I tried cleaning up my Ac condenser today... I could not do a go job cleaning it. I need an air compressor or high pressure water.... My AC condenser is dirty though....
What if the compressor is not cycling off. Would it cause the evaporator freezes up? Would it be the compressor cycling switch? If it doesn't cycle off, would not it happen?
Just updating, When the AC is on and I am accelerating my wagon, if after that I am going to idling, the RPMs go lower than normal to the point that my wagon has even shut off. Very low idling.... also, when the AC is not performing as it should, the Air conditioning feels very humid...
Summary Update 08/06/2012: The AC blows cold when I first start the car and AC system. Then after 15-20 minutes, the air conditioner begins feeling warm/humid. The A/C will not change back to normal cold until I turn off the car and let the car sit overnight. It is only when the AC blows cold for about 20 minutes and then go back to warm/humid.... Please help me!!!!!
I bought a compressor from this ebay seller - comfortauto
The guy named Robert is pretty knowledgeable about the AC stuff, you might shoot him an email
I bought a compressor from this ebay seller - comfortauto
The guy named Robert is pretty knowledgeable about the AC stuff, you might shoot him an email
More information 08/07/2012: Yesterday the temperature here in New York was not that hot (82F). I took my car for a test drive with the AC on. The A/C kept blowing cold all the time. I parked the car for about 15-20 minutes and started the AC again. The AC was still cold. I checked the relay next to the battery and opened it. The contacts were a little burned. I cleaned the contacts very well and closed the relay. I drove for about another 15 minutes in traffic as well as in highway. The AC kept blowing cold. Again, the temperature was not that hot as other days (82F). I checked and both fans were coming on when the AC compressor was on. I also notice that there was not condensation water coming from under the car. Not until about 1 hour and half after having the AC on.
I checked the expansion valve and the evaporator. They were not iced/frozen. I also unplugged the evaporator thermostat and it seemed to be working because when I unplugged, the AC compressor turned on. However, I noticed that the compressor is constantly working. I did not notice that the compressor cycled on/off. The compressor was on all the time. The compressor only cycled off when I unplugged the blower and let the AC run for a while without the blower working. That was only when the compressor cycled on/off. I put everything back on and the AC was still blowing cold.
Would it be that since the compressor is running all the time builds up too much pressure making the system work improperly? What you guys think?
Nice job, you went through it like you should, the compressor on all the time is good and bad it can build to much pressure but... if you took it to the ac tech and he said the high and low side pressures are good then i would stick with it.
The evap not freezing is also a good sign. My next thought with the temp being 80's and it blowing cold the whole time i think the expansion valve may not be working properly,
I forget did you replace the expansion valve? there is a small hole in it that can plug up if it sat to long or get blocked by something in the system.
Also having the proper amout of freon in the system is key- to much can cause cooling problems and not enough can too. sence the conversion to r134a it should use 80% of its original anount and not cool as well as r12 its just a fact.
When i had my freon filled they put 1.5 lbs in 16oz = 1lb. the tech was dumb and said my ac is jacked and wont work that i need to replace everything "he was a dumb %>ck" i went home put 1lb in and it blows cold-
Nice job, you went through it like you should, the compressor on all the time is good and bad it can build to much pressure but... if you took it to the ac tech and he said the high and low side pressures are good then i would stick with it.
The evap not freezing is also a good sign. My next thought with the temp being 80's and it blowing cold the whole time i think the expansion valve may not be working properly,
I forget did you replace the expansion valve? there is a small hole in it that can plug up if it sat to long or get blocked by something in the system.
Also having the proper amout of freon in the system is key- to much can cause cooling problems and not enough can too. sence the conversion to r134a it should use 80% of its original anount and not cool as well as r12 its just a fact.
When i had my freon filled they put 1.5 lbs in 16oz = 1lb. the tech was dumb and said my ac is jacked and wont work that i need to replace everything "he was a dumb %>ck" i went home put 1lb in and it blows cold-
Hi there! I thought that you had forgotten about me! LOL.....
