I have a 1996 Accord EX, with 344K. I have owned the car for 4 years and the air conditioner has never work well. Today I got the proper adapters to hook up pressure gauges to both the high and low sides. The conditions that we started with were:

Ambient temp: 93 deg F. (In front of the condenser)
Engine speed: 1500 RPM
Low pressure: 22 PSI
High Pressure: 210 PSI
Temp at the center vent: 64 deg F. (Blower on High)

It looked as if the low pressure side was down, so I added 11oz. of R134a. This changed the system pressure's at the following:

Ambient temp: 93 deg F. (In front of the condenser)
Engine speed: 1500 RPM
Low pressure: 32 PSI
High Pressure: 260 PSI
Temp at the center vent: 62 deg F. (Blower on High)

I am wondering why the evaporator did not get any cooler :confused: I suspect a faulty expansion valve, but I am not sure. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

Did you check to see if the Compressor was running? Maybe you have a leak? Make sure to check for leaks if you can.
Was the tubing from the evaporator to the compressor cold?

 

sounds like you are still low on r134a

at those temps you want to be around 50-55 psi on the low pressure side

I'm subscribing to this thread - as I'm having an issue with my AC right now and hating life. 105* tomorrow. 107* on Wed.

 

At that ambient temperature, AT IDLE when the compressor is running the R134 pressures will usually be about 175-185psi for the high side and 25-35psi on the low side. Make sure that your "hot water control valve" isn't leaking water into the heater core. You can take a pair of needle nose vise grips and pinch off the hose going from the cylinder head to the water valve and run it for about 15 minutes to see if the temperature changes at all. Also check temperature at each of the 4 vents to see if there is a difference between any of them.. Let me know what you find.

 

The compressor is running, and I don't believe I have any leaks (Haven't check for sure). I will look at the pressures again at IDLE to see where I'm at. I will also look into the Hot water control valve and check the temperature in all the vents.

It has also been suggested to me to check the Blend Door to make sure I'm not pumping a lot of hot air into my nice cold air.

Thanks for the suggestions and I will post what I find.

 

Whats the significance of this?