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SMART — not very

The first clue you should be aware of since my experience with this Charger is fully explained in the first Troubleshooting Guide’s FAQ: “ISSUE/CONDITION - Green light does not light after adding 2+ cans (more than 24 OZ) of R-134a refrigerant (only White Light lit); POSSIBLE CAUSE - AC System Leak OR TXV A/C System with rapidly cycling compressor; REMEDIES/ACTION - Check for leaking oil on refrigerant lines & A/C components. Seek Professional Help. Check vent temperature. If temperature cold, stop charging.” This last sentence is in my opinion the first clue that this Charges isn’t so SMART. I order it simply because I wanted an easy way to check systems and to dispense refrigerant. Was I sadly disappointed. Both vehicles I own, a 97 Merc and an 07 PT Cruiser which what I believe have perfectly working A/C systems failed. The Charger would only register the White Light — Low Charge. After connecting a can of R-134a refrigerant I found the Charger’s connecting tube almost to short to allow a can of refrigerant to be held correctly. I also found that trying to charge the systems of both vehicles that little if any refrigerant was dispensed after 15+ minutes on each vehicle by squeezing the unit’s trigger in 15-second increments. Little if any of the fluid was dispensed since the can still seemed full even though some fluid must have because the can of refrigerant did get cooler on certain tries. I know that both car’s cooling temperature here in central Texas blows cold air down to 45-50 degrees since I keep a thermometer on the air vents. I should therefore know that both systems in these vehicles work efficiently and correctly and the Charger simply does not live up to it’s advertisement. I just wish I had weighed the Charger and can of refrigerant on my postal scale before connecting it to the A/C system so I could later weight it again to ascertain just how much fluid was dispensed, if any. If you should purchase this Charger be aware that the BLACK button is the “On and Off”. I didn’t read anywhere that this button was anything but “power” which is printed on the device — at first I expected the button to glow or something. I would not recommend this device.

Update (2/7/2012): This item is currently on sale here for the lowest price I’ve seen.

The featured review for this product, Interdynamics AFK-12 Arctic Freeze Auto Air Conditioning Smart Charge Recharge Kit - Pack of 1 Automotive, was written by Bill Gaston.

The average rating for this item is 0.5 out of 5 stars, according to 2 reviews.