A?C system gone

duckie8310duckie8310 Senior Wagonist
in Electronics, Fueling & Air Conditioning
well, after driving around for 2 months with my AC slowly getting less and less (it doesnt blow ice cold anymore) and summer approaching, i stopped by a car shop to get it charged up. well after doing a small check, the guy found out that my AC system is out. it has pressure, but its not circulating. so pretty much there was no point in trying to charge it up. and he said it would cost too much to even bother trying to figure out what's wrong. i live in Texas, summers are brutal, and i need that AC.

any ideas?

Comments

  • cbryant514cbryant514 Band Wagon
    When I bought my wagon, the owner said the A/C needed to be "recharged". I hoped that was true but was prepared for bad news. Sure enough, the system had been dry for a year or two and several major components needed replacing. In all, it was approximately $1700 - more than I paid for the wagon! :shock: But I've had three performance cars without A/C, commuting over 100 miles a day in Georgia, and I was not going to do so anymore. My wife agreed, and now I and my family can ride in relative comfort (Honda A/C's aren't exactly frigid). :roll:

    To test the sytem, we did a leak test and visually inspected the components, including the heat exchanger under the dash. (Found a small rodent nest in that!) If the system has been working up to this point, you may only need to replace one component rather than many. If it has been dying for some time, moisture may have entered, which will kill the compressor.

    Good luck,
    Chris
  • SiWagonSiWagon Council Member
    cbryant514 is right.Let's try some basics to see if WE can fix it.I had a AC guy replace my AC Drier & recharge the AC.He stuck a thermometer in the center vent & got 30 degrees.

    What did the guy say was out :?:
    When you turn on the AC does both radiator fans & compressor click come on :?: with eng. ON.
    Are fuses # 15,18,31,32&38 OK :?:
    Check electrical connectors are tight & clean.
  • duckie8310duckie8310 Senior Wagonist
    he didnt even look into it. he said there was compression, just no circulation. all he said was, there's something wrong with the AC system, and he wouldnt put me thru the money to even try to figure it out and fix it.

    when i turn on the AC, both kick on. i'll check those fuses tomorrow, and see what's going on down there.

    the AC has been blowing cold for a while now, since we got it. then a couple of months ago, it just stopped blowing cold. i fugured it just needed to recharge, but i went to the guy and he said something in the system was out, since it was so old.

    EDIT
    i went to another shop and they charged me up with a can of freon. he didnt say anything about the system being out, or even a leak. but i guess i'll have to see what happens. it blows cold right now, but if in a week or so it doesnt, i'll have to look deeper into this problem.

    thanks guys for the reply
  • SiWagonSiWagon Council Member
    Sounds like you're FINE :D First guy was just lazy.

    A few tips:
    1)Keep the condenser & radiator clean.Take a water hose & hose off the radiator & condenser from the inside out,then hose it from the top & front.
    2)Run the AC at least 5 minutes a month.This helps the oil in the freon lube the seals in the AC unit.
    :idea: The game I play is when decelerating like from the off ramp is to turn on the AC.You'll actually feel the Wgn slow.
    It's also great for defogging the window in the winter.
    3)Once the AC cools the inside enough slide the outside intake to recirculating.It really makes the inside cooler & lessens the AC load.
    4)When you get near your destination turn off the AC & turn up the fan speed .This helps in drying up the vents so you don't get that AC vent smell.Basically the condensation mildews=AC vent smell. :x
  • KahunaKahuna familEE
    SiWagon wrote:
    The game I play is when decelerating like from the off ramp is to turn on the AC.You'll actually feel the Wgn slow.
    Don't even get me started on this. My Wagon is slow enough already, and it has almost no power when A/C kicks in on accel, I have to turn it off. Even when cruizing down the interstate at 70MPH, you can feel it bog.

    I hate the d15.
  • duckie8310duckie8310 Senior Wagonist
    thanks SI. i'll keep those tips in mind. and i'll keep a watch to see what happens in the next week or so
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