imbest123

i bought a 1994 civic coupe and the a/c never worked from day 1. ive tried filling up the refrigerant, without flushing the system, and the pressure on the bottle kept rising. at first i thought it was the nozzle so i tried it on my rsx and it worked fine. i did find this diagram but i just want to know what i can possibly troubleshoot. for any flushing of the system, i can go to my friend who has his a/c license (or whatever it is thats required, idk what its called) and well just rent an autozone pump and flush it out.

what could it possibly be? the compressor? i know the question is vague but i dont know much about this and im very willing to learn. i am comfortable working with a car so dont get me wrong but air conditioning is a completely different topic.

95soul

Probably the compressor, thats usually the first thing to go.

imbest123

thats what im assuming as well but would that cause the build of pressure in the refill bottle? the pressure kept climbing and climbing

imbest123

bump

Sr420Det

I'd try changing the dryer and refilling it

RICKSAUTOMOTIVE

you know that book autozone has on ac repair in thei servie manual section (aisle 5) LOL thats a great book for the beginner ac tech. you may even be able to make some cash if you get a license soon and help your buddy. but i would start with that book. i gaveit to a junior lube tech here and he couldnt tell you crap about whats wrong with the engine but he stayed out of the way for a day with that book and the next day he was trying to check out ac systems on cars here. no ****-hes the guy i call now when i have advanced ac questions on customer cars. i dont even do ac work here but to be sure its not a compressor or somethin i can replace and sub-out the evac-leak test-and recharge-i call him. he still dont know how to wrench on motors but an ac guy LOL

imbest123

would make sense if its clogged enough that its blocking the pipe of airflow. ill definitely try this out first!
oh wow i didnt even knew this existed. ill check this out as well. the only thing thats stopping me from working on it right now is that there is still pressure built up in there and i dont wanna bug my friend unless i know imma work on it.

if anyone else has any other recommendations ill definitely consider them

imbest123

bump

imbest123

ok the compressor definitely turns on. is the #1 possibility still the filter? is there any other reason why the pressure would be rising when i try and refill it?

rickkane

Has all the refrigerant been charged out of the bottle?

TheJGB3

The restriction could be clogged/broken expansion valve (aka oriface tube).