Hey, I have a 96 Accord Ex with the vtec. Just last weekend my air conditioning stopped working. There are a few funny things going on and I thought someone might have a suggestion. First of all my battery terminals are pretty corroded but I don't know if that has anything to do with it. Also, I took a long trip and rode with the ac on even though it wasn't working and my temp guage stayed at exactly half way but usually it's just under half way and once I noticed I shut off the ac and it went back down to just under halfway. Also, if I take just a 5 minute trip somewhere and go inside, when I get back out to the car the fan is still running like the car is really hot but the temp guage is normal. Any thoughts? Thermostat? When you turn the ac on you can feel it like normal and the rpms drop a little just like normal but it wont blow cold. Heat works though. Sorry this is so long but any help is appreciated.

 

Does the condensor fan come on with the compressor? Does your car have a dryer with a clear sight glass on top? If so look at this while the compressor is running. If you see bubbles it's low on refrigerant. If it's absolutely clear your charge is fine and you could have a plugged expansion valve. Hard to tell without putting guages on it.

 

The battery cables will become an issue if you don't address them, but they have no bearing on your a/c problem.
Check to see if the second fan (condensor cooling) comes on with the a/c turned on. I suspect you may have more than one thing going on here, but check the fan operation first.

here's a picture of the fans;
http://www.hondaautomotivepart...81%29

P

 

Rebuilt my AC this past summer... If the compressor is coming on, then at least you have some refridgerant. If it was out, then pressure switch would have killed the compressor to protect the system. First, determine if the compressor comes on when you hit the A/C. Like you said...RPM would feel the load on the system.
Other probs Ive have with both Accords is the **** would not totally return to the cool setting by the ****. Id hafta reach where the cable goes into the ECS box and manually close the heat cable....

 

Me and a friend both had this issue and in both cars the same thing was the problem. There is a black cable that runs from the a/c compressor to around the front of the radiator. This cable can either be cut or unhooked from the harness. Patch it up with some electric tape and the cool breeze should be rolling in again.

 

wooooooooooooo ......96 DO NOT DO what canonm said ,,i dont know what they did but there is no black wire from the compressor to frt of radiator that controls a/c operation ,, the only wirte going to the compressor ( coil ) is red that us the power wire which come from the relay ,,,

make sure u got enough freon in the system u might have a leak thus a/c stopped working , if u got enough freon, chk to see if u get power at red wire at compressor, if u do u got a possible bad compressor coil or wiring around that area ,, if you dont , chk the fuses,

 

I finally got a chance to look at it this weekend and both fans are running when the ac is on. I do feel when the compressor kicks in. I couldn't find a window to look for bubbles like someone mentioned. Also, when I crank the fan all the way to 4 it doesn't feel like it's blowing as hard as it used to both when the ac is on and when it's off. I appreciate all the advice. It's just frustrating cause I bought the car less than two years ago from a friend's parents and they said the ac had been totally redone in the last year they had it.

 

oh and fuses are good too

 

bump

 

Check to make sure that the temperature **** is fully actuating the air mixer door in the blower assembly. Look under the passenger side where the console meets the floor at the firewall. Move the **** while you are looking to locate the bellcrank and actuate it by hand to make sure it is moving all the way to the cool position.

 

There is not a sight glass on your car.