My condensor operates properly, 134 is in the system just fine, but hot air is still getting in the system. I have a 94 del sol vtec (b series setup stock)


Does anyone in here have any experience in this field that could possibly direct me as to where i may locate the source of my problem?

Common sense would say to check the butterfly that controls the hot~cold air, but where do i find that butterfly?

The slide switch inside the car seems to operate normally also. No freeplay, same tension back and forth.

 

It might be the fresh air switch? are you recirculating?. something is not closing

 

Nope, not a problem with that switch. Even when i put it on fresh air, and turn the ac off, it still blows warm air.

 

have you tried to readjust your hot to cold lever from under the hood? honda factory manual requires adjustment from under the hood near the fire wall

 

yes, tried that also. it seemed to operate properly.

The shop said the ac compressor was turning on, but i'm thinking otherwise simply for the fact that i cannot tell a difference in rpm's at idle when i turn it on and off. It seems like there's a minimal amount of pull when every honda owner knows it drops at least 300-500 rpms when the compressor turns on.

 

maybe your heater control valve is stuck open, when you turn the **** to cold it should stop the flow of engine coolant to the heater core and it might be stuck open.

 

yeah, i suspected that, but when i reached under the hood and flipped the lever back and forth, it seemed to open and close properly. I was wondering if anyone in here knew anything or had experience with that valve. Maybe they might know that the valve could bend or maybe there might be a fault in the wiring that could cause it to not send enough voltage to the compressor.

As far as i can tell, there's no kink in the wiring and the ac has been working perfectly without any faults. Now it blows warm air like the valve is stuck open, and seems like the compressor is no longer pulling a load from the engine power.

Also, like i said, i turned off the ac, set it to blow cool fresh air, but it still blew warmer air than the outside temperature.

Just kind of odd and i can't quite pinpoint the exact problem. Also, with mid 90 degree temperatures in the south with all the humidity, it makes for a very uncomfortable ride during the day.

 

same thing happened in my 93 si....i felt stupid once i figured it out.

from everything you're saying it sounds exactly like what happened on my hatch, ac was kicking on, but still blowing warm air, and it was freshly charged..

so what was it? the lever that slides from cold to warm, left to right, there is a wire cable, slipped inside black plastic tubing, that runs from the cold/warm switch to under the glove box, where it mounts up to the valve switch.. right, no big deal...well there is also a metal snap bracket that the cable snaps into, which holds it in place, allowing the cable to slide in and out of the tubing, in turn opening and closing the valve. well in my case the cable wasn't snapped into the metal snap. and when i would move the cold to warm switch there was no tension, or slack, and it was opening and closing the valve, but just alittle bit, it wasn't fully opening or closing..
i know it sounds real stupid, and i felt stupid, after i figured this out, but it was simple. also after i learned of this new trick. one of my friends had the same problem with his ac, on a 90 ex accord, he took it to a shop and they told him he needed a new compressor valve or something, and it was like $300, and he said screw it.. and this was funny, i told him "i will bet you lunch today that i will fix it in less then one minute, and if i do, your gonna buy lunch today" alright **** it he said, lets see, so i crawled right up under the glove box, sure as ****, his cable had came out of the metal snap also, i snapped it back in, hit the a/c and recirculation switch, and vawwllllaa, its cold now i said, his jaw just dropped... he had fucked with compressor, and everything under the hood, and all the fuses, but the most simplest thing, he didn't, the cable that opens the valve.

seriously check this out, even if the cable is snapped in to the metal snap, unsnap it and manually open and close the valve, sometimes people(shops or previous owners) snap the cable back in, but the valve isn't getting its full range of operation, (opening and closing)

 

on my 97 ex cpe, which i had gotten after i had my hatch.. the a/c and heater worked fine, but the a/c wasn't very cold, so i figured i just recharge it, but first i checked the same valve under the glove box, unsnapped the cable, had the a/c on, and flipped the valve manually back and forth a few times, and when i flipped it to all the way cold or open, the a/c got noticeably colder. so i the valve there, and resnapped the cable.

try this out and let me now

 

starting to look like the culprit is going to be the valve on the Low side. There's dye all over the valve area.