Hello Honda-Tech forum!

Question. What could cause my air conditioner to not get cold enough?

I have a 2000 Honda Accord LX. The air conditioner does not get very cold.

I just took the car to a mechanic. He hooked an evacuation machine to the a/c system. He said that it had about a half pound too much Freon. He said there were no leaks in the system. He then re-charged the system.

After re-charging he put a thermometer into one of the a/c vents. The temperature fluctuated between 57 degrees and 60 degrees. It was in the low 70's outside.

The a/c did not get any colder after the evacuation/re-charge. It was about the same as before.

57 to 60 degrees is not cold enough.

--- someone mentioned the below as the possible problem ---

Someone told me that the problem could be that the heater door is not closing all the way. However, I can:

a). turn the temperature control **** on the dash board all the way to the right and the air is warm.

b). turn it all the way back to the left and the temperature is cooler.

I don't think the heater door is the problem unless it's not closing securely. I think I can hear the door make a thumping noise when I turn the **** from right [warm] to left [cold] but I'm not sure.

------

It's got me puzzled.

The machine the mechanic hooked to my a/c system looked a lot like this one:


Image Source: Automotive Service Equipment

I would appreciate any suggestions that anyone might have.

Thanks.

 

How was it that that shop couldn't figure it out ?

 

holmesnmanny;

Thank you for responding to my problem.

They had an advertisement on craigslist that said they would re-charge a/c systems for $88.95. The $88.95 didn't include a diagnostic check so they didn't look for the problem. But it did include the evacuation/suction to see if there was a leak.

My primary mechanic [until now] about one week earlier did an evacuation and re-charge. He said that the compressor had a leak. He said that it would cost $700 to $800 to replace the compressor, the dryer, and other parts.

I didn't think my [former] primary mechanic was right when he said that the compressor had a leak because the temperature for the a/c has been about the same for the past two or three summers. If the compressor had had a leak the a/c would have gotten gradually warmer then not cold at all.

I have had some really serious misfortune with mechanics the past couple of decades so I am leery about making commitments for major repairs until I am fairly sure of the problem.

 

Be sure the heater control valve is actually closing off. I've seen them not close all the way and or even when the lever is in the correct position - closed - cooland is stull flowing.

 

I'm starting to think that might be the problem.

How can I do that? There is a door somewhere on the heater box. I might could close it manually. Can you point me in a direction where I might could look?

Thanks.

 

This pic is a bit misleading. The heater control valve is under the hood towrads the pass side. It will be inline with one of the heater hoses.

The second shows how to adjust the cable.

The idea is that the hose on one side of the valve will get warm/hot but the other side will not - no coolant flowing thru the valve. I know, not very technical but you get the idea

 

Lost Again;

Thank you so much for this diagram. I'll study on it.

Thanks again.

JT

 

Just trying to help.....been wrong before and will be wrong again....that is how I learn.

 

Not an expert or anything on air by any means and not sure if it will help you or not. I changed my expansion valve and dryer and mine blows a lot colder now. I was having similar problem with mine and it don't cost that much for the parts if you have the tools to do your self. Vacuum and ac manifold set and some Freon

 

Here is a better picture of the control valve:

http://cdn3.autopartsnetwork.com/ima...1626947MTX.JPG

My A/C had this same issue before and I just moved the valve to the close position (about 1 inch) and all started blowing down to 38 degrees again. This is what they are referring to the "heater door not closing all the way."

 

FWIW, the '95 EX would never get 'cold' even with the AC on full bore. Turns out he heater control cable was misadjusted, not allowing the blend door or the control valve to fully close allowing coolant to flow through the core and the warm air to mix with the AC. Simply exercising both and readjusting the cable at the back of the control unit allows me to now freeze my heuvos.

 

On my 96 the cable for the heater control and the switch itself on my dash are all goofy. I have no trouble switching it to hot but getting it back to full cold is a bit of a pain. The **** will turn past the full cold position by a quarter inch or so, typically I have to hold it there for several seconds before releasing it for it to get full cold again (doesn't always work sometimes have to do it more than once) to the point where I dont start turning my heater on until I really have to if I get it to proper cold. i haven't examined the heater control box at any point in this this is just based on temp observation from inside the vehicle.

I don't use my A/C much anyways too cold air blowing on me gives me a headache. If its anywhere close to cold enough I just run fresh air from outside.

 

Well,why not pay for a diagnostic check?
Incorrect. The compressor can simply be leaking oil. In which case it will continue to blow cold all the way up until the point that it locks up from oil starvation.
How long has he been your mechanic? Has he provided good ,honest service in the past? Do you have reason to doubt him?



Regarding your thread, at the very least a set of gauges will need to be put on the AC system to see where the pressures are at and how they respond to throttle input.



Otherwise its just a guessing game.....

 

I had the same problem on my 95 accord V6 and it turned out to be the heater valve not fully closed. Before I figured it out, the thermometer I placed in the vent registered 60 degrees. I then proceed to unhook the heater valve cable from the valve and manually shut the valve completely. Temperature is now nice and cold at 40 degrees. I then proceeded to adjust both heater control cable and heater valve cable but no fix. I think the gear in the my heater control unit skipped a tooth because I can tell I need the heater control cable to retract 1/4 inch more at max cold to fully shut the valve. I will be working on that tomorrow..

I heard there was a tsb on this for CD5, anyone has a link on how to fix the skipped tooth? It's probably not that hard, I just haven't took the control unit out yet.

 

check ur cabin air filter sometimes r real duty will not have ventilation my 98 accord 2.3liter was doing samething chaged is working cool

 

I thought mine might be the heater control valve.

But I turned the a/c off and kept the temperature control **** all the way to the left (coolest setting, blue). I left the fan on high and kept the engine running. The air coming out of the vents felt about the same temperature as the outside air.

If the heater control valve were not shutting completely the air on the coolest setting, with the a/c turned off, would be a little bit warmer than the outside air wouldn't it?

I still don't have the problem fixed and it's the heat of the summer.

I am starting to think the problem is the expansion valve not working properly.