roundout

Howdy,

I have a 2004 Accord 5sp LX that my wife drives. Has about 90k miles on it and we bought is as a CPO (she wanted it) from a Honda dealer. I had a 2002 TDI Jetta until recently and also tinker with an old 300D diesel Mercedes. You could say I'm a DIYer but I'm kinda old school and don't know much on this Honda other than oil changes.

A problem cropped up a couple weeks ago where when the A/C compressor is on in any configuration (recirc, max, temp not set to coldest position), the air out of the drivers side vents blows noticably warmer than the air out of the passenger side vents. The A/C compressor is definitely engaging.

I searched a little bit on this forum and found 2 or 3 threads with similar examples but no conclusive evidence. One thread did reference a DTC diagnostic on the climate control unit - can anybody post that procedure for me to try? I would REALLY like to avoid going to the dealer or anybody else if this is something I can troubleshoot or fix myself. $$$ are tight right now, as everybody can probably sympathize with. There's a junkyard near here with 2 03-05 cars with complete dashes if it turns out to be some sort of motor or door problem. How hard is it to remove the dash on these cars if the problem is under the dash?

THANKS.

BLKFLSH

The only time I've heard about this type of problem, it turned out to be a vent connection under the dash that had come apart. He did mention that someone could have hit it with their foot, causing the disconnect, so it was probably visible from the floorboard. Take a look, you might get lucky.

dtapia

does your car have duel climate control ?
if so the freon level is most likely low. very common on the acura side.

roundout

Nope, it is a single plain-Jane LX climate control. Because one side still blows ice cold air, I suspect the refrigerant is fine, as are relays and electrics to the compressor and fan. It seems to be a blend problem. I don't know if the same occurs with heat selected or not. Guess that's one place to start.

Does anybody know if the doors behave differently with the A/C selected on than if it's off?

BLKFLSH

It's an LX, so I don't think it has dual climate control.

dtapia

ok you can manually control the blend door . you can disconnect the mode motor and move the linkage but if you have some a/c gauges i would check the psi.a much faster check unless you have access to a hds and monitor the sweep percentage to see if its a mode motor or something else.

roundout

Does anybody know the procedure for the HVAC diagnostic check?

dtapia

How to Retrieve a DTC
The audio-HVAC display panel has a self-diagnostic function for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system. To run the self-diagnostic function, do the following:

Turn the ignition switch OFF.

Turn the fan switch OFF.

Set the temperature control dial on Max Cool, then push the mode control button to select Vent.

Turn the ignition switch ON (II).

Press and hold the recirculation control button.

While holding the button down, press the rear window defogger button five times within 10 seconds. The recirculation indicator blinks two times, then the self-diagnosis will begin.

If there is any problem in the system after self-diagnosis is finished, the recirculation indicator will blink Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) 1 through 6. If there are any problems in the evaporator temperature sensor circuit, the A/C indicator will blink DTC 7 or 8.

If no DTC's are found, the indicator will not blink.


Cancelling the Self-diagnostic Function
Turn the ignition switch OFF to cancel the self-diagnostic function. After completing repair work, run the self-diagnostic function again to make sure that there are no other malfunctions.

spoonfedcrx

Can you get a thermometer and measure one vent vs the other? I'm curious to know the difference.

I remember working on an old mans 03-05 accord with a similiar complaint but can't remember what the outcome was.

dtapia

NICE useful info.

spoonfedcrx

As is that. I was asking the op a question in concerns to his problem. I'll stay off your forum from now on. Sorry to upset you sir.

dtapia

hey no big deal was only posting their is a lot of guys on here posting things that dont help the op. your post didn't make any sense so i was not sure of the posting my bad.

spoonfedcrx

Too late. You chased me away. Boo hoo

dtapia

lol

dtapia

so any news on the car ?
any dtc's

yyl04Accord

Howdy:

I have a 04 Accord EX with the exact same problem. Did you ever find out what the problem was? Thank you

dtapia

you should have it checked out it could be low on freon or have another problem.
take it to a shop for repair.

yyl04Accord

I plan to do that. Just wanted to know if there are some setting that I missed to cause that. If it is low on freon, why is it cold on one side not another?
Thank you

dtapia

since the evap is on almost in the center of the dash. just the design of the system but very common complaint.

shad295

I had the same problem with a 2002 LX and it turned out to be a mode door problem.

lol88

I have same problem on 05 Accord LX.
Ran the DTC check and no DTC's are found.

When running the DTC, I hear squeaking noise from moving parts, I am not familiar with the door that was mention in the postings, but I guess the squeaking may be from the door moving. Is the squeaking normal ?

senmun

My 2004 Accord has the exact problem. Driver side blows warm air and the passenger side is fine. Driving the Mustang on hot days to avoid fixing this summer.

ABS light also ON which I see a lot of complaints.

emsman1

I have the same problem with my 03 LX. Where is the "blend door" and how can I access the linkage.

Any updates?

lol88

Finally took my Honda to the shop. Turns out that I had a leak in my condensor. The AC blows from Passenger side to Driver vents.
Since the AC was weak, it was cooler at Passenger side and gets warmer as the air travels further towards the driver side.

emsman1

Can I ask what this service cost?