ziljin

Hey Everyone,
Been reading along for a while now.. I've been tryin to fit my a/c back into a h22 swapped delsol.. I went to charge today. My vac held @ 28 for 48hrs. When filling I'm not getting any colder. The compressor is spinning (outter), not cycling on and off tho. My pressure after a can and a half of r-134 is high:75 low:40.. am I over charged? The car was bogging a bit while driving.
Any ideas are greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Jeff

Prof007

2000 Civic EX

My AC was not performing too well (air was not too cool).

I decided to try using a charge kit before consulting this guide (first mistake).
I used R-134a, no added oil, leak detection, or leak fixing agents.
Checked the low side pressure while system was running... had about 25 PSI. added Freon, now at about 42 PSI while running.

Now when i use my AC to the point when it gets cool, it starts to cut in and out (stays on for 2 seconds, and then cuts out for two seconds) over and over. It kinda seems like it also matters in what RPM range i am in... 1kRPM, seems fine, 3kRPM and it seems to cut in an out more often than 1k.

I'm not going to run the AC until i get a chance to flush it out and properly service it, but i would like to know someone's opinion on the current matter, in case its something i can fix quickly before i go on a 10 hour drive this weekend.

jnjpnt

Prof007 you are overcharged. I took my honda del sol to a shop to have them vacuum my system and put freon in. This is after i replace my compressor condensor and drier. I got it back and mine was doing the same thing. It would loose power more than normal to the wheels and would cycle on and off while driving. I thought i had a bigger problem so i took it to honda dealer and they said it was overcharged. The compressor had way to much compression to the point that it put a drag on the drive belts when the compressor kicked in, hence the lack of power to the wheels. It ran fine when idling, just not when i drove. So $98 later it runs fine and blows 45 degree . I hope this helps.

Prof007

It does! mine also bogs down the engine quite a bit. I post what the results end up with.

drumminforev

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jnjpnt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Prof007 you are overcharged. I took my honda del sol to a shop to have them vacuum my system and put freon in. This is after i replace my compressor condensor and drier. I got it back and mine was doing the same thing. It would loose power more than normal to the wheels and would cycle on and off while driving. I thought i had a bigger problem so i took it to honda dealer and they said it was overcharged. The compressor had way to much compression to the point that it put a drag on the drive belts when the compressor kicked in, hence the lack of power to the wheels. It ran fine when idling, just not when i drove. So $98 later it runs fine and blows 45 degree . I hope this helps. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Why pay $98 to have them charge it man? You could save yourself $50 and have some fun doing it yourself.

Prof007
Its very possible that you are overcharged... don't ever charge your AC system without reading the pressures before, during, and after... unless you wanna BLOW ur compressor apart and spend $500 on a new one!

By the way guys, pics are back up. My server was just down yesterday...all good now.

Prof007

I am happy to report that with a proper vacuum and re-charge, my AC is now working just fine.

Now i have the proper gauges to check my friend's and family's AC

geneeunit

anyone in CA want to help a man out with his A/C?

PM me.

hndacvk95

Hello!

I am a PRIME example of why people with little to NO knowledge of A/C recharging, should even TRY!!!


about 2 years ago I lived in FLA, and my 95' Honda Civic's AC had been working at a decent level, lets say around 80% chill comfort? until one day it was almost blowing out warm air with a slight feeling of cool air mixed in, so I went to the AC MAN, and he could not figure out what the problem was since the compressor engaged fine and he found NO leaks (threw his DYE checking).


He finally got the AC to again blow out cool air after adding a little more R12 to my R132a? system....not sure what he said the reason was, but F*** it, IT WORKED! and that was all I cared about at the time!!!


I am now in S.C. where it is now pretty damn hot this summer, and the AC has again stopped working, despite the clutch working, and my gauges saying I am pretty much FULL of refrigerant!


Well being in a different state, I no longer have a trusted AC man, and decided to get a R134a kit from Wal-Mart. I added the refrigerant correctly I believe, and yet there is still NO COLD AIR?

any reasons why I still hear the hissing sounds under my dash when I shut down the car, and also hear the clutch engaging, yet nothing but warm air comes out of the vents??? it also feels like the vents are NOT blowing out nearly as hard as BEFORE I added the NEW refrigerant, like they are obstructed from blowing out in some way!?


I am cooking to a crisp over here and would LOVE to hear that I might have only a SMALL problem here, and NOT the dreaded 600$$$ problem that usually seems to be the case for folks like me with NO DAMN MONEY!!! lol


Please HELP if you can?


