by a bit.
Cheers
Over the past Monday, it was my off day and I had nothing much to do. Therefore, I carried on with my long procrastinated project ; Custom Ground Cables :D.
I and a few friends strongly believe that a a 6mm DC cable is already rated at 36A is most suitable for grounding, compared to come aftermarket speaker cables what are widely sold in the market.
However, this is too technical of a spec for us to find for people dumb lke me :), so we opted for welding cables.
Ask yourself this question :
You jump start a car, can your 'speaker/amp' cable do it? Or you use welding cable to do it?
Welding cables are very high in conductivity and lets high amp travels right through from one end to the other. We also have to keep in mind that the length of the cable matters as you try to jump start a car with a 10m long welding cable, you will be unsuccessful.
So, things you will need :
2-3metres of 25mm welding cable
25mm cable lugs
Scissors
Cutters/pliers
Crimpers
Optional :
Solder equipments
Hot glue gun
Trunking
I will be doing a 5-point set as there isn't much personal theory to be applied to how many do we need.
1.We start by measuring the length of the cables needed to connect all parts of the engine to the body and cut them into pieces.
2. Then, we start cutting off the outter rubber insulator of each ends of the cable. You can opt to add some trunking around the cables. You have to do this before you fit the lugs.
3. From there, use a crimper, or plier to fur the cable lugs onto each end of the stripped cable. This may be abit hard. To make things easier, you may want to get a slightly oversized cable lug to fit them on as you dont want excessive 'cable hairs' sticking out of the lugs.
4. This step is optional : You can solder the wires down to the lug. Sorry for the bad workmanship as i do not have a proper solder nor soldering grease to spread the jam evenly. This is (along with the next step) quite important as the cable hairs may or may not break over time.
5. You can also use some hot glue gun to seal up the cable to cable lug joints.
6. Wallah! This is the outcome :
_________________________________________________
You are going to have to fit them onto the car. Keep in mind that it is not necessary to connect them all to the negative termila of the battery. Instead, you can bolt them down from the throttle body to absorber mounting nut, ignition coil to absorber mounting nut, air cond compressor/starter motor to body/engine block, and so on.
It would be best if you have a clamp-type ammeter to measure current flow into the ground and try various ways to fit your grounding cable and see which one gives the highest reading.
Sorry I didnt take any pictures after fitting as it was already dark at that time.
Took me about 4-6hours to make the cables and fit everything in as its been quite awhile since i did this.
Credits to Steven aka mxsteven for the welding cables and Zam for the cable trunking :).
Results : Didnt really noticed the improvement in audio quality nor headlamps as I was using HIDs. However, engine was smoother and fuel consumption improved by a bit.
Cheers
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Peregrine Coolant
Safe for all car's use and provides better heat transfer. Tested in my very own car and noticed a slight drop in operating temperature.
Also pay attention to the distinctive orange color to differentiate it to other coolant. Sh*ll coolant has been tested under a refractometer and its shown to b
e only water with coloring :).
Price : RM40.00
Description : One of the best coolant available in the market
Also pay attention to the distinctive orange color to differentiate it to other coolant. Sh*ll coolant has been tested under a refractometer and its shown to b
e only water with coloring :).
Price : RM40.00
Description : One of the best coolant available in the market
Coolants - Not your regular cooling liquid
I've been watching people buying coolants off the shelf from car markets and stuff like that, simply putting them into their cooling system.
Remember, THIS IS DANGEROUS.
I may not be able to elaborate much, but its still important and i'll try my best. Coolants are made of different kind of additives, such as antifreeze, OAT(cant remember about this), etc. Some of these coolant, not to mention certain brands, are corrosive and acidic.
At times when you pour your coolant in, damage will not be seen instantly. You may realise after a few months that there are some semi-hard or paste like residue in your radiator. That is corrosion. Make it short; certain coolants eat up your radiator.
Also keep in mind that certain coolants are not meant for certain cars. Such as, Honda's coolant cannot be used in Toyota and vice versa.
I've seen a couple of Mercedes... owner clever gon' buy Sh*ll coolant and pour into their radiator. They came back complaining full of leaks, multiple holes in the cores of the rad, etc.
We, especially Malaysians, should opt for coolants that are universal and safe for usage. Mixture will be specified accordingly.
Do view this product :
http://www.tabernacleauto.com/peregrine.pdf
Its been taken by quite a number of top-end workshops in the Klang Valley and people are happy about it. Lubegard's Kool-it is not considered a coolant, but an additive. They can both be used together and are both safe for usage on ALL cars, copper, aluminium, etc.
Even now, certain workshops refrain from using coolants on aluminium radiator. The only reason is ' corrosion after a period of time.
So guys, i'll be checking the price of this coolant and hopefully I created some save the earth save your cooling system awareness here.
This is highly recommended as it falls in the same category/class as the 'Lambda' I am selling.
Hhmm.. my stories are all mixed up.
Conclusion, DONT SIMPLY GO USING COOLANTS IN YOUR VEHICLE WITHOUT PROPER ADVISE FROM ... professionals?
Anyone? Comments?
Remember, THIS IS DANGEROUS.
I may not be able to elaborate much, but its still important and i'll try my best. Coolants are made of different kind of additives, such as antifreeze, OAT(cant remember about this), etc. Some of these coolant, not to mention certain brands, are corrosive and acidic.
At times when you pour your coolant in, damage will not be seen instantly. You may realise after a few months that there are some semi-hard or paste like residue in your radiator. That is corrosion. Make it short; certain coolants eat up your radiator.
Also keep in mind that certain coolants are not meant for certain cars. Such as, Honda's coolant cannot be used in Toyota and vice versa.
I've seen a couple of Mercedes... owner clever gon' buy Sh*ll coolant and pour into their radiator. They came back complaining full of leaks, multiple holes in the cores of the rad, etc.
