well guys, here is my problem:

Recently, i've had a problem with my A/C..the son of a b%^ch doesn't wann blow cold!

I've taken it to Pep Boys to run a performance check on it...they told me I had a leak in my Evaporator and Expansion valve (also needed to replace the dryer) and was gonna charge me 700ish dollars to fix it..i said fudge that and bought a used evaporator and expansion valve locally for 60 bucks...

but before i swaped it on, i took it to a Honda dealorship and had them run a check on it...they told me the same thing, so i figured two totally different companies coming up with the same conclusion..must be it right?(BTW, those ******* wanted to charge me 1,000ish...good lord!)

well, i swaped the parts in and took it back to Pep Boys to have it evacuated and recharged...on the way home, it starts blowing hot air again! so i take it back to Pep Boys this morning to have it checked out...well, the tech shows me it's blowing cold air, and to my amazeement, it is!

so i jump back in the car and drive around...about an hour later it's blowing hot air again! weird..

ok, so here are the sypmtons:

1.)the low pressure line doesn not even sweat when this happens...this moring with the tech, it was sweating, becuase refrigerant was running through it...

2.)the pressure on the low side reads over 200 psi when it blows hot...this morning when it was blowing cold, it was at the normal 35ish PSI..

3.)nornally when i cut the A/C on, i can feel a noticeable drag on the engine...not a super big drag, but just a small drag, letting me know the compressor is on...well, now when i cut the A/C on while driving, i dont' feel that...like it's not cutting on for some reason...i don't hear it cut on ( i don't think i do) either..also, when i cut the A/C button on and off, there is no noticeable difference in temperature

what can be causing this? A/C guys out there, i need sme help...it's hotter than a bi&*h outside!!

 

bump for me!

 

First of all pep boys suck. From what I can tell your a/c clutch isn't engaging consistantly which would either be one of the following scenarios:
1: A/C clutch worn or relay is not working properly
2: A/C low pressure safety switch is not working because there's not enough refridgerant in your system.


Now one thing to remember is that pep boys might be screwing you over big time and might not have even replaced your old components with used components. Legally they're covered because you gave them USED PARTS.
I would suggest bringing it to someplace else other than a pepboys they're pretty shady.
What you can do as far as troubleshooting it yourself is buying one of those ultraviolet lights and glasses and look for the trace dye that they used to find the leak in your a/c system. If there's still a leak in your system you'd be able to spot the dye right away with the ultraviolet light.
Try replacing your a/c relay first because those are pretty cheap I think.
Other than that you'll need a lot more expensive diagnostic tools.
You're probably better off trying to find a decent ase master tech to fix your a/c.
Good luck
RMC

 

Sounds like a slipping clutch to me. When the car is sitting there just idling the clutch might be stong enough to grab the pressure plate and spin the compressor without a problem. But when you start to drive your RPM's go up and your clutch has to hold more. If it's weak and slipping you won't have any AC. Try this. Drive around 'till you start to get the hot air thing. Then pull off to the side of the raod and turn the AC off and back on again. You should hear the relay click, and the clutch should pull in. You should feel the drag on the motor.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by FrozenSi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sounds like a slipping clutch to me. When the car is sitting there just idling the clutch might be stong enough to grab the pressure plate and spin the compressor without a problem. But when you start to drive your RPM's go up and your clutch has to hold more. If it's weak and slipping you won't have any AC. Try this. Drive around 'till you start to get the hot air thing. Then pull off to the side of the raod and turn the AC off and back on again. You should hear the relay click, and the clutch should pull in. You should feel the drag on the motor.</TD></TR></TABLE>

thanx for repsonding guys...

since yesterday morning it hasn't blown cold since...not even when I start it up..it's like i don't even have A/C no clicks or nuthing..although the RPM's jump up slightly every now and then, but i think that may be becuase the ECU "thinks" it has A/C and adjusts the engine's RPM accordingly...

when i get a chance to, i'm gonna check my wiring and see if there's a short or sumthing somewhere...

BTW, to the guy who posted first, I swapped the new (used) parts in myself...is there a way i can check the evaporator/ expansion valve i've taken out? it looks fine to me...i have a gut instinct that that was not even the problem...but why would both Pep Boys AND Honda tell me the same thing?

DOOHHHHHH!!!!

 

Plain and simple, MONEY. Whoever told youn that your evaporator was going bad is full of ****. The evaporator is nothing more than a radiator for your AC. Instead of getting rid of heat, it picks it up. There are no moving parts in it. No wear and tear at all. The only thing I that can possibly go wrong with an evap is that it gets dirty, and some degreaser, a water bottle and a shop vac will fix that. Compressed air does a good job too.
The expansion valve thing I might be able to buy. I dunno. I've seen some of my systems on buildings here that have had EXV's go bad, but it's not a common thing. I just wanna know how they came up with that conclusion.
The way you're starting to describe things now, it sounds like an electrical problem. When you turn the AC on you should hear a clicking sound. That's the AC relay pulling in and sending power to your AC's clutch. Have somebody sit in the car with it running and while you're under the hood, have them turn the AC on. You should see the AC pulley start to turn. If it doesn't, you have a bad relay, or the magnetic coil in your clutch is going/has gone bad. AC's are really simple. Not much to 'em to really go wrong.