Thanks,


Paul

aalb1

bump because this is off of my recent topics list

donotswitchoff00

lol good tips!!! but that was my civic that was stolen and now its black??? lmao jk

jackkrippter

i have a 92 eg
and i installed an ac system from another car. i am wonder in front of the evaporator facing the seats is a connector with three wires. on the car harness is a connector with only two wires. has anyone run into this problem

Hippo393

Hello drummin',

For the last year and a half I've followed this epic thread. Great info and great pics! Some thoughts and questions....

At LONG last I found a willing soul at AutoZone's main hub to rent the vacuum pump, but it was more of "I bought it and returned it" rather than renting it. Yes it can be done with alot of convincing and fenagle-ing. That was a year ago. Still having problems with AC now. Since then I've bought my own (comparable) vacuum pump and just recently replaced the compressor, condenser, drier, and expansion valve in the 'ol 1992 Civic LX sedan.

Dang the problems I've been thru!!! Could there be inherent probs with the '92 design? I've since converted to 134-A and now have to wait about 10 minutes for the AC vent temp to reach 60* in approximately 90* temp. This sux because my commute here in Charlotte is all but 15 minutes, so by the time I'm home I'm already soaking wet with my own dang sweat, lol....All meanwhile the AC system near the evap makes occasional clarinet/tea kettle noises like it's going to blow up or throw up. Thankfully it hasn't, ha ha, but it still makes inconsistent weird noises....anyone heard of that??

Not sure why the delay in cooling or noises. A 16-hr post-vacuum pump pull had resulted in no return to zero, so there's a solid vacuum. Purged the line of air before filling with 134 also. The EVAP is clear of leaves & crap, and every stinkin' O-ring was replaced and oiled. Just wish the AC would be cool ASAP, but it's not. Oh BTW the system was well flushed whilst open. Now it does get down to ~42* at approx 80* at night, but that doesn't do much good whan it's 96* and sunny during the day.

Honestly I've read thru this thread ad nauseum and have filled the necessary components with 2 oz, 3 oz, and 2 oz of Ester 100. Any thoughts on why it takes forever to cool?? Is it the '92 r-12 design? Or DFO? On my '97 Camry, the AC starts to get cold in about 10 seconds after cranking the engine......this is obviously what I'd like in the Civic instead of the usual 10 minutes. Please advise. Thanks!!

jim9

Modified by jim9 at 5:01 PM 8/12/2008

jdmwhore747

Hippo:

I've had the same problem of my a/c system not cooling even when it worked properly. I have a '94 EX coupe (black w/ 20% tint) w/ r-134 that I sunk $1200 into the a/c in the summer of '06. I had a new compressor, drier, and lines installed (all Honda parts). It worked okay....meaning it was fine while driving on the interstate or at night, but during the day around town the a/c had a hard time keeping up. Unfortunately, I did not have a thermometer to put at the air vents. Last summer ('07), the a/c started blowing warm air so I took it back to the same shop where they discovered a leak in the evaporator and told me it would cost $800 to fix. Needless to say, I've been sweating my *** off.

Through reading your post and drumminforev's thread, I believe the '94-'95 a/c systems are "under-designed" for r-134 refrigerant since it sounds like drumminforev's '93 r-12 system is cold. In other words, since the general consensus is that r-12 is colder than r-134 and it appears the components of the system remained the same size despite the refrigerant type switch in '94, I think that replacing all components and recharging my '94's a/c would not make it cool enough to justify spending the money.


ANY THOUGHTS/COMMENTS would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!

jdmwhore747

bump for any other thoughts in regards to condesor size relative to coldness of air.

I'd really like to keep my civic as long as possible and am still trying to determine whether its worth sinking $ into the a/c system or just grinning and bearing it....it's damn hot in Louisiana.

thanks

r1whore

drumminforever-

i have a 97 hatch with 95 gsr swap using a D-series compressor. i took your tutorial and rented a vaccume to pull the lines to 27psi. i closed the low side (blue line) and turned off the compressor. the guage on the low side started to go back down to 0hg psi.

question 1: this means i have a leak correct?

i went ahead and charged the system anyway with 1 1/2 cans of r134a and it is semi cold. however when i give it gas it gets cold

question 2: why is it when im in neutral or idle parking it is not cold and when i give it gas or moving its cold?

drumminforev

I think we talked on the phone.