Well, the tech said that the hi/low pressure were good when the AC was working properly. I have not taken the car back when the AC is acting up. I actually changed the expansion valve before installing the new compressor. Which means that I was using the new expansion valve with the old compressor. My tech actually put 1.8Lb = 28.8oz.
have not forgotten- been busy with work and doctors apt "found out we are having a baby girl :tickled_pink:"
18oz is approx 1.1 lbs that sounds about right for the r134a
1.8 lbs is approx 29 oz and sounds close to the factory amount for r12
So you have a new compressor also? it shouldent be a problem if the new expainsion valve was used shortly before. the problem comes from sitting for a while it clogs or if you open the systen it drys and clogs the small port.
double check your pressures- you might have to much freon in the system- maybe someone knows the true amount. I go by "fill it till it gets nice and cold" usually one regular can not the jumbo one.
have not forgotten- been busy with work and doctors apt "found out we are having a baby girl :tickled_pink:"
Wow! Congratulations!! Very good news! I hope that the Wagon does not get too small for the new family member to the point that you would have to sell the Wagon... LOL... I am just saying the thoughts that I had when my 1 year old son was born... :-)
18oz is approx 1.1 lbs that sounds about right for the r134a
1.8 lbs is approx 29 oz and sounds close to the factory amount for r12
So you have a new compressor also? it shouldent be a problem if the new expainsion valve was used shortly before. the problem comes from sitting for a while it clogs or if you open the systen it drys and clogs the small port.
double check your pressures- you might have to much freon in the system- maybe someone knows the true amount. I go by "fill it till it gets nice and cold" usually one regular can not the jumbo one.
You are right. I calculated the LBs to onces conversion wrongly in my last post (Already edited). 1.8Lbs = 28.8oz. I do the "fill it till it gets nice and cold" too, especially on R12 to R134A conversions. However, the tech has filled the system the two last times.
Based on this conversion table, you have to multiply the R12 amount times 0.75 to get the R134A amount. For example 5oz of R12 = 5oz x 0.75 = 3.75 R134A:
So, this means that my wagon uses 14oz of R12. so, 14oz x 0.75 = 10.50oz of R134A. My system has 28.8oz of R134A???? OMG!! Am I calculation something wrong here?
I dont know the factory spec for freon- never had the shop book. I went to autozone bought a can of r134a 16oz and had the trigger/guage to fill with- I turned the compressor on by jumping the red wire to the posative on the batt. I started filling the system immed. Fan/ a/c on high with recirc- I felt the air cooling at one can it was nice and cold-
Confirm the amount you need and have the proper amount put in- Someone on here should know the factory amount for freon.
if factory is 14oz then yes you have to much.
And thanks Im happy to be having a little girl to spoil and teach how to work on wagons :cool:,
I was thinking that my system was properly charged because the problem with the AC is after running it for a while. But before then, the AC runs cold... What if the condenser is not cooling off enough the freon in the system?
When the AC starts acting up, the low pressure line does not get that cold.... When the AC works fine, that same hose is freezing cold....
The folowing is the reading of the AC low pressure line when he AC is acting up the same line is not that cold...
The only think that I could have think of is that the expansion valve opens sometimes and sometimes it does not. I was thinking about getting a Brand new one from Honda Part 80220-SH3-A11. It is only $60.05.
Update 08/14/2012: I went back to the mechanic to have him vacuum the system before I open it. He told me that there was not need to change the expansion valve. He said that the expansion valve is either good or bad. It is not in the middle. He said that my problem was electrical. The mechanic said that my condenser and radiator fan should be on when I start my AC (both fans were working). However, he mentioned that even though the fans are on, the fans should go to a second higher speed when the compressor turns on. He replied that there was not a second higher speed in the fans, therefore the fans were not spining fast enough to cool down the condenser and make it work properly.... I did not what to say. He also asked to check an electrician a couple blocks down the street.
I went to the electrician and he said that there is NOT such of second higher speed on this cars (88-91 Civics). He asked me a couple other questions:
Electrician: is the compressor clutch spinning when the AC begins acting up?
Me: Yes
Electrician: Are both fans spinning when the problem occurs?
Me: Yes
Electrician: did you replace the expansion valve?
Me: Yes
Electrician: Is the car overheating at all?
Me: Yes, but only when it was around 100F. The car would quick overheating right after turning the AC off.
He said that he could not diagnose the problem because at the time that I was there, the AC was blowing freezing cold. The electrician said that I have to bring him the vehicle when the AC is acting up. Based on his analysis, the AC was working freezing cold. He ask me to drive the car far enough to make the AC start with the problem and then come back to him. I mentioned to him that the temperature is always around or higher than 82F when the AC does not blow cold enough. His face changed when I told him this. He noticed that the front bumper reinforcement was a little bent to the inside. That was when he said that the condenser was a little too close to the radiator. That would make the condenser absorb the radiator heat. Also, the condenser would transfer the heat to the radiator. He said that was why my car was overheating when the AC was on. He again asked me to bring the car back when the AC is acting up to diagnose better.
What you guys think???
I was reading on AIRCON AUTO, and they suggested the condenser to be 15-20mm from eachother: "Condenser not positioned correctly. Make sure that the distance between the radiator and condenser is 15-20mm, if present the air ducts must be correctly positioned."