We, especially Malaysians, should opt for coolants that are universal and safe for usage. Mixture will be specified accordingly.
Do view this product :
http://www.tabernacleauto.com/peregrine.pdf
Its been taken by quite a number of top-end workshops in the Klang Valley and people are happy about it. Lubegard's Kool-it is not considered a coolant, but an additive. They can both be used together and are both safe for usage on ALL cars, copper, aluminium, etc.
Even now, certain workshops refrain from using coolants on aluminium radiator. The only reason is ' corrosion after a period of time.
So guys, i'll be checking the price of this coolant and hopefully I created some save the earth save your cooling system awareness here.
This is highly recommended as it falls in the same category/class as the 'Lambda' I am selling.
Hhmm.. my stories are all mixed up.
Conclusion, DONT SIMPLY GO USING COOLANTS IN YOUR VEHICLE WITHOUT PROPER ADVISE FROM ... professionals?
Anyone? Comments?
Cahrgers - Part 2
And this is my personal charger, which is suitable for home use. Reconditioning my own battery takes 8-12 hours (lets just say overnight). I do it once every three to six months to ensure that my battery is in optimum condition.
Pros : This doubles the life of your betteries over long term.
Rental is available at RM30/night.
Price : RM480.00
Current : 4A
Charging and Reconditioning Time : 8-24hours (depends)
Usage : For home use as it is light and portable.
Pros : This doubles the life of your betteries over long term.
Rental is available at RM30/night.
Price : RM480.00
Current : 4A
Charging and Reconditioning Time : 8-24hours (depends)
Usage : For home use as it is light and portable.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Smart Battery Chargers
So yeah, I was mentioning about battery chargers in my previous post. A conventional charger in a battery shop is NOTHING compared to this ones :
Charging and reconditioning time : 4-8hours
Current Flow : 25A
Price : RM1,680.00
Usage : For workshop use who wants fast charging and for tuners who wants a steady supply of voltage to the car when messing around with ECU.
Charging and reconditioning time : 4-8hours
Current Flow : 25A
Price : RM1,680.00
Usage : For workshop use who wants fast charging and for tuners who wants a steady supply of voltage to the car when messing around with ECU.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Battery Care, Anyone?
I do get calls occasionally asking for help to jump-start or replace one's car battery from time to time.
Sometimes I ask myself, why does this happen to so many people? Therefore, someone came up to me with the idea about battery care and I did some reading.
___________________________________________________________________________________
A car's battery has never been given proper care by 98% of drivers, especially female drivers and dies off unexpectedly. Over time, a car's battery internal resistance increases, therefore not being able to hold charge for long after being charge by the vehicle's alternator, or even with a conventional charger.
Quoted from batterytutorials.com :
A battery is like a piggy bank. If you keep taking out and putting nothing back you soon will have nothing. Present day chassis battery power requirements are huge. Consider today’s vehicle and all the electrical devices that must be supplied. All these electronics require a source of reliable power, and poor battery condition can cause expensive electronic component failure. Did you know that the average auto has 11 pounds of wire in the electrical system? Look at RVs and boats with all the electrical gadgets that require power. It was not long ago when trailers or motor homes had only a single 12-volt house battery. Today it is standard to have two or more house batteries powering inverters up to 4000 watts.
Average battery life has become shorter as energy requirements have increased. Life span depends on usage; 6 months to 48 months, yet only 30% of all batteries actually reach the 48-month mark.
The Lead Acid battery is made up of plates, lead, and lead oxide (various other elements are used to change density, hardness, porosity, etc.) with a 35% sulfuric acid and 65% water solution. This solution is called electrolyte, which causes a chemical reaction that produce electrons. When you test a battery with a hydrometer, you are measuring the amount of sulfuric acid in the electrolyte. If your reading is low, that means the chemistry that makes electrons is lacking. So where did the sulfur go? It is resting on the battery plates and when you recharge the battery, the sulfur returns to the electrolyte.
Battery Maintenance is an important issue. The battery should be cleaned using a baking soda and water solution; a couple of table spoons to a pint of water. Cable connections need to be cleaned and tightened as battery problems are often caused by dirty and loose connections. A serviceable battery needs to have the fluid level checked. Use only mineral free water, Distilled is best as all impurities have been removed, and there is nothing left that could contaminate your cells. Don't overfill battery cells especially in warmer weather because the natural fluid expansion in hot weather can push excess electrolytes from the battery. To prevent corrosion of cables on top post batteries use a small bead of silicon sealer at the base of the post and place a felt battery washer over it. Coat the washer with high temperature grease or petroleum jelly (Vaseline), then place cable on the post and tighten. Coat the exposed cable end with the grease. Most folks don't know that just the gases from the battery condensing on metal parts cause most corrosion.
6. Battery Testing can be done in more than one way. The most accurate method is measurement of specific gravity and battery voltage. To measure specific gravity buy a temperature compensating hydrometer, to measure voltage use a digital D.C. Voltmeter. A quality load tester may be a good purchase if you need to test sealed batteries.
For any of these methods, you must first fully charge the battery and then remove the surface charge. If the battery has been sitting at least several hours (I prefer at least 12 hours) you may begin testing. To remove surface charge the battery must be discharged for several minutes. Using a headlight (high beam) will do the trick. After turning off the light you are ready to test the battery.
*Sulfation of Batteries starts when specific gravity falls below 1.225 or voltage measures less than 12.4 for a 12v battery, or 6.2 for a 6 volt battery. Sulfation hardens on the battery plates reducing and eventually destroying the ability of the battery to generate Volts and Amps.
