AC not blowing cold enough

[AKhan87]

1996 Honda Civic LX in my signature is in question.

Out of all the cars I have driven long enough or owned, this vehicle had the coldest blowing AC ever, even better then both of my Celicas which seem to have the exact same AC capabilities, in the civic my ears would be freezing in 7-8 minutes tops and I loved that about it, I can tolerate a lot of things but HEAT is not one of them, at all.

2 weeks ago the AC was freezing cold, the car sat for 4-5 days then I drive it and all of a sudden the AC is not blowing cold "enough" its cold but not enough.

In this article http://www.certifiedmastertech.com/wordpress/2010/05/31/car-ac-not-blowing-cold-enough/ the guy gives the two most common possibilities.

Possibility:
1. A leak in the AC system that needs to be repaired and refilled to OEM specs, no idea how leaks are repaired, any DIY? links? I have a mechanic who always helps me learn my way through all the DIY but he is really old school and old, unless I tell him exactly how I want it done, he just says to refill it(to save himself time lol).

2. A radiator (1.5 years old) or a condenser that has been considerably clogged with bugs, dust and dirt, or road debris and trash. Again any DIY or suggestions on how to go about this process?

I will be having the mechanic help me get some high and low side pressure readings by the end of day today.

I would really appreciate it If you guys can help me through this process as without a proper working AC, I rather junk that car...because again I can't tolerate any heat.

Also I rather attempt most of it as a DIY so I can learn to fix something like this or at the least diagnose it.

 

[msmoke00]

I know you would like to attempt DIY, but with AC it's hard to have the correct machine to do it on your own. You can clean the condenser and ensure the fans and AC clutch are staying engaged. Beyond that you need to take it somewhere with a professional AC machine. They will be able to evacuate the system first to determine how much is currently there. Then pull a vacuum test to ensure no major leaks. If all passes, but is low on Freon, recharge the system and adding a dye will help to find the leak. If there is a leak, replacing or repairing whatever is the cause will be the fix.

 

[Shannow]

Your Option 2 deserves a good visual and tactile inspection...that's eminently DIY, and rectifiable.

Option next is get a set of gauges, and see if the pressures are enough to get a compressor start.

 

[Donald]

Start with buying a $10 temp probe to stick in the AC duct. That way you will have an exact reading of the temp.

While it could be bugs on the condenser, its probably low on R134a because O-rings are dried up and leaking.

If you are going to do the work yourself, you need to have a shop recover the R134a then you can work on it.

The most important thing you can do is to not add any R134a with stop-leak. Let me say that again. NO STOP-LEAK.

 

[Chris142]

see if the heater valve is closing all the way.its common for them to leak hot water into the heater and heating up the ac. also see if you have a frost line back to the compressor

 

[Vikas]

+1 on the heater valve; on a Honda, that is the first thing you check when you have any performance problem with cooling or heating on that make. Either the cable operating the valve stretches or the mechanism binds/corrodes or the valve itself does not close or open completely. I believe on most models, it is right on the firewall and very easy to get to.

Check that first before doing anything else. A quick way to verify this is to turn off the A/C and leave on the vent and see if the air coming through is at approximately the outside temperature. If you notice, it is hotter than the outside temperature, then you know for sure you need to fix this issue before chasing A/C.

 

[brandini]

clean your condenser:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_em9lm69HQ

find and fix leaks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95RdGLFIbL8

recharge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lglPJuBXVeE

 

[1 FMF]

given the age of the car, first thing is inspect what hoses and parts you can for signs of oil leakage. look at the front and back of the compressor housing being wet of oil, like what an engine oil pan or transmission looks like on high mileage engines that have typical oil seepage. check ac hose fitting and where ac hard lines turn to rubber flex where the crimp is for signs of oil seepage. also check your schraeder valves at the high and low service ports for leakage, fill them with a little water and see if it bubbles. sometimes a half turn open then reseat it will seal them or significantly help.
you most likely have a thermostatic expansion valve (Tx) opposed to a fixed orifice, in which case those Tx valves can go faulty and cause your lack of ac performance. diagnosing a bad tx valve is more than i'm willing to type, you'll need a set of hi/lo gauges and once you've verified no obvious leaks the next step is observing operating pressures and ac vent temperatures. the simplest thing to do is just add 1-2 ounces refrigerant and see if you vent temps drop and system pressures trend toward the normal/ideal pressure ranges for the ambient temperature. more than likely you're slightly low on refrigerant, if you hear the ac compressor click on and off at idle that's what it is.

 

[SIXSPEED]

The A/C on my 97 Accord has been getting less efficient the past few years and it finally gave up this year. The Arizona heat finally motivated me to see if I could fix it without breaking the bank. I bought a can of R134a, recharged the system and it started cooling. I also discovered a small leak in the low pressure valve, but the screw-on cap was enough to hold pressure temporarily.

I did some research and found a Mastercool tool that let me replace the valve core without losing any refrigerant. It took a little finessing to re-install the new valve core, but it worked in the end. I now have cold air ... and hope that was the only leak in the system.