Hello, I haven't been here for a long long time. (just my car don't have problem^^)

Well, It's a 1994 LS 4DR integra, and the AC doesn't work since last summer. My friend (who does work on cars alot) looked into it and thinks there is a leak within the system.

Here is a few things I notice:

1) The AC do comes on and I do feel cold air blowing thru vents, but the system will stop every 25-30 sec or so, then kicks back on for another 20, and so forth.

2) We measured the pressure in the system, it's the correct amount (forgot the number 25lb?), at the beginning it wasn't, so we end up putting in some coolent in there tho)

3) The AC will accually work on a cooler days (65-70F), but doesn't get cold on a hot day and repeatingly doing #1.

Any suggestions? Should I spend money to bring this to a dealer to look at it to see if it's leaking? I know it's around $500+ to fix the leak

 

Be a gangsta, take out your a/c, ride around with the windows down..

 

Second that. I used to have a 95 RS that the A/C didn't work on. At least not well. I just did the windows option, didn't care much to bother with it.

Iuno if you experience any of these same things, but when I would try to make my AC work, it would work ok for maybe 2 min, then my intake and engine would start making really whiney high-pitch noises, and the fan would be on, but only blowing cool, like a fan, not cold like AC.

my new 01 GSR ac works just fine.
sorry iuno how much help that was. note the 'n00b'

 

If it's just hot, I wouldn't mind. But is HOT and HUMID!

Gosh, I damn hate NE weathers...

 

I'm in the southeast sorta (VA), and it was raining off and on here today, humid as hell.

the a/c on my teg works, but when its hot, the belt makes this god awful screeching noise when I step on the gas, but after a few seconds it stops. Normally I don't use it though, rolling down the windows is good enough for me.

 

well if your friend works on cars, then tell him to charge the system with dye in it.. the system will charge up for a few days and the air will stay cold..once it starts blowing hot air again.. the dye will leak from the system and you'll find your leak. You cannot find a leak without dye in the system.

Either way, if you have a leak in the system, it will be pricey.. your going to pay for whatever part is leaking plus recharging the system a couple of times. If the compressor is leaking, your buying a reciever/dryer with it.. parts alone will cost 700 bucks.

Check and see if the compressor clutch engages on the compressor when you turn the A/C on.. then start suspecting a leak. You may just need the clutch and a coil.

 

buy my ac then ! it works great ! I'll sell it to you for 140 shipped.....pm me if you are interested !

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by loud_whispers &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...You cannot find a leak without dye in the system...if you have a leak in the system, it will be pricey...your going to pay for whatever part is leaking...plus recharging the system a couple of times...</TD></TR></TABLE>

I disagree with this. You can find a leak. Sometimes you can hear it, sometimes you can see it. It matters with location and how big.

I had 2 leaks. Total cost $20.00. Did not replace anything, just repaired. There's shops that will fix a leaking line, which was my problem. OR it could be a service port, but that's just replacing the schrader valve. $3 max.

Recharging the system is not costly. I charged mine total 3 (or 4) times. First time, when I found it was empty, start of summer, service port was leaking. Went to a local shop that works with fixing tubing, they put in a new schrader and tested it to like 30x normal pressure. I asked what the damage was, he said just bring me business. Not a problem. Put the tubing back in, charged it, and found the second leak. Really bad under the intake, where it was rubbing against the tubing. Took that part out, brought it back to them, they did their welding and such, tested it, $20. Put it back in, charged it, now I have A/C again. So I guess, total cost after refrigerant too, $30 and some time and labor, which I don't mind. I like learning more about my car.

Leaking tubing shouldn't be a problem. Compressor and other components may be a different story. If my condenser or evaperator were to leak I would simply replace and recharge. Compressor I'm not sure. My wife's GM when the compressor leaked at an expensive shop was $600, including replacing the receiver/dryer, and they had no interest financing.

Need the a/c in FL.

 

Thanks for all the great info.

Ok, here is the update that I tested out from yesterday:

Tested the system for leaks after I charged LAST SUMMER! The pressure is on the low side, same as last summer after we filled it. Turn on the A/C (70F outside) for 1 hour or so, not a problem. A/C was cold and working. Didn't do #1 as I listed above.

But like last summer, when I do need it what is really hot outside, the car will start doing #1 and the a/c won't be cold... Any ideas? I know for sure it isn't leaking since it's the same pressure as last year.


