[DeTomaso] Late Model Pantera A/C experts?

[asajay at asajay.com]

Vacuum leak?

Quoting Charles McCall <charlesmccall at gmail.com>:

> Thanks Thomas... more questions.
>
> The sound comes from behind the dash, not from the engine bay.
>
> The problem comes and goes - occasionally it workes as it should, which
> would tend to rule out being low on gas. I had it refilled last month.
> Doesn't mean I don't have a slow leak, but I hope it would last?
>
> Charles McCall
> 1985 DeTomaso Pantera GT5-S #9375
> "Raising Pantera Awareness Across Europe"
> http://www.poca.com/index.php/gallery/?g2_itemId=2323
> -----Mensaje original-----
> De: Thomas.Tornblom at Sun.COM [mailto:Thomas.Tornblom at Sun.COM] En nombre de
> Thomas Tornblom
> Enviado el: jueves, 20 de agosto de 2009 21:08
> Para: Charles McCall
> CC: De Tomaso List
> Asunto: Re: [DeTomaso] Late Model Pantera A/C experts?
>
> The thermostat only controls the compressor clutch, no vacuum doors or
> flaps. The sound you hear is when the compressor starts and stops. If
> the compressor doesn't cycle and it has a problem keeping the temp low
> it sounds like you might be low on refrigerant.
>
> Have you replaced the low pressure cut off switch?
>
> My system dumped the charge in the cabin on our 2006 trip when there
> was an excessive pressure and in the post mortem we found out that
> there is no high pressure cut off. I replaced the switch with a high
> and low cut off switch.
>
> I have now replaced the leaking compressor and hope that I'll finally
> have a reliable, non-leaking system.
>
> Cheers,
> Thomas
>
>
>
> 20 aug 2009 kl. 20.47 skrev Charles McCall <charlesmccall at gmail.com>:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>>
>>
>> We've just returned from spending a week driving the Pantera around
>> NW Spain
>> and Portugal.. Had a nice visit with the other known Pantera owner
>> in Spain,
>> Fernando Bianchi. Saw his Pantera which is finishing a complete,
>> ground up
>> restoration and group 4 conversion..
>>
>>
>>
>> Car ran perfectly the whole week. Burned lots of gas ;-) But I noticed
>> something weird with the A/C while driving around in the blazing heat
>> yesterday and returning home today.
>>
>>
>>
>> Late model Panteras have a vacuum operated system - a series of
>> doors that
>> open and close to direct air to where you'd like it that use vacuum
>> instead
>> of mechanical connections. The A/C compressor cycles on and off to
>> maitain
>> the desired temperature, and each time the compressor cycles on or
>> off, the
>> "fan" light in the speedo lights or turns off and there is an
>> accompanying
>> "whoosh" of air, sort of like a truck's airbrakes, but mini-scale.
>>
>>
>>
>> Anyway, starting yesterday, I could hear the whoosh when the cabin
>> reached
>> the desired temperature, but it would appear that whatever the air
>> is trying
>> to move must be stuck. the whoosh repeats, and repeats, and repeats,
>> trying
>> to move whatever it needs to move but without success. the
>> compressor stays
>> connected and will never cycle off. If I manually roll the temperature
>> selector to basically "off", there is a whoosh and the compressor
>> shuts off.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> I deduce that the thermostat is working and trying to send a signal to
>> whatever air device shuts off the cooling function but it sticks.
>> But I can
>> shut it off manually if I turn the temperature wheel to minimum.
>>
>>
>>
>> a)       Anyone know how the thermostat functions in the late model
>> Panteras? What happens when the desired interior temperature is
>> reached?
>>
>> b)       Will it hurt anything if the compressor runs non-stop
>> continuously?
>> For hours at a time? Is there something that could freeze, or
>> overheat, or
>> something bad?
>>
>>
>>
>> Horrible description of the problem but hopefully people who have
>> seen the
>> system will  understand what I'm trying to describe?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Charles McCall
>>
>> 1985 DeTomaso Pantera GT5-S #9375
>>
>> "Raising Pantera Awareness Across Europe"
>>
>> <http://www.poca.com/index.php/gallery/?g2_itemId=2323>
>> http://www.poca.com/index.php/gallery/?g2_itemId=2323
>>
>>
>>
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