 

The popular way for evaporators & expansion valves to 'go bad' is that they get plugged up. If the receiver/dryer pukes its guts (dessicant beads) they get caught in the expansion valve since it's the smallest restriction in the whole circuit.

 

Just went through the same this this summer with my 98 hatch. I had a hole in my condensor and a leak in my dryer. Replaced them both and refilled it with r134a myself. It was cold for a day then it became hot. It was intermittent cold, hot, cold, hot. b/c the compressor and fan would go on just sometimes. 2 Possibilities (just as long as you have no leaks) , NOT ENOUGH refrigerant or TOO MUCH refrigerant. Both will give the same effect. After that I just took it to a A/C specialist payed $75 and my A/C is ICE COLD. I can't even keep it going for more than 20-30 mins at a time cause I get cold. But ya take it to an A/C specialist. They will put a Vaccuum hose/gauge on ur High level hose while adding refrigerant to ur Low Level Hose. I've seen Pep Boys Techs do it and the pep boys shop around my way uses the same do-it-yourself hose that you can buy urself.

 

thanx for responding again guys...

yeah, i'm kinda learning towards the fact that it may be an electrical problem...

but could an electrical problem cause my A/C pressure (on the low side) to read 220ish PSI when my A/C's not working and the normal PSI when it is? how does that happen?

sux cuz i can't even take a look at it until Sunday (my next day off) so driving around town is a bitch...

 

mine did the same exact thing I checked with my Do-it-yourself gauge. it has to do with the Ref. level being too HIGH or too LOW. Just have a pro do it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TheSwift1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thanx for responding again guys...

yeah, i'm kinda learning towards the fact that it may be an electrical problem...

but could an electrical problem cause my A/C pressure (on the low side) to read 220ish PSI when my A/C's not working and the normal PSI when it is? how does that happen?

sux cuz i can't even take a look at it until Sunday (my next day off) so driving around town is a bitch... </TD></TR></TABLE>

My Snap On guages don't even go up to 220 Psi on the low side. Are you sure about the pressure? What is the high side pressure?

Maybe we should start from the beginning. What year and model is your car? If it's an older model, does it have the 134a conversion?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TheSwift1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

2.)the pressure on the low side reads over 200 psi when it blows hot...this morning when it was blowing cold, it was at the normal 35ish PSI..


</TD></TR></TABLE>

do you remember what was your high side reading with the compressor on?
well if your low side has 200psi with the compressor on. It sounds to me that their is a blockage on your line.

Now when you replace your a/c components did you notice any blackish color or grayish color at all?

 

Integs use a cycling clutch fixed oriface tube system. There is no thermostatic expansion valve. With the CCOT system, the oriface tube is what changes the high pressure of the refridgerant to low pressure which creates the cooling effect in the evaporator. I forgot where it is on the Integra but it's going to be near the bottom part of the firewall or inside the hvac unit itself on the driver's side. If you open it up (after evacuating the system) it should be clean and looks like a little filter. It's best to buy a new one because they're pretty cheap. However those usually go bad when the a/c compressor blows up and all the metal ends up collecting there. I'm not sure if you're using the gauge set correctly, the ***** on the gauge set should both always be closed and the quick disconnects to the taps should both be open. Red side is high, low side is blue. Let me know what you're reading's are then I can probably tell you what's wrong.
rmc

 

you could have air in the refrigerant that would cause it not to blow cold. Just remember that it will freeze up at the point of restriction. Just start the car and turn it on full blast and check over everything. It will freeze up where your problem is. The line coming out the compressor will be HOT, the line going back in will be cool-to-touch, and after the TXV (thermal expansion valve) will be cold-to-touch. hope that helps you

 

:::::update:::::

ok, during my lunch break today, i sat in the car, and on a whim, just decided to cut the A/C on to see what would happen...i turn the A/C ****, hear a click from my compressor, and the ****** starts blowing cold air!!!pop the hood, and the low pressure side line is sweating like it should...i then do a little bit of driving to McDonalds and back..and it continued to blow...

but when i got off of work (about 5 hours later) it didn't want to work (as in, not blowing cold air)...i knew it was too good to be true....

 

just have it prof. checked and call it a day

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by civicrtype &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">just have it prof. checked and call it a day</TD></TR></TABLE>

i had it professionally checked...twice..once by Pep Boys, then by Honda...there the ones who originally told me it was my evaporator/expansion valve...

that's why i'm trying to troubleshoot it myself...cuz their full of sh^t....

 

Year, make and model would help. Sounds like your compressor is not kicking in at times. When it's not working right, pop the hood and see if the front of the compressor is spinning. If it's not, try banging on the compressor with a broom handle and see if it kicks in ....weak clutch coils are very common on Honda's...3gdude

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TheSwift1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

i had it professionally checked...twice..once by Pep Boys, then by Honda...there the ones who originally told me it was my evaporator/expansion valve...

that's why i'm trying to troubleshoot it myself...cuz their full of sh^t.... </TD></TR></TABLE>

when you first replaced your ac components did you remember if their was any blackish color type of oil?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HONDADNA &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

when you first replaced your ac components did you remember if their was any blackish color type of oil?</TD></TR></TABLE>

nope, no blackish oil...it actually had a greenish tint to it cuz of the dye that they added to it to check for leaks..

i'll tak a look at the compressor tomorrow and let u guys know..thanx!