A/C question

Get it properly vacced and filled to capacity, you only put 2.5 lb in, my system takes 4.2, yours may take less or more than what youve got.

That said, sounds like the valve is perhaps open too far or your pump cant keep up

 

If it were wide open yes i would guess it would not cool quite as well, but as long as youre building liquid before the exp valve it woupd still cool at least somewhat.

Since turning on the fan fixes it at idle, my inclination is that youve got gas hitting the expansion valve at idle no fan, that points to slight undercharge or your compresser not QUITE keeping up at low rpm. The fan "fixes" the problem by cooling the gas just enough to flip it enough to a liquid

Option 1, your new exp valve is just poorly designed and noisy
Option 2

 

International HVAC, I’ve been told are a bit different. I’ve never worked on one myself. My Shaker takes 55 Oz. I usually put 5 cans, or 60oz. Bleeding the line of air after hooking up each can. Works good for Me. Don’t know what thermosters are. Temp sensor Probe goes into evaporators maybe? Noise from an expansion valve usually means it’s sticking, sometimes mine makes noise when system is low. Sometimes it just makes a little noise, it’s normal. But a honking sound? I don’t know. Maybe you need to add some oil to the system. Though you shouldn’t have lost much, most should have stayed in the system. Whole system shouldn’t need more than 2oz. ( guessing) at 7% oil ratio, if my memory serves Me, 7% is the suggested ratio. Too much oil is worse than too little. It affects the cooling of compressor itself, making it run hotter, shortening it’s life, by displacing refrigerant. Having said all that, maybe add an ounce of oil with green dye, if dye isn’t already present. Shouldn’t hurt anything. 2.5 sounds low, I’d double check that with the Dealer. Noise going away with fan on suggests it’s a high pressure problem, yet if it were, fan should come on automatically. New fan switch, what about high pressure switch? The compressor should cycle off, while idling, and fan should come on, till pressure drops. Then fan goes off, compressor cycles on again. With fan engaged at idle, compressor may or may not cycle at all. Usually still cycles off, but stays off for a shorter time. I usually watch the operation at idle for a while. Making sure the compressor stays on longer than off. Ideally twice as long, on the hottest most humid days. If it doesn’t cycle off with a full charge, high pressure switch isn’t working. Don’t know what kind of switch you have. Could be a single or a bianary switch, part of the fan switch, essentially a double switch, that either side can go bad, while other is still working. You can figure that out. Lastly, a new dryer should have been installed. Old one may be full of moisture, from shrader valve leaking, or simply having the system open. A tiny amount of moisture can freeze up and jam the expansion valve. If it sticks, sometimes you won’t get cold air. Usually it’s cold, till valve freezes up, and iced over. Then it stops blowing cold, till you turn the system off, and let it defrost. And sometimes the valves just get sticky, and need replaced. Old ones will still look like brand new inside. Can’t diagnose one by looking at it. I’ve had them freeze up, from being sticky and eventually start working properly, simply by turning the system off when frozen, and on again. I suspect the moisture eventually got filtered out by the dryer. You can try that first. Instead of turning the fan on, turn the system off, when the noise is heard. Might just free up a sticky valve, if that’s the problem.Maybe a real mechanic who’s seen the problem before, and familiar with Internationals will chime in. Good Luck

 

I agree with you. Mine is currently about 10 Oz low. It’s blowing ice cold, mainly because compressor running almost constantly. I know when it gets real hot outside, it won’t be able to keep up. That last can takes a long time on mine, Lol. I also noticed some more than normal noise from the expansion valve, along with some occasional icing of the a/c line. Cause - too low.

 

I am not sure what you fixed. But anytime you open up the ac system you need a replace the ac dryer and orfus tube or the expansion valve if you have it. I recommend you get it done correctly.

 

This is mine at the vent