1. If its not going negative PSI, theres either a bad connection on the vacuum pump/lines or you have a major leak in your system.

2. If you charged it without going to -29psi or close, then you have air/moisture in your lines, as my tutorial so clearly explains. Therefore, your ac does not work when the compressor is spinning slowly (at an idle). When you rev, it spins the compressor, and makes it slightly colder.

When you drive, the same thing happens but its probably even more cold since theirs air blowing on the condenser fins.

So fix that leak, pull a PROPER VACUUM and recharge. Don't waste your money charging a system with a leak. It's pointless.

That should answer it for you

Peace

P.S. It's gettin' hot already?

EK_Addict

[QUOTE=drumminforev;37168826]I think we talked on the phone.

1. If its not going negative PSI, theres either a bad connection on the vacuum pump/lines or you have a major leak in your system.

2. If you charged it without going to -29psi or close, then you have air/moisture in your lines, as my tutorial so clearly explains. Therefore, your ac does not work when the compressor is spinning slowly (at an idle). When you rev, it spins the compressor, and makes it slightly colder.

When you drive, the same thing happens but its probably even more cold since theirs air blowing on the condenser fins.

So fix that leak, pull a PROPER VACUUM and recharge. Don't waste your money charging a system with a leak. It's pointless.

That should answer it for you

Peace

nice write up!

one comment

No A/C In The Summer Time Make N*gga Wanna Die So Hard - Rick Ross

buknakyd

I've got a 98 honda civic ex. The a/c compressor wont turn on when you turn the a/c on. The only thing that comes on is the electric fan for the cooler unit. I'm ready to get the a/c going so I was wondering what I need to check. I'm hoping that the compressor isn't bad. I just picked up a set of gauges from harbor freight. So any help would be greatly appreciated. There isn't any refrigerant in the system as it stands. This is my wife's old car and has been sitting around.

Thanks
Buk

buknakyd

I was able to pull a vacuum on the system, but it only holds for about 3 hours. Does that sound like it's the compressor since it's leaking like that?
How do you diagnose the compressor or what would be the next avenue for diagnosing the system?

golfprowanabe

If the vaccuum does not hold, then it could be anywhere within the system. Usually somewhere at the hose connections or shrader valve. Obviously you kept the hoses on while testing so the shrader valve were covered over. Any of the o-rings, and there are many, could be the cause of the leak, but remember it's usually at the hose connections from one part to another. I would pressurize the system somewhat, take soapy water, and alot of patience, and try and track it down. Look for those bubbles forming!

golfprowanabe

I do have an interesting one for you guys. I've got no leaks, low side pressure is about 35psi, high side is about 190psi, and maybe 24 ounces in the system. It blows colder than ambient air, but only about 10-15 degrees better. Obviously the clutch on the compressor is engaging with the pressure differential, but I don't get why it's luke warm. Have any of you had issues with the Thermo Switch/Thermostat? It's the sensor connected to the fins of the evaporator. I'm wondering if this sensor could be bad and not allowing it to get cold enough. Any thoughts?
By the way, it's a new evaporator and expansion valve.

golfprowanabe

Well it's not the thermo switch. All that does is engage or disengage the clutch on the compressor when the temp reaches outside temp limits. As I let the AC run, the clutch was engaged full time, but yet the temperature didn't drop to where it should! I don't get it.

aalb1

So I think I need a new orifice tube... PLEASE CONFIRM!

1998 Jeep Cherokee R134a
Low: 30 PSI (Should be 32-45 psi)
High: 320 PSI (should be 200-260 psi)
Output: 70*F (should be 35*F-45*F)
Ambient: 80*F

The orifice tube is located in one of the lines, and when the compressor is running this line turns into an icicle and frosts up! Kind of like this picture even though it's not the actual one:

Now the orifice tube in located in that line and if I do need to replace it the whole line needs to be replaced.

Please confirm.

JarvisW

Well, I think he said that means its clogged. So yeah, replace it would be my simi-educated guess.

I would like to know what a 98 Jeep should be at. My friends pressure was 60-450 because he just dumped a can in, and didnt use gauges. So I dropped it down to around 25-250 and it started cycling on and off. I added whats left of my old can back and got it to almost 30-260ish and it started running again.

Its still not too cold, because he had a leak, and just added the can of freon, instead of evacuating the system, and thats why I had to relieve some of the pressure, but I'd like to know where to find the specs when we do it right, and this is the only car site I use, as all I have is a Del Sol lol.

Thanks for any help!