Modified by foxfai at 6:34 PM 6/10/2005

 

I would suggest you take it to your dealership and have them diagnose what the real problem is. Maybe one of your A/C components is going or gone.
When I purchased my DC used last year, the A/C didn't work. The place where I bought the car, recharged the system with dye in it. So far, my A/C is working, but I find the air is not as cold as the air in my DA. I think the DC is known for that.
Personally I would definitely have a shop do a diagnostic on your A/C. Up here in Toronto, the temp. is 38'C with the humidex and we have a heat alert, smog advisory and humidex advisory. It's been like this all week. So, it's days like this where you want your A/C to work properly. Good luck.

 

I would second taking it to a dealer, if you were here I'd tell you to bring your car into the dealership I work at (FL. Courtesy Acura ). But honestly I've had my ac compressor taken out & its not really a problem. I mean its humid here 2! But hey **** it, plus its a lil less juice gettin sucked 4rm the a/c (& I stress LIL).

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 2genTegSlymm &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would second taking it to a dealer, if you were here I'd tell you to bring your car into the dealership I work at (FL. Courtesy Acura ). But honestly I've had my ac compressor taken out & its not really a problem. I mean its humid here 2! But hey **** it, plus its a lil less juice gettin sucked 4rm the a/c (& I stress LIL).</TD></TR></TABLE>

i third would say take it to the dealer.
but if the guy is worried about money. then it's going to be costly.
We charge 1.5 hours to recharge the a/c system at 90$ an hour.

You can't "hear" the leak.. If it's that big of a leak as to where you can "hear" the refridgerant spray out.. by the time you noticed the air wasnt working, their would be nothing left in the system. You can't tell if the schraeder valves are leaking by looking at it, unless it's bubbling. It's best to diagnose a leak with DYE!

Refridgerant is transparent.. you cannot see it unless dye is mixed in the system. If the schraeder valves are a little wet, that could be from when someone recharged it the last time..a bit of refridgerant will lay on the schraeder valve.

you need DYE to diagnose the PROPER way.
and it will be expensive, not all shops will diagnose your A/C system for cheap in return of you bringing them business. It's not how it works.

The dealership, will use DYE to diagnose your leak if there is one. I do it everyday of my life people..especially now that summer is here.

good luck.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by loud_whispers &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You can't tell if the schraeder valves are leaking by looking at it, unless it's bubbling......not all shops will diagnose your A/C system for cheap in return of you bringing them business. It's not how it works...</TD></TR></TABLE>

After I charged it and took the connector off I could hear it coming from the valve.

This shop doesn't diagnose, it fixes pipes and tubing. I diagnosed and brought in the bad tubing, in the first case it was the valve itself, which was very simple, the schrader valve. Took all of 2 minutes, and he said just bring him business. For a small "mom and pop" type place, yeah, that's how it works. That's how you get loyal customers, and the best kind of advertising, word of mouth.

Went home, charged it, and I had a large leak, so you could hear and SEE refrigerant bubbling and frothing out. Made everything slippery in the area. This was just at the start of spring, when I really started to need a/c, and it hadn't been used during the winter, so the small leak had time to become big.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

I wasn't trying to start a pissing contest, just share MY experience, so hopefully someone else can benefit.

Go ahead and take it in. Obviously it's a weird problem, like the condenser is fouled or something. Like it's not cooling the refrigerant enough in the hotter temperatures.

Maybe check that, to see if there's something blocking it, or if it's fins are crushed.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by yrethguad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

After I charged it and took the connector off I could hear it coming from the valve.

This shop doesn't diagnose, it fixes pipes and tubing. I diagnosed and brought in the bad tubing, in the first case it was the valve itself, which was very simple, the schrader valve. Took all of 2 minutes, and he said just bring him business. For a small "mom and pop" type place, yeah, that's how it works. That's how you get loyal customers, and the best kind of advertising, word of mouth.

Went home, charged it, and I had a large leak, so you could hear and SEE refrigerant bubbling and frothing out. Made everything slippery in the area. This was just at the start of spring, when I really started to need a/c, and it hadn't been used during the winter, so the small leak had time to become big.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

I wasn't trying to start a pissing contest, just share MY experience, so hopefully someone else can benefit.

Go ahead and take it in. Obviously it's a weird problem, like the condenser is fouled or something. Like it's not cooling the refrigerant enough in the hotter temperatures.

