What did I break (A/C explosion)

You simply disconnected that line before having the A/C refrigerant properly recovered from the system.

The system contains refrigerant and oil (and also, sometimes, a dye, if there was ever a past service where someone tried to find a leak).

You fix it pretty much the same way you would if it had been recovered and opened properly. You replace the receiver/dryer cartridge, and once everything is buttoned back up, you use an A/C vacuum pump to pull everything down to a few hundred microns vacuum level for a long enough time, then charge it with the proper amount of new refrigerant by weight. If you can estimate how much oil came out, put about that much back in. Use only ND-Oil 11 or some substitute that is known safe in a high-voltage electric compressor. Most ordinary A/C oils are not.

That fixes most of it. The old refrigerant is in the atmosphere now, where it didn't belong. Nobody can fix that.

 

you sir, have committed and admitted to multiple felonies.. I would delete this post rofl.. also you have to recharge the system using hybrid freon.. have it done professionally, these systems are not cheap..

 

As "'Freon' is the brand name for the refrigerants R-12, R-13B1, R-22, R-410A, R-502, and R-503 manufactured by The Chemours Company", the R134a that you need for Gen 3 Prius is not any kind of Freon at all.

Also, when looking for what to recharge with, the issue is not really that there is a 'hybrid' kind of R134a. Any straight R134a is fine.

The main thing is to avoid products where the R134a is mixed with other stuff, like oil that is not ok for a high-voltage compressor. It's perfectly ok to use straight R134a and, if adding any oil, just add that separately from a nice fresh can of ND-Oil 11. Or you can use a 'hybrid' product where the R134a is premixed with an oil that they claim is ok.

Having a good A/C shoppe do the work is a good idea. They have all the equipment needed to do it right, which would be pricey for a DIYer to acquire for a one-time job.

 

Refrigerant Replacement | PriusChat

I got a similar issue. got all the oil and refrigerant , just haven’t looked at enough videos to proceed with the repair. Plus it’s been abnormally cool and dry in DC this summer.

if you look at the thread above I took a photo of the Poe oil and an oil for the o-ring a kind user suggested. As someone who knows enough to get himself in trouble, I recommend going to a professional like everyone else is suggesting. In my case I can’t because I can’t afford to pay em.

 

This.

 

Toyota recommends ND-Oil 11.

While Denso does say that ND-Oil 11 is a POE oil, I would not necessarily jump to thinking that any other POE oil is substitutable. That'd be above my pay grade.

 

thanks for cleaning my post up, I think I might have gone on the Biden train with that one.. I should probably turn In my Macs cards

 

You'll be alright. The emissions from stuff like this is pretty uncommon now. I actually saw a chart the other day where in the last 25 years or so we had actually reversed the effect we had on the atmosphere releasing these chemicals and had gone back to pre emissions levels. At this point thought they have made those refrigerants so ungodly expensive though you would be crazy to release them now. Especially r-410a. It's about $80 in refrigerant just to do the ac in the mini split in my garage, and a bottle is about $400. Ouch.
You would be wise to at least go rent a gauge from oreillys and vacuum pump and look up how to pull a vacuum on your system. This will release the moisture intrusion into the system and the compressor oil.

 

I had a hose cut in on my prius. I know not to use pag oil so i went to autozone and found one of those bottles that advertised itself as safe on hybrids. No mention about pag so i figured it would be safe. Also this is on a newer 2020 model, so they purposely changed the valve to where the r134a bottles wouldnt be compatible to latch on. I had to buy an adaptor off amazon for real cheap to make it work, because the r12345y or whatever they call it, is like triple the price. Its about emission laws, not about effectiveness or anything like that, so its perfectly safe to use the older refridgerant in your car.

Been driving for 2 years now, no issues. Compressor works fine and AC has been working since. Had to use 2 bottles to fill from completely empty to full. You know how much to put just based on the gauge it comes with, but also you can feel it when it starts getting cold.

I dont recommend getting it done professional, because a broken compressor is still gonna be a cheaper part to get from a pick n pull than paying an AC place over $500 to put you something that costs under $80 from autozone. Thats just me though. Its a risk, but its your car and your money so you do whatever you think is best for you.

 

A pressure gauge on a refrigerant system in fact tells you nothing of the sort.

 

I bought a scale to fill based on the weight. I’m
Not sure how I’ll fill with a small can upside on the scale. That’s the one big diff I see with vids on the topic. Everyone relies on the gauges with the small cans in hand tilted or moving the can. Those who fill based on weight have larger tanks like an hvac technician would use.

it’s just easier to have a professional do it because they have to warranty their work.

 

I have used a small can on a scale for adding a small amount before. I hung the manifold gauge up above the small can with the hose hanging loosely down. and took the starting weight that way, and made sure not to touch any of that while adding.

Tipping a can upside down is a no-no, at least if it's feeding into the suction side of the system: when you tip the can, you get refrigerant in liquid state, and if that gets sucked into the compressor, the compressor doesn't win.

And any such can will have prominent warnings against connecting it to the discharge side of a system.