Liquid line temp?

[Learning2]

Is there a rule of thumb about the temperature of the liquid line (the smaller of the 2) that enter the compressor when the AC is running? For example - it should be ambient or a little above ambient?
I have a York split system.

What if your liquid line is hot to the touch and hot air is coming out of the outdoor unit fan.

[TECH X]

Yes it should be hotter then the ambient air.  A good rule of thumb, is your discharge saturation temperature should be aprroximately 30F higher then your ambient temperature.  If your ambient is 85F, I would expect a discharge saturation temperature of around 115F, which means your high side pressure for R-22 would be around 245PSIG.  That liquid line temperature subtracted from your discharge saturation temperature, is how you determine your subcooling.  You should be calculating your superheat as well.

You may need to clean your outside coil, it may be causing the higher then normal liquid line temp.
It is normal to have hot air discharging from the top of your outdoor unit.  That is where the transfer of hot air to cooler ambient air takes place, much like how the evaporator absorbs heat into the cooler indoor coil.

[acefurnacefixer]

Also when the cycle is at the beginning the tempature will be higher then at the end.

[Fitter597]

And if your liquid line temp is below outdoor air temp you could have a internal plugged condenser coil

[HVACJOE]

If its lower than outside temp its just overcharged. Bascially if its hot, shut the breaker to the unit off and slowly run your hose through the fins without bending them to clean the condenser coil out then you'll be fine, it should just feel warm, 20 or max 30 degrees warmer than outside air temp.

[ProTemp]

Sounds like a dirty condenser coil...lol....Whats your amb air and your system pressures with sub-cooling and super-heat readings are? Also take an amp draw and compare it to the RLA rating plate. Delta T across the condenser coil will help you also. These are very important things to have prior to asking for help.....just my 2 cents