My car is a 1990 DX that I bought last year. When I bought it the A/C did not work at all and I have no idea how long it was without air conditioning before that.

Two weeks ago I had the system retrofitted and recharged. Unfortunately after doing this, the shop found my compressor to be bad and replaced it as well. I got the car back on Thursday and the A/C was ice cold and I was a happy person... then Saturday I noticed that there was water dripping onto the passenger floor board from the area of my evaporator (it was also extremely cold to the touch with a lot of water buildup on the bottom of it). Not knowing anything about A/C systems and not having the time to worry about it over the weekend, I put it off until today.

This morning (Monday) on my way to work I noticed the A/C was not blowing very cold at all and the drip from the evaporator had stopped. Now that I had time to look at it, I noticed the evaporator drain tube was bunched up inside under the glove box and not pulled all the way through into the engine bay. It was kinked and bent in half, which obviously was not letting it drain properly. I popped the hood and pulled it through and quite a bit of water came out.

Now, the A/C does not blow cold AT ALL. The fan comes on and the compressor kicks in and blows through the vents. It is just not cold. It's not really HOT either... more of a room temperature.

Before putting it back in the shop (it took me almost 2 weeks to get it back from the retrofit/compressor fix) is there anything that I should check myself to find the culprit?


UPDATE: Had the mech look at it and he said that the compressor they installed was faulty and blew out. Luckily it has a warranty so it's getting replaced for free. Could/would this be caused by the stopped up evaporator drain tube? The service dept reps assured me it wasn't but they could just be telling me that to cover the mechanics *** for doing a shitty function check when they replaced it last week.

 

More info: Car is stock with D15b2 motor and auto tranny. It's my college commuter car and getting the A/C fixed is realistically worth it to me. Only 130k total miles and everything is in excellent condition. Any help/suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Thanks

 

If the compressor is new, it's likely that the freon leaked out. Quick easy check for any shop, all they need to do is hook up a gauge set to the system. Finding the leak is also easy if they have a sniffer. Take it back to the place that did the work.

 

So you don't think it has anything to do with the evaporator drain being plugged up for the 3 days that it was operable?

Thanks.

 

Since your A/C fan is turning on and your compressor clutch is kicking in, then it seems that you don't have any leaks.
There is a pressure switch on one of the lines that kills the system if you don't have enough pressure.

If you want to double check anyway - did the shop that filled it add in 'leak detector'?
That would make it really easy to find any leak.

I'm not sure exactly what effect too much water can have inside the evap box. There is one electrical connection made for the expansion valve. If that stopped working then your A/C would suffer.

Best bet is to take it in to the shop and tell them what happened and let them diagnose the problem.

Did you change out your filter/dryer?
Were you there for the system fill? Did they pull a deep vacuum, charge, vacuum again, and charge?

 

They leak checked it before changing the compressor and said that there "was dye everywhere." I assume that they rechecked for leaks after changing the compressor or it would have been in vain.

Yes, it has a new filter/dryer and all new connections along with the compressor. I'm really not sure about your last question. I would assume so considering the amount of time they took to do the job.

I guess my main question is: Does this sound like a bad evaporator? From what I read they are a pain in the *** to change and pretty expensive too. I would really like to get around leaving it with the shop again (I work at a VW dealership and the service dept did the work "when they have time." Which is why it took 2 weeks for me to get it back the first time. Needless to say, I'm hesitant to give it back to them again right away. Only good part is I get the labor done for next to nothing).

 

OP I think some of the posters misread what you are saying...

The compressor itself doesn't blow any air at all. You have a blower motor that provides air flow for both heat and A/C - a flap switches which side it blows from.

If you want to do a generic check then: start the car with A/C OFF, pop the hood and look at your A/C compressor. The outermost part that doesn't spin when A/C is off, is the clutch. Turn on the A/C then make sure the clutch is spinning - if it is not then yes either it is low on R134 or a switch is bad. The condenser fan typically kicks on as long as the A/C is turned on.

 

Thanks, I'll definitely do that as soon as I get a break and go from there.

 

Compressor clutch DOES kick in and spin when A/C is switched ON. The fan also engages and spins freely as well. She blows hard... just not cold anymore since the evaporator drain issue. Don't know if it's relative or just a coincidence to the A/C not working anymore. Just trying to get a finger on it!

So this COULD be the flap not properly engaging on the blower motor?

Thanks for the advice.

 

Update: Could this be a faulty expansion valve that has failed due to the evaporator issue I had?

Again, I know nothing of A/C systems... just learning more as I read. Any comments/suggestions are GREATLY appreciated!

 

You just said something about 'fan' that I didn't pick up on the first time around.
Now it sounds like you are talking about the interior fan - it will always come on regardless if the A/C works or not.

The A/C fan next to the radiator fan is what I was talking about.
Pop your hood and check to see if that one comes on when you turn your A/C on.

 

Yeah the A/C fan next to the radiator fan works properly when the A/C is turned on.

 

At this point it sounds like everything mechanically works.
Would need to know your line pressures to narrow it down and suggest anything more.

My guess is that if your compressor died, then metal shavings from the compressor could have gotten into the rest of your system and plugged up somewhere.
First likely place is in the expansion valve.
If that's the case, You could blow the lines out with compressed air and it may help get out some.of the shavings, but there is no guarantee and you may end up replacing the valve a few times before all the metal gets through and stops clogging.