Interchiller help needed

[cc-rider]

So I finally got my car back together with the Interchiller installed. Got my AC recharged…nice and cold in the cabin…and nothing happening with the IAT’s. I’m starting to wonder if I hooked the AC lines up backwards.

Pics below of how I hooked into my AC system. One line up near the brake booster. The other I tapped into the line along the frame rail closer to the radiator. I know these are called “liquid” lines or “high” side or “low” side. But I don’t know AC systems well at all.

The chiller brick itself has an expansion valve on it. I assume this is supposed to be the Freon inlet to the brick? I have this plumbed into the larger line that runs up to the connection near the brake booster. Then the other side of the brick to the smaller line that I’ve connected along the frame rail.

Is this backwards?

[cc-rider]

So I got the answer to my question. Got ahold of Tracy who originally designed the RX Interchiller that I have. I’ve got the Freon lines run backwards into the Interchiller brick. . F$&@!!! Oh well. Live and learn I guess.

The smaller line is the liquid freon line that gos to the expansion valve side of the brick. Just posting this here in case anyone ever runs into the same problem I had all along with this (no directions with my kit).

[tartagliazl1]

Damn that blows. Did you charge it yourself of take it somewhere? If you take it to a ac shop they can recover the Freon for you.

[cc-rider]

A friend of mine owns a shop. So he did it for me. Yes, going to have the recover the freon and then reload it again once we get the lines flipped. Gotta take my front clip off again. Damn these projects can be frustrating sometimes!

[cc-rider]

Well now I’m completely f’n stumped with this Interchiller. Got the freon lines switched around, recharged the system…cabin AC is nice and cold…and I’m still getting nothing out of the intercooler. I go for a drive and log IAT2…turn the AC on and off…and literally nothing at all happens. It’s not working at all.

Now I did skip the diverter valve. I have the coolant running through the HX first, and then through the chiller brick. Which I know I shouldn’t have done. And I will get it in there. However, the chiller should still do something when I turn the AC on and off.

Any ideas on what the hell I’ve got wrong here!? Super disappointed after all the time I put into this thing to get nothing out of it. Especially when others have had good success. I must have something wrong. But I have no idea what.

Perhaps the expansion valve is bad and stuck shut??

[tartagliazl1]

Who makes the kit? It should still work without the diverter plumbed in. How are you controlling it to switch from cabin to chiller? You should have a T valve that diverts Freon to the chiller.

[tartagliazl1]

I control mine with a switch i installed in the lighter port. Forward is cabin/chiller back is chiller only. Second pic is the t valve. I’m guessing if you don’t have the Freon valve that it should always be cabin/chiller all the time. Just a dumb thought, you are hitting the little snow button on the a/c switch to activate the a/c.

[cc-rider]

Well I thought the freon diverter valve was just a “competition” mode valve that stopped the freon from the cabin so that it wouldn’t drip on the racetrack. But I also thought that both the cabin AC and chiller could work at the same time.

When I said I didn’t install the “diverter”…I meant the intercooler coolant diverter. But I didn’t install the freon diverter either. But I have never heard that these kits won’t work with cabin AC on too. Thought they could work together.

[cc-rider]

It is an original version of the RX Interchiller. Forgot to answer that

[tartagliazl1]

I just received my stage 2 kit from FI Interchiller. Can’t wait to get that installed and have ait2 in the 20’s

[cc-rider]

Just updating this thread in case anyone ever is having a similar problem and finds it via search. The ultimate problem with my chiller was that the Freon was over filled. Put the proper amount of Freon in (4-6 oz over stock…which comes out to 1.6 lbs) and it’s all working. Overfilling these AC systems leads to malfunction. They had put 2lbs of Freon inside when I first posted this thread. Way too much.

So…if you are going to go with one of these chiller systems…understand the charge needed and demand the shop follow the charge recommendation.

[tartagliazl1]

you are so right, a overcharged system will not cool as good. i had that happen to mine. How low can you get your ait2 now? lowest i can get mine is 28 degrees.

[cc-rider]

I definitely still don’t get frosted lines like that. I wish! I really haven’t measured the water temp but it is certainly cold. I am running about 10psi of boost and my IAT’s still run at around 50 over ambient when just cruising. The bypass air recirculating and heating itself up. I can turn my air conditioner on and off and it really doesn’t impact the IAT’s at cruise when the bypass is open. However, when I close the bypass valve and get into boost, I now see about a 30-40 degree drop in IAT’s (90-100 degree IAT’s) and I’m usually letting off and done with the pull before the temps even move at all. But then it heats back up again to the 130 degree pretty quickly during cruise.

So a few things I think are factoring into this. First, I have the original Rx Superchiller and not the Interchiller brand. Smaller chiller brick so it is not as efficient. Secondly, I have a Kenne Bell which I think does have a less efficient intercooler brick inside the intake as compared to others. I also think that the bypass air just recirculates through the front part of the intercooler brick and out through the bypass in the front and superheats itself. The IAT sensor on the KB is right there in the front of the intake where the bypass air would pass.

Anyway…I am still a little perplexed at some of the thermodynamics going on inside this blower and with this chiller system. The KB bypass air seems to overpower the chiller system no matter what when just cruising. Which who cares I guess. I’ve data logged NA cars and seen consistent 105-115 IAT’s so I guess 130 during cruise isn’t anything to get wound up about. But I can definitely tell that the chiller is working now and keeps the IAT’s under control on both long lugging pulls and high rpm pulls. I actually think I’d need a dedicated intercooler circuit on just my bypass air hose to ever get the cruising IAT’s down on my KB setup. That being said…it sure is nice to finally have some cold water running through this system and it definitely helps to keep the heat under control. Nice to see sub 100 degree IAT’s when doing a pull in boost.

[tartagliazl1]

With my FI chiller while cruising my ait2 are always 55-60 degrees cooler that ait. When i turn the cabin ac on with the chiller I’m constantly 30 degrees cooler. As far as a pull i never see over 110 degrees ait2.