I have a 20 year old 4 ton split system on which the air handler and the compressor run but it doesn't produce any cool air. A tech checked the freon pressure and told me that it reads a vacuum on the low side.
I presume that the low side pressure is meant to be lower than the high side to make the refrigerant flow. But does a vacuum reading on the low side mean that it is less than *ambient* pressure, i.e. is there air being sucked into system? Does this mean that there is a leak on the low pressure side (just prior to the pump)? Does it also indicate a severe leak and is there only air in the system now, and no refrigerant? Lastly, is this type of a leak generally fixable or is the unit dead and should be replaced?
I've probably forgotten some critical information to include; will include it as requested, but hopefully this is something to start with.
Thanks in advance.