Car: 2003 accord ex sedan

Problem: Ac barely works. Passenger side vent blows somewhat cold and the center and driver's side vents blows completely warm air. The compressor has been replaced and the problem still persists.

Details: There is 0 psi on the low side and 100 psi on the high side and the system was evacuated drawing 14 oz of refridgerant. The car has no hvac codes present.

Any ideas on what to replace or what's causing the low numbers?

 

Is 14oz a full charge on that car? If I recall, 20oz is more like it.
Inspect the cabin filter for debris.

Expansion valve clogging or binding will produce very low or vacuum on the low side of the system, and since no cooling is being done, the high side stays abnormally low.

Undercharging is known to present itself with cooler A/C on the passenger side, Recharge the system, and post some numbers at idle and about 2000rpm.

I will need numbers before and after to help you more.

 

X2 I say check your cabin filter

 

Thanks for the info...here's an update:
Cabin filter is in good condition.
We replaced the receiver/dryer because the old one was clogged with debris and blew the ac lines out with compressed air.
We put 20 oz in the system and the problem still persists.

At idle: Low side is at 2 psi. High side is at 90 psi.
At 2,000 rpms: Low side is at -3 psi (negative). High side at 90 psi.

Recorded temps are 56 degrees for both passenger vents and 80 degrees for both driver vents.

Still way lower than what it should be. We were suspecting a faulty condensor (it has some physical damage on the outside from small pebbles) but you mentioned an expansion valve may be causing the problem. Maybe the numbers will help diagnose it correctly. Any advice is appreciated.

 

check your blend door and blend door motor

 

That shouldn't pose an issue due to the pressure readings on the ac gauges. The car doesn't have separate driver and passenger hvac controls.

 

those readings are wayyy to low. there is essentially no refrigerant in the system. even from the beginning it was way to low and it's having to have leaked out somewhere.

are you vacuuming the system and then charging?

 

Yes we're vacuuming the system and refilling. It was charged with 20 oz of refridgerant, so there is plenty of refrigerant, it's just not circulating.

 

You have a clogged expansion valve, the low side is in vacuum meaning the compressor cannot move any refrigerant, and since it cannot move, the high side will be very low also, you need to fix the expansion valve and re-evaluate the compressor, putting it in a vacuum will burn it up due to lack of oil flow.

Expansion valve first. Make sure when you open the system you vacuum it out for at least 30 minutes with a pump, air causes corrosion. Make sure to add the specified amount of oil to the system when you replace components, PAG 46 covers most Honda vehicles.