Load testing is yet another way of testing a battery. Load test removes amps from a battery much like starting an engine would. A load tester can be purchased at most auto parts stores. Some battery companies label their battery with the amp load for testing. This number is usually 1/2 of the CCA rating. For instance, a 500CCA battery would load test at 250 amps for 15 seconds. A load test can only be performed if the battery is near or at full charge.
The results of your testing should be as follows:
Hydrometer readings should not vary more than .05 differences between cells.
Digital Voltmeters should read as the voltage is shown below. The sealed AGM and Gel-Cell battery voltage (full charged) will be slightly higher in the 12.8 to 12.9 ranges. If you have voltage readings in the 10.5 volts range on a charged battery, that typically indicates a shorted cell.
If you have a maintenance free wet cell, the only ways to test are voltmeter and load test. Any of the maintenance free type batteries that have a built in hydrometer(black/green window) will tell you the condition of 1 cell of 6. You may get a good reading from 1 cell but have a problem with other cells in the battery.
To make things simple for us Malaysians with a simple multimeter or Apexi Timer with a volt-meter :
100% State of charge(SOC) - 12.7V and above
*75% SOC - 12.4V and below (read sulfation paragraph above)
50% SOC - 12.2V and below
25% SOC - 12.0V and below (bye bye battery)
Well, just another way of prolonging the life of the battery by at least double its lifespan and improving battery performance would be PULSE CHARGING. This can be performed with a smart charger which can be purchased aftermarket.
A smart charger will first desulfate your badly sulfated battery, analyze the battery, give it a bulk charge till its 80% full charge, slow charge the battery up till 95-100% charge, etc.
However, this charger doesn't come cheap. Will suggest a product in the next post.
Again, quoted from Bettery Tutorials :
Battery life and performance - Average battery life has become shorter as energy requirements have increased. Two phrases I hear most often are "my battery won't take a charge, and my battery won't hold a charge". Only 30% of batteries sold today reach the 48-month mark. In fact 80% of all battery failure is related to sulfation build-up. This build up occurs when the sulfur molecules in the electrolyte (battery acid) become so deeply discharged that they begin to coat the battery's lead plates. Before long the plates become so coated that the battery dies. The causes of sulfation are numerous. Let me list some for you.
* Batteries sit too long between charges. As little as 24 hours in hot weather and several days in cooler weather.
* Battery is stored without some type of energy input.
* "Deep cycling" an engine starting battery. Remember these batteries can't stand deep discharge.
* Undercharging of a battery to only 90% of capacity will allow sulfation of the battery using the 10% of battery chemistry not reactivated by the incompleted charging cycle.
* Heat of 100 plus F., increases internal discharge. As temperatures increase so does internal discharge. A new fully charged battery left sitting 24 hours a day at 110 degrees F for 30 days would most likely not start an engine.
* Low electrolyte level - battery plates exposed to air will immediately sulfate.
* Incorrect charging levels and settings. Most cheap battery chargers can do more harm than good. See the section on battery charging.
* Cold weather is also hard on the battery. The chemistry does not make the same amount of energy as a warm battery. A deeply discharged battery can freeze solid in sub zero weather.
* Parasitic drain is a load put on a battery with the key off. More info on parasitic drain will follow in this document.
There are ways to greatly increase battery life and performance. All the products we sell are targeted to improve performance and battery life.
An example: Let's say you have "toys"; an ATV, classic car, antique car, boat, Harley, etc. You most likely don't use these toys 365 days a year as you do your car. Many of these toys are seasonal so they are stored. What happens to the batteries? Most batteries that supply energy to power our toys only last 2 seasons. You must keep these batteries from sulfating or buy new ones. We sell products to prevent and reverse sulfation. The PulseTech products are patented electronic devices that reverse and prevent sulfation. Also Battery Equaliser, a chemical battery additive, has proven itself very effective in improving battery life and performance. Other devices such as Solar Trickle Chargers are a great option for battery maintenance.
Parasitic drain is a load put on a battery with the key off. Most vehicles have clocks, engine management computers, alarm systems, etc. In the case of a boat you may have an automatic bilge pump, radio, GPS, etc. These devices may all be operating without the engine running. You may have parasitic loads caused by a short in the electrical system. If you are always having dead battery problems most likely the parasitic drain is excessive. The constant low or dead battery caused by excessive parasitic energy drain will dramatically shorten battery life. If this is a problem you are having, check out the Priority Start and Marine Priority Start to prevent dead batteries before they happen. This special computer switch will turn off your engine start battery before all the starting energy is drained. This technology will prevent you from deep cycling your starting battery.
Battery Charging - Remember you must put back the energy you use immediately. If you don't the battery sulfates and that affects performance and longevity. The alternator is a battery charger. It works well if the battery is not deeply discharged. The alternator tends to overcharge batteries that are very low and the overcharge can damage batteries. In fact an engine starting battery on average has only about 10 deep cycles available when recharged by an alternator. Batteries like to be charged in a certain way, especially when they have been deeply discharged. This type of charging is called 3 step regulated charging. Please note that only special SMART CHARGERS using computer technology can perform 3 step charging techniques. You don't find these types of chargers in parts stores and Wal-Marts. The first step is bulk charging where up to 80% of the battery energy capacity is replaced by the charger at the maximum voltage and current amp rating of the charger. When the battery voltage reaches 14.4 volts this begins the absorption charge step. This is where the voltage is held at a constant 14.4 volts and the current (amps) declines until the battery is 98% charged. Next comes the Float Step. This is a regulated voltage of not more than 13.4 volts and usually less than 1 amp of current. This in time will bring the battery to 100% charged or close to it. The float charge will not boil or heat batteries but will maintain the batteries at 100% readiness and prevent cycling during long term inactivity. Some Gel Cell and AGM batteries may require special settings or chargers.
Battery Do's
* Think Safety First.
* Do read entire tutorial
* Do regular inspection and maintenance especially in hot weather.
