My wife's Civic has been blowing less than cool air lately. It seems to be worse when at a stop, so I thought it might be the fan, but in my garage, when the A/C is on full, the fan comes on. So:

I checked the pressure in the "Low valve" and it was a little low, approx. 30, when it should have read 45-55. I added r134 , and all seemed well (though I never could seem to get the pressure guage to read the appropriate pressure) ; air was cold, wife stopped complaining, etc. For one night.

The next day it was noticed that the engined felt like it was surging/getting power drawn, only when A/C is on. That was yesterday. Also, later that night there was a high pitched noise when A/C was on (wife neglected to tell me that until just now).

This morning, the A/C was not blowing cold air at all. My wife said she does not hear the A/C turn on, or draw power when turned on, and no surging is occurring. Does anyone have any ideas? I gotta cool the temper of my wife down!

Is it possible it is as simple as a fuse? Or, do I have a leak and need to go to a mechanic? I would love to solve this one. Thanks for any help!

Aaron

 

You may have damaged the compressor by overfilling the system with refrigerant.

 

You need to check it carefully again now that it is not working. Maybe drive her car and let her borrow yours (assuming the A/C works).

Don't just arbitrarily add refrigerant. As Ron points out, it is easy to overcharge. The low side pressure alone does not tell you what you need to know about the charge level. The can and gauge thing is a gimmick. If you're going to charge you must use a real setup with two gauges. Also refrigerant is not normally "consumed" in the system. The only reason it goes away is because it leaks out, which means repairs are necessary. Never ever use a "stop leak" product, they not only fail almost every time at stopping leaks, but ruin the system as well.

 

Thanks guys. I appreciate the feedback. Out of curiosity, what type of damage may I have caused? I plan to take it in, just like to know what I am dealing with. Is there any kind of switch that disengages the A/C if something wrong is happening? i.e. if I did put too much r134 in, is there anyway it would recognize it, and disengage?

Thanks again.

 

What should I check for exactly mk378? Any basic tests I can see, before sending it in?

 

Put your gauge on and see if you have a pressure of zero. If so, something has blown out (look for holes in the side of the compressor, and as you might expect, that's going to be expensive...) Low side pressure with the compressor not running should be up around 100. Do not add any more R-134a. If you have pressure still, take the hose thing off and start the engine press the A/C button and see if the condenser fan runs and the compressor engages.

 

Just checked the low side pressure with the engine off, it read around 70. Should I still start the engine and press the a/c button?

 

Just checked with the engine on and there appears to be a leak near the High side access point. looks like coolant (neon green). The compressor and fan both kick in.

Is it possible to have gotten the r134 in liquid form in the system? Would this cause the problem?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks y'all!