Hi guys! Great site been lurking for sometime and found lots of answer to my questions however I need a little help with this one.

I have a 2000 Honda V6 EX with a small AC problem. Last summer it was only running cool if you were driving so I thought it had a leak and needed to be repaired, sucked down, and recharged. Fast forward to this year and I have been messing with it. Here are the things I've done so far.

First thing I noticed was the fan wasn't coming on with the AC so that has been changed and it has gotten cooler for sure. (reading 40 degrees at idle) The blend motor had the typical clicking noise but functioned fine however I still took it out and fixed the collar on the DC motor shaft so it doesn't click anymore. I have also hooked a set up gauges up and here is what I find. My low side is around 20-25 on a hot day while the high side is around 225-250. Temperature out during my testing was 85-90 degrees with humidity above 70 percent.

The problem I am having isn't really a bad one I'm just trying to step up my AC game and learn from this. The car at idle stays nice and cold but as you drive you can feel slight temperature drops out of the vents. So basically it just can't keep up on a day in the 90s. It will however freeze you out if it is in the high 70s low 80s. At this point I think I have some air in the lines or a blockage.

One thing also I should say is if you put Freon in the low side it doesn't see to want to budge at all however the high side will climb as high as you want too. Also of note is the in and out of the evaporator are not both cold. The line with the low side valve is nice and cold (not sure if IN or OUT) and the other line isn't hot but it isn't cold at all. They have a good 20-25 degree difference between them.

Any info would be greatly appreciated. :-D

 

Some simple things are make sure the cabin air filter isn't clogged, which would slow down air flow. They are a pain to get to on this generation accord but there are YouTube videos on how to do that. Also, the air intake between the windshield and the hood need to be kept clean. Also you could check the condenser, which is actually in front of the radiator (you might think it is the radiator but if you look close you can see a radiator-like thing in front of the radiator). It should be relatively clean or it might not dissipate enough heat. The AC compressor might be getting weak but that's a major undertaking, so I would leave that to last. None of this obviously would cause exactly what you are seeing but it is free to try yourself and cheaper than having someone else troubleshoot it. It might be best to actually watch some YouTube videos by Ericthecarguy and Scotty Kilmer on troubleshooting AC problems. Eric has one "How to top off your AC system". Scotty has a couple "How to keep your AC blowing cold" and "How to keep your AC working ice cold"

 

I didn't even think to mention it but I have changed the cabin filters and also pulled the blower motor to clear any debris as well as pull the vent under the wipers and completely cleared that whole area as well. I also know the exact videos you are talking about. lol I freaking love Eric the Car Guy!!! I really wish he did more videos on domestics though. That and I wish he had the timing belt replacement video for my model accord. I see he did one but I don't see on his site where it is or how much??

Anyway back on topic. I have thought about the compressor being bad but it seems like it would be good if it is building so much pressure on the high side no? I admit I don't know all the ins and outs of a compressors job other than compressing the gas to a high pressure.

 

Oh and also the condenser is free of debris and flowing air well.