* Do recharge batteries immediately after discharge.
* Do buy the highest RC reserve capacity or AH amp hour battery that will fit your configuration.
Battery Don'ts
* Don't forget safety first.
* Don't add new electrolyte (acid).
* Don't use unregulated high output battery chargers to charge batteries.
* Don't place your equipment and toys into storage without some type of device to keep the battery charged.
* Don't disconnect battery cables while the engine is running (your battery acts as a filter).
* Don't put off recharging batteries.
* Don't add tap water as it may contain minerals that will contaminate the electrolyte.
* Don't discharge a battery any deeper than you possibly have to.
* Don't let a battery get hot to the touch and boil violently when charging.
* Don't mix size and types of batteries.
Most of the articles above are sourced from http://www.batterystuff.com/tutorial_battery.html
Sometimes I ask myself, why does this happen to so many people? Therefore, someone came up to me with the idea about battery care and I did some reading.
___________________________________________________________________________________
A car's battery has never been given proper care by 98% of drivers, especially female drivers and dies off unexpectedly. Over time, a car's battery internal resistance increases, therefore not being able to hold charge for long after being charge by the vehicle's alternator, or even with a conventional charger.
Quoted from batterytutorials.com :
A battery is like a piggy bank. If you keep taking out and putting nothing back you soon will have nothing. Present day chassis battery power requirements are huge. Consider today’s vehicle and all the electrical devices that must be supplied. All these electronics require a source of reliable power, and poor battery condition can cause expensive electronic component failure. Did you know that the average auto has 11 pounds of wire in the electrical system? Look at RVs and boats with all the electrical gadgets that require power. It was not long ago when trailers or motor homes had only a single 12-volt house battery. Today it is standard to have two or more house batteries powering inverters up to 4000 watts.
Average battery life has become shorter as energy requirements have increased. Life span depends on usage; 6 months to 48 months, yet only 30% of all batteries actually reach the 48-month mark.
The Lead Acid battery is made up of plates, lead, and lead oxide (various other elements are used to change density, hardness, porosity, etc.) with a 35% sulfuric acid and 65% water solution. This solution is called electrolyte, which causes a chemical reaction that produce electrons. When you test a battery with a hydrometer, you are measuring the amount of sulfuric acid in the electrolyte. If your reading is low, that means the chemistry that makes electrons is lacking. So where did the sulfur go? It is resting on the battery plates and when you recharge the battery, the sulfur returns to the electrolyte.
Battery Maintenance is an important issue. The battery should be cleaned using a baking soda and water solution; a couple of table spoons to a pint of water. Cable connections need to be cleaned and tightened as battery problems are often caused by dirty and loose connections. A serviceable battery needs to have the fluid level checked. Use only mineral free water, Distilled is best as all impurities have been removed, and there is nothing left that could contaminate your cells. Don't overfill battery cells especially in warmer weather because the natural fluid expansion in hot weather can push excess electrolytes from the battery. To prevent corrosion of cables on top post batteries use a small bead of silicon sealer at the base of the post and place a felt battery washer over it. Coat the washer with high temperature grease or petroleum jelly (Vaseline), then place cable on the post and tighten. Coat the exposed cable end with the grease. Most folks don't know that just the gases from the battery condensing on metal parts cause most corrosion.
6. Battery Testing can be done in more than one way. The most accurate method is measurement of specific gravity and battery voltage. To measure specific gravity buy a temperature compensating hydrometer, to measure voltage use a digital D.C. Voltmeter. A quality load tester may be a good purchase if you need to test sealed batteries.
For any of these methods, you must first fully charge the battery and then remove the surface charge. If the battery has been sitting at least several hours (I prefer at least 12 hours) you may begin testing. To remove surface charge the battery must be discharged for several minutes. Using a headlight (high beam) will do the trick. After turning off the light you are ready to test the battery.
*Sulfation of Batteries starts when specific gravity falls below 1.225 or voltage measures less than 12.4 for a 12v battery, or 6.2 for a 6 volt battery. Sulfation hardens on the battery plates reducing and eventually destroying the ability of the battery to generate Volts and Amps.
Load testing is yet another way of testing a battery. Load test removes amps from a battery much like starting an engine would. A load tester can be purchased at most auto parts stores. Some battery companies label their battery with the amp load for testing. This number is usually 1/2 of the CCA rating. For instance, a 500CCA battery would load test at 250 amps for 15 seconds. A load test can only be performed if the battery is near or at full charge.
The results of your testing should be as follows:
Hydrometer readings should not vary more than .05 differences between cells.
Digital Voltmeters should read as the voltage is shown below. The sealed AGM and Gel-Cell battery voltage (full charged) will be slightly higher in the 12.8 to 12.9 ranges. If you have voltage readings in the 10.5 volts range on a charged battery, that typically indicates a shorted cell.
If you have a maintenance free wet cell, the only ways to test are voltmeter and load test. Any of the maintenance free type batteries that have a built in hydrometer(black/green window) will tell you the condition of 1 cell of 6. You may get a good reading from 1 cell but have a problem with other cells in the battery.
To make things simple for us Malaysians with a simple multimeter or Apexi Timer with a volt-meter :
100% State of charge(SOC) - 12.7V and above
*75% SOC - 12.4V and below (read sulfation paragraph above)
50% SOC - 12.2V and below
25% SOC - 12.0V and below (bye bye battery)
Well, just another way of prolonging the life of the battery by at least double its lifespan and improving battery performance would be PULSE CHARGING. This can be performed with a smart charger which can be purchased aftermarket.
A smart charger will first desulfate your badly sulfated battery, analyze the battery, give it a bulk charge till its 80% full charge, slow charge the battery up till 95-100% charge, etc.
However, this charger doesn't come cheap. Will suggest a product in the next post.
