car: 96 Ex 2.2 vtec
problem: the a/c works, but it gets so cold after about 20-ish minutes that it blows out snow flakes, then it like freezes up and you have to cut it off for awhile and then run it for another 20 minutes or so etc...

Its been taken to a mechanic before and his dumb *** response was just do what im doing with the cutting it off and on bc he couldnt find anything wrong... but im sure you know it gets pretty warm after a few minutes with the windows up and no AC on.

Any ideas?

thanks

 

Sounds like its overcharged. Take it to a shop so they can recover the gas so teh environment isnt ruined. You should be good then.

 

didn't you know? inside car snowing is the new thing! LoL j/k this is crazy, you must have been trippin' when it started to snow in ur car! LoL but like he said, i think it's overcharged (too much freeon).

 

I wish mine would blow that cold!

 

i don't usually reply but i have decided to. an overcharged system usually will work bad e.g. hot air. if your a/c is blowing that cold you have two potenial problems. one is the low pres switch with will turn the compressor off if pressure drops to low(such as in the case as yours and when there is no r134) the other is that txv valve is defective and it is lowering the pressure too much.

 

deftonerider is correct - overcharged will not make it blow colder. What it will do is blow hot air, and ruin expensive parts in your a/c system!!!!

 

prooooobably a dumb question, but does it still snow if the **** isn't turned all the way to cold? or do the 96's only have hot or cold

 

thanks for the replies guys

i dont know, i havent tried it not all the way cold...but i'll see what happens

 

I think the evap will still freeze up since the heater core is after the evap in the air flow. But the snow may become a misty rain. Does that year not have a thermostat at the evap that should also disengage the compressor if the temp is lower than a given value? I know my 86 Civic has that.

 

that is most certainly the only thing that would allow this condition. it's called a thermister and serves the same purpose as a thermostat. it should cut the A/C off when the temp gets to about 33F so it won't freeze up.

all hondas have this as far as i know, or at least a component with similar function.

to the OP: i would take the car to a qualified import specialist or A/C specialist. they should be able to go right to the problem in less than 20 min.

 

What ever it is my 87 Civic FSM calls it a thermostat. For my old car the cut-off is 31-35f and cut-in is 37-41f.

 

You are right on the money with your diagnosis. Its very likely your thermostat is shorted. Unplug the thermostat with the AC on. To see if the system cycles off. If the system cycles off, BAD THERMOSTAT.

 

letme know the problem so i can duplicate it im in Florida , haha! jk, i dunno much about a/c's sorry man.

 

Just add a little heat to the air by moving the temp selector **** off max cold.

Don't tell me all you guy's think the A/C only blows cold air. You can heat that air.

You can use the A/C in winter to keep the windows from fogging up. In fact when you selcect Defrost in some cars it turns on the A/C. You just add heat.

 

But, the evap still cools the air as much as it can regardless of where you set the temp and will most likely still freeze up. When you have the AC on and the temp on anything but the coldest setting the system just diverts a varying amount of the cooled air over the heater core to give the desired output temp.

 

The car is still broken! This is not a fix. A bandaid? Maybe. Car needs an AC thermostat. Using your logic to fix an oil light "on"; "Hey, Take the bulb out!"

 

My 05 Legacy GT will blow snow flakes when the dew point is right.

If the OP is really worried, take the car to a expert and have them fix it.

 

one of 2 things happened.

the temp sensor on the evap failed or it is slightly low on charge. both conditions will cause the evap to ice up and blow flakes. The evap is supposed to cut the compressor off at 32F

 

GL i wish my AC did that

 

yes they have a temp control ****. like it goes from blue for cold then fades to red for heat! also a fan speed along with many other ***** and buttons

 

alrighty, i'll check it out next week when im off again

thanks guys