The title of the seminar was “R1234yf-Preliminary Service Info” and in all fairness to the presenter Paul DeGuiseppi, the Mobile Air Conditioning Society’s manager of training, there may have been more content relating to the new refrigerant had the EPA had completed their end of the deal. “This stuff is in cars and on the roads, and a lot of regulatory issues are still not wrapped up” DeGuiseppi shared after the presentation.
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If you’ve been keeping up, you are already aware that a new refrigerant has been introduced in order to meet requirements set for in the European Union. New model platforms for sale there can no longer use R134a. However, no other country in the world has followed suit and the only real benefit to auto makers producing product for the U.S. market is the credits they can earn to help offset ever increasingly stringent Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. And to date, GM is the only domestic maker to do so, equipping both the Cadillac XTS and ATS with the new gas. DeGuiseppi informed his audience that a third vehicle would be introduced to the American market using HFO1234yf, the Honda Fit EV.
And that, for the moment anyway, is it. Except for one bombshell related to the recent Mercedes announcement that it would not use the new gas, based on independent tests calling the safety of the refrigerant into question. 432 2013 SL models are already in the U.S., equipped with 1234yf systems and M-B is recalling them in order to refit them to R134a. What impact these recent events will have on other OEMs and the aftermarket tool companies that have spent millions making the equipment needed to service these systems is still up in the air.
DeGuiseppi shared what information there was with ASRW attendees. He covered in detail the requirements outlined in SAE J2845, the SAE’s Interior Climate Control committee’s recommended “best practices” covering R1234yf, technician training, and surprisingly enough, R744 (the carbon dioxide refrigerant alternative that still seems to be hanging on by a very thin thread).
Pointed out in the presentation were the differences in the 1234yf system and those systems using R134a. There are surprisingly few in the actual mechanics of the system. “Unless you knew that it was an R1234yf system, you really couldn’t tell” says DeGuiseppi. “Pressure and temperature readings are so similar, technicians can apply the same diagnostic approach they are using today to these new systems.”
But odds are you won’t have to. According to DeGuiseppi, cars using the new gas will be entering the market bit by bit. Toyota has said they have no immediate intention of using the new refrigerant for cars headed to the States and other makers have echoed the sentiment. So unless you’re a dealer tech working on one under warranty, you may consider holding off on any new capital expenditures for the service equipment you would need to work on them.
The short, 90-minute presentation then moved over to a topic of more immediate use to his ASRW audience, hybrid electric compressor service. This growing market is a revenue opportunity for the repair shops and an increasingly common occurrence for the collision repairers. DeGuiseppi showed his attendees the different compressor designs in use, and described how the systems functioned. He stressed the importance of avoiding cross contamination of the lubricating oil used and the proper use of leak detection products.
DeGuiseppi explained that the wrong oil, even in minute amounts, could result in a high voltage leak that, at the worst could cause injury and at the least, could result in a “no start” issue and very expensive component replacement.
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