Again, quoted from Bettery Tutorials :
Battery life and performance - Average battery life has become shorter as energy requirements have increased. Two phrases I hear most often are "my battery won't take a charge, and my battery won't hold a charge". Only 30% of batteries sold today reach the 48-month mark. In fact 80% of all battery failure is related to sulfation build-up. This build up occurs when the sulfur molecules in the electrolyte (battery acid) become so deeply discharged that they begin to coat the battery's lead plates. Before long the plates become so coated that the battery dies. The causes of sulfation are numerous. Let me list some for you.
* Batteries sit too long between charges. As little as 24 hours in hot weather and several days in cooler weather.
* Battery is stored without some type of energy input.
* "Deep cycling" an engine starting battery. Remember these batteries can't stand deep discharge.
* Undercharging of a battery to only 90% of capacity will allow sulfation of the battery using the 10% of battery chemistry not reactivated by the incompleted charging cycle.
* Heat of 100 plus F., increases internal discharge. As temperatures increase so does internal discharge. A new fully charged battery left sitting 24 hours a day at 110 degrees F for 30 days would most likely not start an engine.
* Low electrolyte level - battery plates exposed to air will immediately sulfate.
* Incorrect charging levels and settings. Most cheap battery chargers can do more harm than good. See the section on battery charging.
* Cold weather is also hard on the battery. The chemistry does not make the same amount of energy as a warm battery. A deeply discharged battery can freeze solid in sub zero weather.
* Parasitic drain is a load put on a battery with the key off. More info on parasitic drain will follow in this document.
There are ways to greatly increase battery life and performance. All the products we sell are targeted to improve performance and battery life.
An example: Let's say you have "toys"; an ATV, classic car, antique car, boat, Harley, etc. You most likely don't use these toys 365 days a year as you do your car. Many of these toys are seasonal so they are stored. What happens to the batteries? Most batteries that supply energy to power our toys only last 2 seasons. You must keep these batteries from sulfating or buy new ones. We sell products to prevent and reverse sulfation. The PulseTech products are patented electronic devices that reverse and prevent sulfation. Also Battery Equaliser, a chemical battery additive, has proven itself very effective in improving battery life and performance. Other devices such as Solar Trickle Chargers are a great option for battery maintenance.
Parasitic drain is a load put on a battery with the key off. Most vehicles have clocks, engine management computers, alarm systems, etc. In the case of a boat you may have an automatic bilge pump, radio, GPS, etc. These devices may all be operating without the engine running. You may have parasitic loads caused by a short in the electrical system. If you are always having dead battery problems most likely the parasitic drain is excessive. The constant low or dead battery caused by excessive parasitic energy drain will dramatically shorten battery life. If this is a problem you are having, check out the Priority Start and Marine Priority Start to prevent dead batteries before they happen. This special computer switch will turn off your engine start battery before all the starting energy is drained. This technology will prevent you from deep cycling your starting battery.
Battery Charging - Remember you must put back the energy you use immediately. If you don't the battery sulfates and that affects performance and longevity. The alternator is a battery charger. It works well if the battery is not deeply discharged. The alternator tends to overcharge batteries that are very low and the overcharge can damage batteries. In fact an engine starting battery on average has only about 10 deep cycles available when recharged by an alternator. Batteries like to be charged in a certain way, especially when they have been deeply discharged. This type of charging is called 3 step regulated charging. Please note that only special SMART CHARGERS using computer technology can perform 3 step charging techniques. You don't find these types of chargers in parts stores and Wal-Marts. The first step is bulk charging where up to 80% of the battery energy capacity is replaced by the charger at the maximum voltage and current amp rating of the charger. When the battery voltage reaches 14.4 volts this begins the absorption charge step. This is where the voltage is held at a constant 14.4 volts and the current (amps) declines until the battery is 98% charged. Next comes the Float Step. This is a regulated voltage of not more than 13.4 volts and usually less than 1 amp of current. This in time will bring the battery to 100% charged or close to it. The float charge will not boil or heat batteries but will maintain the batteries at 100% readiness and prevent cycling during long term inactivity. Some Gel Cell and AGM batteries may require special settings or chargers.
Battery Do's
* Think Safety First.
* Do read entire tutorial
* Do regular inspection and maintenance especially in hot weather.
* Do recharge batteries immediately after discharge.
* Do buy the highest RC reserve capacity or AH amp hour battery that will fit your configuration.
Battery Don'ts
* Don't forget safety first.
* Don't add new electrolyte (acid).
* Don't use unregulated high output battery chargers to charge batteries.
* Don't place your equipment and toys into storage without some type of device to keep the battery charged.
* Don't disconnect battery cables while the engine is running (your battery acts as a filter).
* Don't put off recharging batteries.
* Don't add tap water as it may contain minerals that will contaminate the electrolyte.
* Don't discharge a battery any deeper than you possibly have to.
* Don't let a battery get hot to the touch and boil violently when charging.
* Don't mix size and types of batteries.
Most of the articles above are sourced from http://www.batterystuff.com/tutorial_battery.html
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Aircond Flushing
Recently, I've sent my own car to an air conditioning specialist on the high recommendation of one of my suppliers. My a/c system had problems such as :
-irregular cut on/off
-sluggish engine when a/c kicks in
-warm... doesnt cool down after car is parked under the sun for some time
-not as cold as it used to be last time
I replaced my compressor, drier, expansion valve, and added a high speed fan to my system as it wasn't as cold as it used to be. Furthermore, I was eager to try this service out. My aircond system was not as cold as it used to be after I plonked the 'half-cut' in. I was thinking it was due to the new engine heat affecting the whole system.
Therefore, I decided to do a flush as i've never done it once before throughout the life of the vehicle. This particular shop uses a state-of-the-art machine that costs a whopping RM28,000.00 thats gonna do the flushing job.
