The A/C in my Accord is starting to take a crap. Late last summer, when turning on the A/C, the compressor would cycle every 4-5 seconds and the system would blow cool air at idle. Presently, the system will slightly cool when going down the street, but when coming to a stop I am presented with warm/humid air.
I connected one of the cheap-o gauges (the ones you get with the R134a cans) to the low side and the pressure looked OK, but to be honest, I do not know very much about A/C systems. In lieu of blowing up a can of R134a or myself, I’d rather take it to someone who knows what they’re doing.
I’d rather not go to the dealership with a container of Vaseline. Can anyone recommend any shops that do good with A/C?
Honestly I just used the A/C Pro on my sister’s car last year and it worked great. Yeah it’s like $40 but it’s worth it over the cheap crappy ones that are sold for much less.
I’d go to a collision shop. They deal with busted AC systems more than anyone. Whenever I had problems with a vehicle in the past I’d go to the collision shop my uncle worked at. They always diagnosed it quickly and fixed it without any problems.
I do A/c for a living and have the service fittings and R143A to charge it.
Now did you add any to the system with the kit you bought? Did it not seem to not help?
There are safety pressure switches that will prevent the system from being able to run if you overcharge - so you can’t really blow it up.
Also there is a low pressure safety switch which will not allow the compressor to turn on if the charge is lost or low. If the charge is low the compressor will short cycle, compressor turns off pressure increases and then it turns on and the pressure drop too far on the low side and it trips the low pressure switch turning off the compressor. Low on charge it will keep going on and off.
Overcharged it can keep going on and off too, but I don’t think you overcharged it, also a dirty condenser would make it go on and off - due to not being able to dissipate the heat making the pressure too high.
Is the condensor coil (in front of your radiator), clean? dirty, clogged?
I had my bumper cover off a few weeks ago to put fog lights in. The condenser was clean… I mean some bugs here and there but nothing bad IMO. I’ll look again tomorrow. From reading on the Accord forum, the general consensus is that these condensers are punctured easily by rocks and stones. I am planning on doing a slight lower grille mod that’ll add some crosshatch plastic to help protect it.
When I put the gauge/can on the system, it did seem to take some refrigerant but the needle did not change at all. Also, on a side note, the A/C stinks. I have tried the spray/foaming cleaners but they never seem to do much besides mask the smell for a week.
I just connected the gauge again and took a video. There is no audio, but the compressor will cycle then turn off immediately. I did not add any refrigerant this time.
Each time the needle dips low into the green is when the compressor clutch kicks.
Yeah let some out, use a thin tipped flat head screw driver and push in the stem of the shrader core, it’s just like a valve stem on a car. Be careful and don’t let the refrigerant get on your skin, it can give you frost bite. When you let off the shrader core stem it should close and no more charge should leak out. If some comes out still just push it in the stem real quick and let it try to re-seat itself. (Depress it for a milli second and let go)
then the check your gauge. Also you should rev it up to 1,500rpm with blower on full speed, and check your readings on that gauge.
@Wahoo are you willing to check out my wifes car and see what is up with the A/C? We would really appreciate it. In Hamburg but willing to come where ever.
I just had mine done at Lancaster auto on walden Ave
Mine had too much pressure it in and some air in the system. They drained it out and filled it and now it’s great !