esradiohead

This is a 135K 1998 Honda Civic EX Coupe

For the last year I have been using this car to commute 22 mi round trip on the 405 in LA, i.e., heavy traffic. Before this it was a 5 mi round trip. Yesterday I was afraid my car was going to catch on fire.

I'm pretty sure I need an idle control valve (this will be second ICV replacement), idle goes was low when air is on. Yesterday air conditioner quit, windshield fogged up, then I noticed hot air from parking brake (I had my windows down). If I need a new air conditioner, it will be the third replacement. Could this all be an ICV problem?

I need one more year and don't want to spend more than 1000$$. It's due for a drive belt but I'm taking my chances.

Thanks,
Debbie

spAdam

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like the heater core sprung a leak.

mk378

Yes. Does it smell like antifreeze inside the car? If that is the case you should not drive because the coolant will leak out leading to likely engine damage from overheating.

The idle bogging down with A/C on could be due to excessive pressure in the A/C high side. The compressor, having to work against that abnormally high pressure, demands more horsepower than the engine is designed to provide at idle. Likely causes for that are:
* Condenser fan doesn't work
* Condenser fins blocked with bugs and debris
* Overcharged with refrigerant or oil

The A/C system has several parts that are usually replaceable individually. It's not a "unit".

spAdam

iTrader: (1)

I skimmed over the AC stuff honestly. Once I saw the part about the steam on the windshield and the heat coming from the center console I stopped reading. Aside from losing coolant and overheating the car, you need to PARK IT until you fix the heater core, as it is unsafe and the leaking, pressurized hot coolant can leak/spray out into the passenger compartment/footwell and burn you badly.

As far as the AC, all of those points in the previous post are true. Another thing to consider is that your 20 year old car may need to have the AC system gone through as a whole. Even with the correct amount of refrigerant and oil in my system and correct pressures, I had the same symptoms as you. I finally got around to replacing the 270k mile compressor, condenser, and expansion valve last week. I completely flushed all of the lines, replaced the drier, and pulled down/charged the system and all is good now. My fuel mileage is back to where it should be and the AC works great again, even sitting in traffic.