The boss/ technician, Dahari, dia a very good job as I, as a fussy pot, myself observed every single step and task performed and couldn't find any flaws in his workmanship. Very carefully, he performed the below task :
-Preparation
I briefed him on what was changed earlier (such as expansion valve, receiver drier) to make his job easier in troubleshooting. My coil was taken out for cleaning 5months ago.
Dahari started my car and my a/c system to monitor the cooling capacity of my system. It seems that it wasnt really cold even after an earlier shop added some gas into it. We came to two conclusions, we suspect there may be a leak in the system, or the a/c shop just simply didn't put in enough refrigerant in the system.
Process 1 - Troubleshooting
He then switched the Flush Machine on and hooked the pressure hoses onto my a/c service ports. Immediately, he recovered all the refrigerant (a/c gas) and oil that's left in my system back into his machine and went on to the Vacuum process to remove all air thats in the system. Weirdly, I noticed that he closed the valve on the service ports when he vacuum was done. I asked him why. Pleasantly, he explained to me "Vacuum was done on my hoses and service valves first so that I would know if my own hose is leaking, and not your system. We will do a vacuum on our hoses, and switch it off for ten minutes. If the meter on the machine goes from negative pressure towards atmospheric pressure, it means that I have a leakage in the hose".
Once he confirmed that there wasn't any leakage in his hose, Dahari then opened the service valves that was attached onto my service ports to perform another vacuum process, this time on my entire a/c system. Once the vacuum was done, it was switched off again and we waited for another ten minutes. Hhmm... no leaks.
Process no. 2 - Troubleshooting (2)
Vacuum done. Dahari then set the machine to a certain amount of refrigerant and recharged my a/c system and unhooked the machine hoses from my service ports. The car was then started to check if there was any leaks with a specially calibrated leak detector. He even faced the leak detector onto my a/c vents to detect for any leakage of the R134a regrigerant from the cooling coil(which, other workshops will just opt to take the whole cooling coil off and pressure test it in a tub of water).
We went on to check other joints,seals, service ports for any leakage with the leak detector. Apparently we couldn't find any leak.
Final conclusion, there was no leakage in the system at all.
Process 3 - Flushing
Dahari hooked on the machine hoses again and recovered my refrigerant again. This is where the flushing process starts ;
1. Engine switched off
2. 8-step flushing process starts with the touch of a button on the machine
3. Aircond refrigerant in liquid form circulates the whole system in one direction (say... clockwise).
4. Step 3 repeated several times.
5. Refrigerant now goes anti-clockwise as a more effective method of cleaning.
6. Step 5 repeated several times.
7. Process stops when the machine cleans the whole system entirely.
8. Precautious measures were taken to prevent the receiver drier and cooling coil from 'icing', which is bad for the system.
Process was done after close to two hours.
Conclusion : The above picture shows the color of refrigerant that came out of the system. This is a 100% flushing process mind you. The original color of the refrigerant i put in was pure fluorescent green. Look how it is now after only three months of usage? Water and specks of dust could be seen closely.
Process 4 - Long Vacuum
Vacuum process was started again, this time, was 20mins, to really ensure that there was NO air in the system. The air in the system, the better the purity of the refrigerant in the system without any presence of air.
Process 5 - Recahrging
After vacuuming the system, carefully, Dahari inserted new compressor oil into the system. FULLY SYNTHETIC COMPRESSOR OIL (46 viscosity as per specification) was used this time. Not cheap.
Another thing that other shops would not do :
While vacuum still in process (last 3minutes), Dahari closed the low pressure valve and disconnected the machine hose. Vacuum is still present in the system and the machine hose. He connected the synthetic oil along with a press gun and nozzle into the low pressure service port.
He opened the valve on the nozzle thats connected into the port and the oil automatically gets sucked into the system from vacuum effect. Keep in mind that the High pressure hose is still connected and is vacuuming the system. That way, vacuum pressure has not drop a single bit yet.
Nozzle valve was closed and disconnectd after 150ml of oil was put in.
The last step would be recharging the whole system with 550gm of refrigerant before firing up the car.
Dahari connected back the low pressure machine hose back to the service port. Keep in mind that the valve is still closed.
By selecting 'recharge' mode on the machine, he pre-setted the volume to 550gm of refrigerant/gas as per manufacturer specification.
This is another part which other shops would not do :
Recharging step activated - he loosened the machine hose from the valve at the service port to allow air to flow out and to allow refrigerant to flow through and fill up the hose, tightened the hose back to the head, AND THEN OPENED THE VALVE for the refrigerant to go through the service port.
The above step was done so that present air thats in the machine hose does not go into the system. If not, this beats the purpose of vacumming the system already.
Final Step - Firing up the car (finally! woohoo!)
All hoses disconnected and machine was switched off. We started the car with the aircond switched off. Dahari carefully switched the a/c compressor on and off several and numerous times in order for the compressor oil to go through the compressor but not run the compressor yet. This is to ensure there is sufficient oil in the compressor when it starts running (damage MAY occur if this step is not done). Its the same process as starting an engine without the fuel line hooked in to get oil flowing through the engine just after you overhaul your engine.
Conclusion :
My car was freezing all the way to Subang when we were done. I tested my car in the sun the next morning/afternoon and noticed that the cabin cools down much faster than it used to be, ven if the car was parked under the sun for an hour.
This shows that the refrigerant in the system is SUPER pure and becomes as cold as it was supposed to be when compressed by the compressor.
Pricing is a bit pricey, but taking into consideration the price of the machine, price hike of a/c refrigerant, synthetic oil was used,the rental of the workshop, the time needed to perform this task on just one car, I wouldn't mind forking out this amount of cash for something that we need most in Malaysia, good a/c.c.
