So, i guess i should give a little history of the car first. we haven't had any of these problems until summer came (very very hot). First we encountered ac problems, after replacing the low pressure side line from the condensor to the compressor (leak), the condensor fan, and compressor relay, the ac felt great, but a day or so later we experienced overheating problems. After replacing the radiator, cap, and thermostat the car is not overheating, but now the ac isn't blowing as cold as it once seemed to.

I can turn the ac to max and it seems as if its blowing well, but the air just isn't getting all that cold. it really seems to have trouble once the car has fully reached operating temp and your are sitting at a dead stop in the heat. The fan did go bad initially when we started having ac problems the first time, and was replaced with an aftermarket fan. Im just wondering if this fan isn't pulling enough air through the condenser and this is why the car isn't cooling down. Another thing i notice is that when i push the ac button, it shines bright and green, but if i turn on the head lights, the light gets very faint. it also seems like if the car is really hot that this light also shines very faintly, and sounds like the compressor is cutting on and off every 10 seconds or so (see the fans turn on and off). I thought if you have the ac on at all (we always have it on max) that the fans should stay on, but this isn't the case. so with the car stopped, and ac on max, i hear the fan and compressor cycling on and off and its making the car idle lower than the standard 850 rpm (probably down to 500 rpm) and i can hear this "dunk" noise. im not really sure how to describe it any differently, but almost as if a valve is opening and closing every 10 seconds or so.

I think the first thing i will try to confirm is that this condensor fan is pulling air rather than pushing, but other than that im unsure of where to look next. any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

MM&Y of car would help.

An A/C compressor that turns on and off constantly, [short cycling] is an indication of a low refrigerant charge, in most cases.

A defective A/C pressure switch can also have the same effect.

Poor airflow through condenser will result in high head pressure and poor cooling, if head pressure gets too high, the A/C pressure switch will open, turning off the compressor, also if system has a high pressure blow-off valve, high head pressure would result in refrigerant loss through the blow-off valve.

How does the A/C work when your driving on the highway?

It also sounds like you may have an ECU/ECM problem, the ECU/ECM should "idle up" the engine when A/C compressor is on, [to compensate for the extra load]. 94

 

Sorry, it is a 1994 Acura integra rs.

upon your past suggestion, we replaced the discharge hose which i felt had fixed the problem, but the freon could have slowly leaked throughout this time. before i could enjoy having ac again, the car began to have overheating problems. now that the car isn't overheating, while driving on the highway, ac on max, the car will keep you cool if you have it blowing on you, but the interior never feels like it reaches a comfortable temperature. the interior is black on this car, so it attracts and holds a lot of heat, and there's no tint, so it seems the ac has a lot to work against. how should i approach this? do condensors typically go bad? should i just have the freon removed, replace the condenser and ac pressure switch? or is there a way to test these to verify which is the culprit? thank you again.

 

First thing I would do is confirm the A/C refrigerant charge, I would recover whatever refrigerant is left in the system, flush the system, do a nitrogen pressure check, put the system under vacuum for 1 hour, to insure any moisture is boiled off, [moisture is bad for an A/C system, it prevents proper cooling] then a proper charge of A/C oil, [Ester] and the correct charge of refrigerant, [R134A].

The above is the only sure way to know that the exact amount of A/C oil and A/C refrigerant is in the system, an under-charge or over-charge of either will result in poor cooling.

A simple first test is to confirm airflow is not the problem, using a garden hose run water over the condenser, car running, A/C on max, [recirc on] and a thermometer in a center vent, what is vent temperature?

You said, "The fan did go bad initially when we started having ac problems the first time, and was replaced with an aftermarket fan" was it the condenser fan you replaced?

When A/C is on and the condenser fan turns on, does the rad fan also turn on, [it should]?94

 

i will do as you say and first see what kind of temperatures i can get with the thermometer. i did replace the condenser fan, and both fans do turn on when the ac is turned on. when the thermostat opens and the ac is off, both fans will turn on and off to keep the car at proper operating temp. its after a good 20-30 minutes of driving in the heat when it starts acting funny, where the fans cylcle on and off even with the ac kept on max, (is this the car fighting itself from becoming too cool, so it switches off the fans?), ac light seems very dim, and i hear that "dunk" noise as the fans cycle on and off. thank you again, fcm always there with the help.

 

Does the A/C compressor cycle on and off along with the fans?

Are both the rad and condenser "full size"?

You also said it is a 94 RS, [as in base model] was A/C added to the car? 94