Maybe check that, to see if there's something blocking it, or if it's fins are crushed.</TD></TR></TABLE>


well, that's a really **** pour way of diagnosing. It's not too often a schraeder valve goes bad. 95% of the time it's the condensor or compressor. If the fins are crushed it doesnt mean it's leaking. the only way you can tell if the condensor is leaking is if you insert DYE in the system and see the DYE shed across the condensor. their is so many different things that can cause a/c not to work. hoping that the schraeder valve goes bad isnt a very likely fix IMO.

It's good to share your experience, but telling the kid to diagnose it himself without the proper tools or equipment is obsurd. He should just do it the right way, all your doing is going to cause him bigger headaches and money.

good luck.

 

hey foxfai im from boston too and i can attest to our horrible weather. the dealers here suck - they will take u for ur money. PM me and ill put u in touch with some people that can help u out for a little cheaper.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by loud_whispers &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well, that's a really **** pour way of diagnosing...If the fins are crushed it doesnt mean it's leaking...hoping that the schraeder valve goes bad isnt a very likely fix IMO...It's good to share your experience, but telling the kid to diagnose it himself without the proper tools or equipment is obsurd. He should just do it the right way, all your doing is going to cause him bigger headaches and money.

good luck. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I was recharging the a/c to USE it, not as a way to diagnose. I just so happened to find a leak that way.

fox's a/c isn't leaking, so the purpose of the crushed fins isn't to find a leak, it's just causing the condenser to not do it's job as well in hotter weather. Why are you so focused on my schrader valve? That was MY story, this guy doesn't have a leak!

I'm not telling anyone to do anything. All that I do is share my experience, and give my recommendation(s). Of course he should do it the right way. The right way may be a little different from one person to another. Some people like to do their own repairs, and others like to give other people money to do it for them. Usually, when someone asks a recommendation on here, they want to do it themselves. Usually.

Going from thread to thread saying "Take it to a shop." isn't very helpful. Everyone knows they can do that.

So what's the deal? Seriously. Are you just upset because I disagreed with you? You said a few things that weren't true in my case. No big deal. We can agree to disagree, but we don't need to go back and forth about it.

 

Ya, like I said, I have tested the system for leakage and it is still at 25~26 pounds of pressure while running the A/C, just isn't that cold.

I brought it to Madis few days ago to flush/Fill the system again, still no luck on fixing it.

Anyways, thanks for all the suggestions. I am not willing to pay a couple of hundred for someone to fix this, not to mention it can me a major component replacement which can cause thousands. &gt;.&gt;

One more question, the air start to smells a little funny when I only turn on fan:

Not turning on heat
Not when I had cold and a/c on (even a/c isn't working)
Not when I had heat and a/c on

Doesn't matter if it's circulation or outside air, the air just smells from something, any thoughts to this?

 

Did the fan smell weird before you did all these tests? It could be after what you did and also what Madis did, that when you turn on the fan, it's clearing out what was done to it. I'm only guessing. I'm sure a more knowlegable person on board may know. But if I were you, I wouldn't sit in the car with the fan running while it still smells bad. That's bad for your health. Maybe turn on the fan to the highest, roll the windows down and get out of the car and let the fan blow the bad air out. Hopefully it'll be OK after that. If not, then you really should consider taking your car to a good shop and have them see what's going on.
I for one can't live without A/C and personally I would get it fixed. We get temps. around 110F' up here, so A/C is very much needed up here. Good luck.

 

The air has been like this since last summer, just gotten worst this year. And it isn't after what I did or midas did. Because when I have heat on, it doesn't smells, so I won't notice this during winter. Only when like spring comes and I don't need to turn on a/c, that's when I get his smell when I turn on my fan. (No a/c or heat)

Edit: I try blowing it away, doesn't work either. Is there a filter somewhere that i can clean or change from outside?


Modified by foxfai at 9:23 PM 6/22/2005

 

I'm not sure if there's something you can change from the outside that would help. I recall when my A/C didn't work last year, when I turned on my fan it really stunk! It turned out to be the condensor which I had replaced and now everything appears to be ok, no smell. This is in my DA, but I'm sure it's no different than the DC. After winter when you turn on your fan, it will smell bad because you haven't used it in 5 mths., but it should only last for maybe a day or so, then after that it should be fresher air. I'm assuming it's the leak that's causing the continuous smell.

 

Ewwww, ok maybe I will look into the condensor. Is it hard to change? &gt;.&gt;

 

Condensor or evaporator? Condensor is in front of the radiator. Evaporator is in the dash.