DougNuts

Here's the story. The lady I bought the car from sold it because the air didn't work.

She spent $800 trying to fix it, $400 on her own and $400 at a shop.

Should I try to buy parts and fix it myself like she tried, or should I just take it to a shop and see what they say? I'm lost on A/C systems, but I'm not rich either. What do you guys recommend?

It's a 93 Dx hatch.

EL Vap133

Take it to the shop so they can find the reason it's not working, leak, bad compressor, etc. Unless you have the tools and know how to do it yourself.

DougNuts

I'll call the lady I bought it from, she said that either the compressor or condensor was bad. I'll try to find out from her which one it was.

The car had a leak test done last year. I assume that since they didn't fix it, one of those 2 have gone bad.

RyanEJ8

It sounds like you're not that experienced with A/C. With that said, you should take it to a professional.

HellbillY

you really did not say what it was doing. does it flat just not work? does the compressor come on at all? the compressor should click when you hit the ac button. can you see any visible damage as in broken lines or the such. most shops during the summer months have ac specials going on. also if it is an r12 system you might consider retrofitting the system to r134. the price of r12 right now is almost 80 dollars for 12 oz. some cars take almost 2 oz.

RyanEJ8

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HellbillY &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> the price of r12 right now is almost 80 dollars for 12 oz. some cars take almost 2 oz. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Well that's not too bad then, that's only $13.33 to fill it up.

goodfella732

Take it out. You don't need A/C.

Eg Smurf

Change out your R12 system into a r134. And if my buddies say that its illegal to recharge the r12. Becuase of all the pollution it has.

RyanEJ8

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by l0utkastl &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Change out your R12 system into a r134. And if my buddies say that its illegal to recharge the r12. Becuase of all the pollution it has.</TD></TR></TABLE>

It's only illegal if you're not certified to do it.

ih8danoles

Hey mine doesn't work either. It was supposed to be fixed last summer, and they said I just had a leak and all the refrigerant was out. Now it's broken again, so either they didn't fix the leak and just re-charged it, or something else is wrong with it. I think it's just a leak because I can put 2 cans of the r-134 stuff and my a/c will be cool for about a week. Never gets COLD though, like my friends civic.

Emong3

The A/C system is very complicated. When you say id doesn't work, do you mean everything does not work including fan, copmressor, indicator lights and condenser fans?
The way you have explained it, looks like you do not know much about A/C. Take it to a professional you know that will not mess up your car.

Here's a tip.

1.The refrigerant is acidic, which means it eats metal in time. Thus the part where damage to the system (leaks) occur is at the liquid side of the A/C system - the evaporator. Not the condenser coz the refrigerant is at its gaseous state on the condenser upto the pipes before it enters the expansion valve. Yu can check the water drain below the car. If its oily and dirty, I'm pretty sure its the evaporator.

2. You may also check the sight glass on the receiver dryer. you should see the refrigerant flowing. If you see bubbles, you have to recharge the system and inpect for leaks.

3.Check the compressor too if it is running. You can see the magnetic clutch enggage.

Good luck!

98k20ex

if it's the condensor or the compressor, get rid of ur a/c. even though you may not be running your a/c, you still lose power spinning the compressor clutch.

DougNuts

I wouldn't be asking about fixing the A/C if I didn't want it. I need the A/C to work for when I'm in a shirt and tie and it's 95* outside.

I'm about to go outside and see what's going on with her. Is there any visual way to check if there is pressure in the system or will I need a tester for that? I do not think the compressor is clicking on, so that could be the problem.

The car had a dye test last year, so I assume all of the leaks were fixed at the time. Like I said, it had $800 worth of work done last fall.

You guys are right, I don't know jack about A/C systems, but I don't want to take it somewhere if it's as simple as bolting on a new compressor.