So i took my car to the shop today to get my a/c recharged. Waited an hour or so, called back and they said everything (a/c lines, freeon, oil, clutc, etc.) was in good condition. But that the reason why my car was not getting air was because of the "temperature door" not openning when needed, and that the cost for getting it fixed would be $882.07 labor included. Question is wtf and where is the temperature door, and is there a way I can fix it myself.

 

What year, trim level, etc.?

Many problems are usually due to the air mix cable, and/or the heater valve cable needing adjustment or replacement, which you can fix yourself.

Does the air flow even if the A/C is off, e.g., hot air, regular air, etc.?

 

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This would help greatly.

I also have never heard of a "temperature door". If you ask them to explain it they are obligated to do so. If they won't, go somewhere else.

 

lol at temperature door, i think they are making that up

yell all your base are belong to us and leave them

 

The mechanic may be trying to refer to the heater door, inside the heater unit, which directs the flow of air going into the heater unit. The door opens one way for the flow air when hot is selected, and another for the flow of air when cool is selected. They are probably trying to charge you for the replacement of the heater unit.

I would still be leary of having to replace this though.

 

I think my car may have the same problem,
does your a/c blow cold until the engine temperature is up to normal?
Also do you notice if warm air is coming from your vents when the outside temp
is cooler??

 

heh heh heh. When i turn my a/c on it blows air that has a hint of coolness to it, often times windows open while driving brings more comfort then the a/c. But how would i go about fixing this problem?

 

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Some model years have some differences in things like the design of the air/mix cable, etc.

But, here is some info. anyway:

Your heater valve cable may need adjustment or heater valve may need replacement. Do this first (This is from a Honda service newsletter.):



Other info. from Autozone.

http://www.autozone.com/az/cds...s.htm

http://www.autozone.com/az/cds...s.htm

On some Accords, you may have to adjust the air/mix cable or replace the air/mix cable.

In the event, it had to do with the door in the heater unit, you can go to the Autozone site, and search for your year, how to remove the whole heater unit.

 

Well, since you still haven't said what year/model you have, I can only be vague with my answer.

On most Accords the temperature control dial isn't connected directly to the valve in the heater hose. That's the valve shown in tech8's picture. From the control **** there's a cable that operates a little door in the air ducts. When calling for heat, it directs the air thru the heater core. Then from that door there's another cable going out to the engine compartment to operate the heater valve.

Often you'll have to dismantle just about the entire dashboard area to get at that door. But if you're lucky, sometimes you can reach the ends of the cable & find something simply disconnected.

 

sorry sorry '95 honda accord ex sedan

 

I believe August was the cutoff year for the updated cable being used in production. If your car was manufactured in or before august it may have the unupdated cable. The ends of the cable tube slip in the clips that hold them. This allows the cable to loose adjustment. Parts cheap, labor lots.

 

Well, #10 is one of those cables, but it's not real clear where it hooks up. I don't know whether you can pull back some carpeting & check if it's disconnected. Sometimes these parts drawings aren't real good at showing how to dismantle something. But it shows a couple of the air control doors, too. If they were actually telling the truth about some 'temperature door' it's something like that.

 

The cable usually doesn't come out completely. It just slips in it's place. Most people probably wouldn't notice. But, the redesigned cable tube actually has flanges on the ends like a dumbell.

 

I think the tech is talking about the HVAC "mixing doors" under the dash, as seen in the supplied diagrams. They open/close to open or block the HVAC vents. My guess is he thinks one is broken and not opening/closing. As mentioned above, problems may be:

1) Check the mixing-valve that opens or closes the hoses that go into the heater corebox (picture "AC not cold"). The valve should be on the passenger side of the firewall, inside the engine bay. Make sure the cables aren't broken and the stay-clips are in place You can disconnect the cable, then manually open/close the valve with a pair of plyers. If the valve is bad it may be corroded and won't let the water through the hose.

2) The mix-levers IN the dash open/close small doors in the HVAC ducts. They push/pull cables that push/pull the doors. A good shop manual will have diagrams showing open/close for the doors and explain how to adjust/balance the doors by adjusting the cables for length. A cable may have jumped out of it's stay so the door isn't operating, or the cable retainer may be broken at one of the doors.

3) Next most likely is the plastic cam-box inside the dash, BEHIND the levers. The levers push plastic cams back/forth, and the cams push/pull the cables connected to the mixing doors and/or mixing valve. If this is the problem, the levers in the dash will most likely be very hard to move, or move very easily due to a failed connection at the cables.

The levers in the dash move bak/forward and operate the cam-box inside the dash. Depeding on model, the cam box pushes/pulls cables that open/close the mixing doors in the HVAC vents and/or the water valve at the firewall.

Gotta say the price seems $$$$$. I was having problems with my '94 last winter, so I took the dash apart and reworked the system. I replaced the cam-box inside the dash (broken), the cable to the water valve, the water valve (corroded), all the retainer clips, etc., quite a few parts. Seems the parts ran about $125 and It took me about 6 hours to do all the work, only because I had never been inside this dash. Hurry a dash r/r and you are going to break clips, and parts of the dash will never align well. Working slowly/carefully the first time is the key.

He must be charging about $100/hr for labor for about 6 hours. A tech who knows the car dash r/r procedure should be able to do all this in about 4 hours max, so I have to really question the $800? This is why I posted this-the price seems steep.

If you are good with tools (patience for this one), get a good manual that shows how to r/r the dash one step at a time. A word of advice- the parts inside the dash are all plastic, and not very expensive. If you go into the dash get ALL the parts that are in the cam-box. For about an extra $25 I replaced all the wear parts- the time involved is such that you won't want to gamble other of the parts will fail. Wrenchy