It made a world of difference, and will do so even on new cars. Some cars claim that the rpm doesnt drop when the compressor kicks in due the the quality of the oil used in the compressor.
Needless I must say, this is the BEST service I've ever experienced so far.
Thumbs up to Air Cond Station in Shah Alam, Section 7!!
Overall Rating : 10/10
Pricing : RM450.00 onwards (not incuding labour and parts to replace whatever that's necessary)
-irregular cut on/off
-sluggish engine when a/c kicks in
-warm... doesnt cool down after car is parked under the sun for some time
-not as cold as it used to be last time
I replaced my compressor, drier, expansion valve, and added a high speed fan to my system as it wasn't as cold as it used to be. Furthermore, I was eager to try this service out. My aircond system was not as cold as it used to be after I plonked the 'half-cut' in. I was thinking it was due to the new engine heat affecting the whole system.
Therefore, I decided to do a flush as i've never done it once before throughout the life of the vehicle. This particular shop uses a state-of-the-art machine that costs a whopping RM28,000.00 thats gonna do the flushing job.
The boss/ technician, Dahari, dia a very good job as I, as a fussy pot, myself observed every single step and task performed and couldn't find any flaws in his workmanship. Very carefully, he performed the below task :
-Preparation
I briefed him on what was changed earlier (such as expansion valve, receiver drier) to make his job easier in troubleshooting. My coil was taken out for cleaning 5months ago.
Dahari started my car and my a/c system to monitor the cooling capacity of my system. It seems that it wasnt really cold even after an earlier shop added some gas into it. We came to two conclusions, we suspect there may be a leak in the system, or the a/c shop just simply didn't put in enough refrigerant in the system.
Process 1 - Troubleshooting
He then switched the Flush Machine on and hooked the pressure hoses onto my a/c service ports. Immediately, he recovered all the refrigerant (a/c gas) and oil that's left in my system back into his machine and went on to the Vacuum process to remove all air thats in the system. Weirdly, I noticed that he closed the valve on the service ports when he vacuum was done. I asked him why. Pleasantly, he explained to me "Vacuum was done on my hoses and service valves first so that I would know if my own hose is leaking, and not your system. We will do a vacuum on our hoses, and switch it off for ten minutes. If the meter on the machine goes from negative pressure towards atmospheric pressure, it means that I have a leakage in the hose".
Once he confirmed that there wasn't any leakage in his hose, Dahari then opened the service valves that was attached onto my service ports to perform another vacuum process, this time on my entire a/c system. Once the vacuum was done, it was switched off again and we waited for another ten minutes. Hhmm... no leaks.
Process no. 2 - Troubleshooting (2)
Vacuum done. Dahari then set the machine to a certain amount of refrigerant and recharged my a/c system and unhooked the machine hoses from my service ports. The car was then started to check if there was any leaks with a specially calibrated leak detector. He even faced the leak detector onto my a/c vents to detect for any leakage of the R134a regrigerant from the cooling coil(which, other workshops will just opt to take the whole cooling coil off and pressure test it in a tub of water).
We went on to check other joints,seals, service ports for any leakage with the leak detector. Apparently we couldn't find any leak.
Final conclusion, there was no leakage in the system at all.
Process 3 - Flushing
Dahari hooked on the machine hoses again and recovered my refrigerant again. This is where the flushing process starts ;
1. Engine switched off
2. 8-step flushing process starts with the touch of a button on the machine
3. Aircond refrigerant in liquid form circulates the whole system in one direction (say... clockwise).
4. Step 3 repeated several times.
5. Refrigerant now goes anti-clockwise as a more effective method of cleaning.
6. Step 5 repeated several times.
7. Process stops when the machine cleans the whole system entirely.
8. Precautious measures were taken to prevent the receiver drier and cooling coil from 'icing', which is bad for the system.
Process was done after close to two hours.
Conclusion : The above picture shows the color of refrigerant that came out of the system. This is a 100% flushing process mind you. The original color of the refrigerant i put in was pure fluorescent green. Look how it is now after only three months of usage? Water and specks of dust could be seen closely.
Process 4 - Long Vacuum
Vacuum process was started again, this time, was 20mins, to really ensure that there was NO air in the system. The air in the system, the better the purity of the refrigerant in the system without any presence of air.
Process 5 - Recahrging
After vacuuming the system, carefully, Dahari inserted new compressor oil into the system. FULLY SYNTHETIC COMPRESSOR OIL (46 viscosity as per specification) was used this time. Not cheap.
Another thing that other shops would not do :
While vacuum still in process (last 3minutes), Dahari closed the low pressure valve and disconnected the machine hose. Vacuum is still present in the system and the machine hose. He connected the synthetic oil along with a press gun and nozzle into the low pressure service port.
He opened the valve on the nozzle thats connected into the port and the oil automatically gets sucked into the system from vacuum effect. Keep in mind that the High pressure hose is still connected and is vacuuming the system. That way, vacuum pressure has not drop a single bit yet.
Nozzle valve was closed and disconnectd after 150ml of oil was put in.
The last step would be recharging the whole system with 550gm of refrigerant before firing up the car.
Dahari connected back the low pressure machine hose back to the service port. Keep in mind that the valve is still closed.
By selecting 'recharge' mode on the machine, he pre-setted the volume to 550gm of refrigerant/gas as per manufacturer specification.
This is another part which other shops would not do :
Recharging step activated - he loosened the machine hose from the valve at the service port to allow air to flow out and to allow refrigerant to flow through and fill up the hose, tightened the hose back to the head, AND THEN OPENED THE VALVE for the refrigerant to go through the service port.
The above step was done so that present air thats in the machine hose does not go into the system. If not, this beats the purpose of vacumming the system already.
Final Step - Firing up the car (finally! woohoo!)
