The wife's 2014 Charger SXT isn't blowing cold air like it once did. It only has 50,000 miles on it and cold AC is a must in South Louisiana. It only blows at about 60F on MAX Cold using a pencil thermomete inserted into the center console vent in 81F degree cloudy weather at highway speeds and hotter at ldle. I think 45F is a more reasonable vent discharge temperature.

Unfortunately it has the new R1234YF refrigerant and I've had no luck finding anyone other than the dealership that works with the new Freon. I'm sure the dealership knows this and will bend me over on any repairs. The new 1234YF freon is very expensive but 12 ounce cans are available on Amazon. I've considered buying a can and the necessary fittings (less than $100 total) and just adding some to see if it helps. The new stuff is flammable and I'm a little concerned about leaks inside the cabin, but I'm sure the leak is small so it's probably not an issue.

Has anyone tried evacuating the R1234YF and recharging with R134A? I've heard it's possible as Cadillac switched back to 134a after a short trial with 1234 on a few models back in 2014 with no hardware modifications.

Thanks in advance for any input.

Mike

 

Update:

Since my original post and after much research, I decided to replace the R1234YF with R134A. I evacuated the system of the R1234YF, pulled a good vacuum for 30 minutes which held with no leaks, and recharged with R134A. Following recharge, low side (suction) pressure was around 50 psig and high side (discharge) pressure was about 225 psig at 82F outside temperature and high humidity. System performance is about the same as as discussed in the original thread when it was charged with the R1234YF.

The one thing I have noticed is that when I slow the internal cabin air mover fan down to low speed, the center dashboard duct air temperature will reach 50F which is much lower than the 65F on high. Other posts suggest the refrigerant charge is too low, but the pressures appear to be in range of what I would expect. Any ideas?