joenobodyyet

I have a 2008 Honda Civic LX sedan with automatic transmission. I'm no expert but I try to watch youtube videos and read forums to learn how to fix things on my own if possible. I apologize in advance if I mistake anything in my explanation.

My car recently started blowing warmer (not super hot but not cold enough to cool the cabin) air from the air conditioning vents. When my AC is on, my 2 fans (ac fan and radiator fan) are both blowing, and the compressor clutch is spinning. What type of interval is the compressor clutch supposed to have for spinning/not spinning? I checked the 12 volt A/C clutch relay and the compressor relay 7.5 fuse and switched them out. No change. I thought I was maybe low on refrigerant so I added some A/C Pro to the low valve with AC on max and all windows open. Compressor clutch was continuous and the the gauge showed 40 and I read a chart that said at 85 degrees (which was the temperature) it should be 45-55psi. I shook the can and pressed the trigger and it jumped to about 42psi but then the needle on the gauge kept spiking to around 60 psi. The compressor clutch was clicking on and off and made me nervous ha. The compressor clutch would click on and off about 8 times, then continuous spin for 15 seconds, then start doing this again, clicking on and off every 2 seconds, then stay on for 15 seconds. Maybe I have too much refrigerant? Is there an ambient temp/psi chart for 2008 Honda Civics? The gauge shows about 42 but then it spikes to 60.

I left my car sitting off for about 10 mins then started it, blasted the AC, and put the refrigerant back on the low valve and without pressing the trigger, it stayed around 42. The clutch wasn't clicking on and off anymore. When I turn my car off, I can hear a hissing under the hood from the area where the compressor is located.

Things I have noticed: The ac seems to work decently (car gets cold and I'm not sweating) when it's cooler outside. If it's 85 or higher, then I fight the AC. I took my car out at 11am and it was fine, but then around 2pm the AC would go from cool to warmer. It never gets super hot, but it's no where near cold enough to cool the passengers in the car. I think I've noticed it working better (getting slightly colder) when I'm pressing the gas. When I'm at stop signs and stop lights it seems to get warmer than when I was accelerating. However, sometimes it seems colder when I'm just coasting, and warmer when I'm driving up hills. These might not be completely accurate, but I'm doing my best to note everything I notice.

Additionally, probably 5 times in the last 2 weeks, my car has made a hissing spurt noise in the cabin, that seems to be coming from the passenger side. It freaks me out so I turn off my air conditioning. I think it happens when I accelerate going up steep hills. When my car is stopped in idle at a stop sign or stop light, I can hear my compressor clicking on and off, probably every 3 seconds. It seems like it's turning on and off a lot, is this normal? When I drive with the AC on, I can sometimes feel something engage that gives my car more pep, then takes it away.

If the temperature stays below 85 and I don't drive aggressively, the AC seems to be working ok. Anything higher than 85 degrees and I'm lucky if it stays cold. I know it won't be cold in the 90s. There doesn't seem to be a difference in temperature from each of the dashboard ac vents.

I have NOT taken anything apart yet, have NOT taken off the plastic shield covering the radiator and condenser. I looked at what I could, and I did see some shininess (must be liquid) on a red wire on the compressor. The wire is attached to the compressor, between the radiator fan and compressor. It is definitely moist on that red wire. Otherwise I saw no other leaks, yet.

Unfortunately I haven't had an expert check the pressures in the high and low because I was hoping to avoid paying someone to take a look.

Hopefully I didn't forget any details. I appreciate the help!

holmesnmanny

It's possible the condenser has a lot of buildup on it. I would pick up some ac coil cleaner and spray the condenser with some water and then hit it with the foam cleaner, let it sit for a half hour then spray it off and have the system recovered, evacuated and recharged to spec. You can also swap out the receiver as good preventive maintenance. Make sure the evap lines aren't freezing up and if it still isn't working right it's possible the compressor is just worn out.

sumdewd

You said you're hearing hissing noises while driving (Possibly expansion valve), and there's shiny residue near the compressor? You probably overcharged it with the "A/C pro" death kit, and likely triggered the blow out valve to vent refrigerant to keep the system from exploding. That liquid could be A/C oil. These systems are designed only to cycle in high pressure situations, or low evaporator temperatures. There isn't supposed to be a specific interval for cycling until the car is super cold.

At this point the condenser condition needs to be verified, and the whole system needs to be drained, evacuated, and refilled to spec like holmesnmanny stated. You also better hope that A/C 'pro' death kit didn't ruin the system with stop leak and unnecessary additional oil. This is very likely to be a shop visit to a professional since most A/C tools get incredibly expensive. Be sure to show them the can of refrigerant you added since it's possible to ruin their recovery equipment with it. Only with a proper evac and charge can you diagnose the system.

Whoever markets that A/C Pro crap needs to be shot. It's basically saying "Inject urself with cholesterol to stop bleeding liek teh pros do!1!!"

joenobodyyet

Damn. I was reluctant to use the refrigerant with dye, but I ended up trying a little when I couldn't find the issue. Looks like that was a bad idea.

If I want to clean the condenser, can I just remove the top plastic black cover and the front bumper, and then vacuum and spray the condenser while it is still connected? I'll do that soon when I have some time.

Thanks!

joenobodyyet

Someone mentioned: air gap from the clutch plate to the pulley. Think I should look at this?

sumdewd

Air gap will typically let the A/C work until it's warmed up, then it just disengages and stays off while the car is hot. Sometimes it'll never let the unit turn on. The symptoms you stated accurately describe an under or overcharge condition.

You can try removing the cover but I'm not sure how much additional space it'll let you have if it's even worth removing. I haven't worked on one of these in 3 years so I don't remember. You should be able to get the foam cleaner through the grill. If you use anything to scrub or vacuum just make sure you move up and down with the fins. And don't use a pressure washer---It will fold the fins right over.

holmesnmanny

uv dye is not the problem, what sumdewd is saying is those cans have "stop leak" that can damage professional equipment

Tracer dye is specifically listed by the Honda service manual as the approved uv dye for Honda ac systems.

joenobodyyet

Unfortunately I think most of the cans at the store had Stop Leak, and that was in mine :/ Of course I go outside today and check the AC but it's blowing cold. The compressor clutch seemed to be running continuous. When should the compressor kick off? I assume it's supposed to kick off when the car reaches a cool temperature? Does the compressor clutch typically turn on and off after a few seconds when the car is running for a while? I'm not too sure how often it should be turning on and off when the AC is on.

Looks like I should try to have some refrigerant discharged from the system.

holmesnmanny

all parts stores have a base can of r134a refrigerant like this one that has no stop leaks

https://www.walmart.com/ip/R134A-Ref...-Pack/36576061

this is a video of how to correctly evac and recharge


but it seems you should just let a shop do it with their equipment

and yes the clutch should be going off and on after like 15 second or so