Troubleshooting AC system
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,254
Likes: 48
From: South Western PA
Troubleshooting AC system
I read through the stickied thread but I didnt find information for the specific situation i have with my car, and i'm kind of stuck on what to check next.
Here is what i did so far. Over the winter, i replaced the compressor, one bad line, the dryer, the condensor, the evaporator, the expansion valve, and all of the o-rings to the system. I then took it to a local mechanic where they sucked everything left in the system out of it, and added oil and refrigerant. I spoke to the mechanic when i picked the car up and he said he cant get the air to blow cool enough. He said it was cooler, but not where it should be. He also said the pressures were correct for the temps in his shop and he was basically stumped. So i decided to do some research and do some troubleshooting of my own.
I rented a set of gauges from AutoZone, here were the temps, but it was definitely at least 80 in my garage.
I started out by running the car for about 10 minutes with the windows up and the AC on full blast. This was the lowest the temp would go.
So next with the car still running and the AC on, I started feeling the AC lines. The ones that are circled blue were freezing, the ones that are circled red were warm but not hot. This is probably at around 15 minutes of the car running now. So, it looks like the low pressure lines were all freezing and the high pressure lines were warm. I obviously couldn't get to the ones going to the evaporator.
So next I hooked up the gauges.
Here they are with the car running:
And after I shut the car off and left the gauges connected.
I know enough about AC stuff to be dangerous, but I'm trying to learn more. I'm at a loss, it seems like the pressures are right for the given outside temperatures, and the air is cooler than it is outside the car, but it definitely is not as cold as it is supposed to be. The compressor is definitely engaged, but it doesnt cycle on and off like it does in my truck. Two different systems, so maybe this is normal. If anyone has any other ideas of where I should keep looking, please let me know.
Here is what i did so far. Over the winter, i replaced the compressor, one bad line, the dryer, the condensor, the evaporator, the expansion valve, and all of the o-rings to the system. I then took it to a local mechanic where they sucked everything left in the system out of it, and added oil and refrigerant. I spoke to the mechanic when i picked the car up and he said he cant get the air to blow cool enough. He said it was cooler, but not where it should be. He also said the pressures were correct for the temps in his shop and he was basically stumped. So i decided to do some research and do some troubleshooting of my own.
I rented a set of gauges from AutoZone, here were the temps, but it was definitely at least 80 in my garage.
I started out by running the car for about 10 minutes with the windows up and the AC on full blast. This was the lowest the temp would go.
So next with the car still running and the AC on, I started feeling the AC lines. The ones that are circled blue were freezing, the ones that are circled red were warm but not hot. This is probably at around 15 minutes of the car running now. So, it looks like the low pressure lines were all freezing and the high pressure lines were warm. I obviously couldn't get to the ones going to the evaporator.
So next I hooked up the gauges.
Here they are with the car running:
And after I shut the car off and left the gauges connected.
I know enough about AC stuff to be dangerous, but I'm trying to learn more. I'm at a loss, it seems like the pressures are right for the given outside temperatures, and the air is cooler than it is outside the car, but it definitely is not as cold as it is supposed to be. The compressor is definitely engaged, but it doesnt cycle on and off like it does in my truck. Two different systems, so maybe this is normal. If anyone has any other ideas of where I should keep looking, please let me know.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,254
Likes: 48
From: South Western PA
Re: Troubleshooting AC system
Problem fixed thanks to this thread: https://www.team-integra.net/forum/1...-cold-try.html
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integraboi1010
Honda Prelude
10
Sep 10, 2008 03:15 PM