Comments
The guy named Robert is pretty knowledgeable about the AC stuff, you might shoot him an email
I bought my compressor from "bestaccompressor"...
I checked the expansion valve and the evaporator. They were not iced/frozen. I also unplugged the evaporator thermostat and it seemed to be working because when I unplugged, the AC compressor turned on. However, I noticed that the compressor is constantly working. I did not notice that the compressor cycled on/off. The compressor was on all the time. The compressor only cycled off when I unplugged the blower and let the AC run for a while without the blower working. That was only when the compressor cycled on/off. I put everything back on and the AC was still blowing cold.
Would it be that since the compressor is running all the time builds up too much pressure making the system work improperly?
What you guys think?
The evap not freezing is also a good sign. My next thought with the temp being 80's and it blowing cold the whole time i think the expansion valve may not be working properly,
I forget did you replace the expansion valve? there is a small hole in it that can plug up if it sat to long or get blocked by something in the system.
Also having the proper amout of freon in the system is key- to much can cause cooling problems and not enough can too. sence the conversion to r134a it should use 80% of its original anount and not cool as well as r12 its just a fact.
When i had my freon filled they put 1.5 lbs in 16oz = 1lb. the tech was dumb and said my ac is jacked and wont work that i need to replace everything "he was a dumb %>ck" i went home put 1lb in and it blows cold-
Hi there! I thought that you had forgotten about me! LOL.....
Well, the tech said that the hi/low pressure were good when the AC was working properly. I have not taken the car back when the AC is acting up. I actually changed the expansion valve before installing the new compressor. Which means that I was using the new expansion valve with the old compressor. My tech actually put 1.8Lb = 28.8oz.
18oz is approx 1.1 lbs that sounds about right for the r134a
1.8 lbs is approx 29 oz and sounds close to the factory amount for r12
So you have a new compressor also? it shouldent be a problem if the new expainsion valve was used shortly before. the problem comes from sitting for a while it clogs or if you open the systen it drys and clogs the small port.
double check your pressures- you might have to much freon in the system- maybe someone knows the true amount. I go by "fill it till it gets nice and cold" usually one regular can not the jumbo one.
Wow! Congratulations!! Very good news! I hope that the Wagon does not get too small for the new family member to the point that you would have to sell the Wagon... LOL... I am just saying the thoughts that I had when my 1 year old son was born... :-)
You are right. I calculated the LBs to onces conversion wrongly in my last post (Already edited). 1.8Lbs = 28.8oz. I do the "fill it till it gets nice and cold" too, especially on R12 to R134A conversions. However, the tech has filled the system the two last times.
https://secured.whirlpool.com/Service/SrvTechAdm.nsf/d12cd4888abce86285256a42005ea985/6af508537ad744fb85256b2700537df1/$FILE/4322304.pdf
So, this means that my wagon uses 14oz of R12. so, 14oz x 0.75 = 10.50oz of R134A. My system has 28.8oz of R134A???? OMG!! Am I calculation something wrong here?
Confirm the amount you need and have the proper amount put in- Someone on here should know the factory amount for freon.
if factory is 14oz then yes you have to much.
And thanks Im happy to be having a little girl to spoil and teach how to work on wagons :cool:,
My wife and daughter do not like my wagon... No matter how much I clean it :-(
So you should be in the ball park- with your freon- Hope someone else can jump in and lend some help to you reaccion.
Very nice! Thanks Bam-Bam... That information is very helpful.
This tells me that my system is then properly charged :-)
The folowing is the reading of the AC low pressure line when he AC is acting up the same line is not that cold...
Yes, I actually re-ordered already. However, I might go over board and order the OE genuine one from Honda...
I went to the electrician and he said that there is NOT such of second higher speed on this cars (88-91 Civics). He asked me a couple other questions:
He said that he could not diagnose the problem because at the time that I was there, the AC was blowing freezing cold. The electrician said that I have to bring him the vehicle when the AC is acting up. Based on his analysis, the AC was working freezing cold. He ask me to drive the car far enough to make the AC start with the problem and then come back to him. I mentioned to him that the temperature is always around or higher than 82F when the AC does not blow cold enough. His face changed when I told him this. He noticed that the front bumper reinforcement was a little bent to the inside. That was when he said that the condenser was a little too close to the radiator. That would make the condenser absorb the radiator heat. Also, the condenser would transfer the heat to the radiator. He said that was why my car was overheating when the AC was on. He again asked me to bring the car back when the AC is acting up to diagnose better.
What you guys think???
This is mine:
Here is the link:
http://www.automotive-air-conditioning-vehicle-parts.com/air-conditioning-auto-troubleshooting.aspx?p=t