All hoses disconnected and machine was switched off. We started the car with the aircond switched off. Dahari carefully switched the a/c compressor on and off several and numerous times in order for the compressor oil to go through the compressor but not run the compressor yet. This is to ensure there is sufficient oil in the compressor when it starts running (damage MAY occur if this step is not done). Its the same process as starting an engine without the fuel line hooked in to get oil flowing through the engine just after you overhaul your engine.
Conclusion :
My car was freezing all the way to Subang when we were done. I tested my car in the sun the next morning/afternoon and noticed that the cabin cools down much faster than it used to be, ven if the car was parked under the sun for an hour.
This shows that the refrigerant in the system is SUPER pure and becomes as cold as it was supposed to be when compressed by the compressor.
Pricing is a bit pricey, but taking into consideration the price of the machine, price hike of a/c refrigerant, synthetic oil was used,the rental of the workshop, the time needed to perform this task on just one car, I wouldn't mind forking out this amount of cash for something that we need most in Malaysia, good a/c.c.
It made a world of difference, and will do so even on new cars. Some cars claim that the rpm doesnt drop when the compressor kicks in due the the quality of the oil used in the compressor.
Needless I must say, this is the BEST service I've ever experienced so far.
Thumbs up to Air Cond Station in Shah Alam, Section 7!!
Overall Rating : 10/10
Pricing : RM450.00 onwards (not incuding labour and parts to replace whatever that's necessary)
A lil about myself
Last time, I started off as an intern at a big workshop as a technician. This workshop was specialized in preventive maintenance, performing different unusual tasks such as ATF flush,engine flush, de-carbonizing, etc.
Sooner or later, six months... I ended up working behind the desk doing international orders, customer service, accounts, invoicing, you name it. Everything and anything!
Pics :
Yes, the workshop was big, HUGE. I got to do different kind of cars... ranging from Protons, Peroduas, to Muscle cars, V10s, etc.
I got to drive different kinds of cars such as a Dodge Viper, Ferrari 348, Audi RS2 to name a few. One year down the road, I left the workshop. Did not want to spoon feed lazy people who wants high pay and short working hours. Two weeks after I left, true enough that three of those mentioned got fired.
Also, I was struggling with classic cars that are twice my age and thank god I had Hatish that came in as a new Workshop Manager. He's the current manager. The workshop ceased operations and closed down after I left, not wanting to do everyday operations/customer service anymore. They are now happily focusing on Classic Cars.
Before I left, I had another job offer from one of my customer. I started off in September and am very happy here. I am now a Retail Manager supplying billiard tables :D. I don't have any of my office pictures at the moment but will upload them once after some time.
My previous job, it was full of stress, especially when lazy people fuck things up, and you gotta be the one cleaning up their mess. There was one point where the Viper broke down just before the Merdeka Endurance Race and I spent the whole night till 4 in the morning looking for a crate engine to be shipped out from the US immediately. Though I did my best and found one, the car never got to race due to other unforseen circumstances. The owner was grateful and gave me his Porsche's CD player. Thank you Dato' SS! :).
My working hours are now shorter, my pay is now higher, and the best part; I can sleep till like 10 in the morning and make it to work in time though its like 20km away. I dont mind driving to work everyday. Its stress-free here. I get to play pool whenever I feel bored, etc.
Till then, will update again whenever I have the time to.
-Elton-
Sooner or later, six months... I ended up working behind the desk doing international orders, customer service, accounts, invoicing, you name it. Everything and anything!
Pics :
Yes, the workshop was big, HUGE. I got to do different kind of cars... ranging from Protons, Peroduas, to Muscle cars, V10s, etc.
I got to drive different kinds of cars such as a Dodge Viper, Ferrari 348, Audi RS2 to name a few. One year down the road, I left the workshop. Did not want to spoon feed lazy people who wants high pay and short working hours. Two weeks after I left, true enough that three of those mentioned got fired.
Also, I was struggling with classic cars that are twice my age and thank god I had Hatish that came in as a new Workshop Manager. He's the current manager. The workshop ceased operations and closed down after I left, not wanting to do everyday operations/customer service anymore. They are now happily focusing on Classic Cars.
Before I left, I had another job offer from one of my customer. I started off in September and am very happy here. I am now a Retail Manager supplying billiard tables :D. I don't have any of my office pictures at the moment but will upload them once after some time.
My previous job, it was full of stress, especially when lazy people fuck things up, and you gotta be the one cleaning up their mess. There was one point where the Viper broke down just before the Merdeka Endurance Race and I spent the whole night till 4 in the morning looking for a crate engine to be shipped out from the US immediately. Though I did my best and found one, the car never got to race due to other unforseen circumstances. The owner was grateful and gave me his Porsche's CD player. Thank you Dato' SS! :).
My working hours are now shorter, my pay is now higher, and the best part; I can sleep till like 10 in the morning and make it to work in time though its like 20km away. I dont mind driving to work everyday. Its stress-free here. I get to play pool whenever I feel bored, etc.
Till then, will update again whenever I have the time to.
-Elton-
Welcome!
Hello Guys!
Welcome to my newly set up blog page. This blog would be dedicated to automotive preventive maintenance, a site where postings and products that we carry that focus and specialize in making your car run as efficient as it was new and also to reduce risks of breakdowns by the road side.
My name is Elton. The next post after this will be a glimpse of my past, where and what was I doing in the Automotive Industry that lead me to where I am now.
Enjoy!
Welcome to my newly set up blog page. This blog would be dedicated to automotive preventive maintenance, a site where postings and products that we carry that focus and specialize in making your car run as efficient as it was new and also to reduce risks of breakdowns by the road side.
My name is Elton. The next post after this will be a glimpse of my past, where and what was I doing in the Automotive Industry that lead me to where I am now.
Enjoy!
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