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AC Experts?

YZRider

YZRider

Active member
Joined
May 30, 2020
Member Number
1683
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39
Had to wait til the hot part of the year to try and fix it. 05 Civic. AC works pretty good for 10 minutes, then I get the musty stank and ambient air temp. AC wont work again for the rest of the trip.

Friday I plugged in the gauges I found, and the half can of juice I put in seemed to bring the system to the correct pressures according to the internet. Testing went well. but it was a good 20* cooler than the last couple days.

Today, it only worked for 10 minutes again. I let the car sit for couple hours, plugged in my gauges, low side is pegged, high side is around 100psi. Fired it up and pressures leveled out where they should be, blowing cold. I raise the RPMs and the low side drops to 10psi, and I stop after 30-40 seconds, before the high side pegs out around 475psi. Blowing hot air.

Says to me the pump works just fine, got a turd stuck in the condenser/accumulator/expansion valve, and can't flow enough juice, but I know shit about fuck and all that. I might burn a weekend and $350 on Rockauto parts if I don't have to commute in the pickup for the next month or two. Am I on track or should I light the car on fire?
 
If your high side is climbing and low side dropping way low. Sounds like a plugged/stuck expansion valve. A quick google search looks like its in, or around the dash area but can be accessed from the engine bay. But I am by no means an expert
 
TxNTrK said:
How's the airflow across the condenser?
Have a vacuum pump?. Good vacuum and known charge quantity would be where I would start. Then verify condenser airflow.
Click to expand...
Pretty clean, just had the front end apart after I hit a deer. Both fans work. I have a pump, only problem is going to Texarkana for refrigerant. Thanks Inslee.
 
Based on the smell and description I would bet the evap is getting covered in ice.

Do you see water dripping? Is airflow through the vents reduced?

Partial blockage from dirt or leaves slows the air flow and hold moisture against the evap. Then it turns to ice.
If you are on a long trip you can try shutting the ac off for 15-20 minutes and if it works again for another 10 minutes that is where I would go first.
 
10/475 PSI would point to a blockage, likely in the expansion valve / orifice. Don't these things have a max pressure switch to prevent spikes like these??
 
I had a 98 Civic that was giving me AC problems. I think I was able to buy a complete chineseum replacement AC system (compressor, evap, condenser, hoses, expansion valve, etc) for a couple hundred bucks off Rock Auto. Just did the same on my FIL's 04 Grand Cherokee two weeks ago.
 
Couple things, bad air flow across condenser, or bad condenser, orifice tube is bad, plugged, does it have a dryer? Possible evaporator icing over, but I would think that would not give you high pressure. I would drain, replace orifice tube, usually at firewall near evaporator, could be under dash, if it has dryer, replace, evacuate the system for 1hr, makes sure it holds vacuum for 30 mins, put in oil charge can, then charge to right amount. Definitely check airflow first across condenser. Old mechanical fans with bad clutch do this.
 
Oh right that era of hondas had a lot of problems with plugged condensers
check and see if the line coming out of the condenser is cold, rather than the cold starting at the expansion valve
 
following along, just had one in the shop yesterday. 35/160 pressures, perfect fill, mediocre cooling. 2007 civic.
 
The expansion valve is a bitch to grt to on these, unless someone has been there already. You take off a large portion of the filter housing and ducting behind the glovebox.

The rest of the system is straightforward and pretty easy to access/swap out.

I'd go for the most complete kit on rockauto - should only be a couple hundred bucks. Make sure you get the correct oil, and take your time swapping the o-rings.

There's some good YouTube videos on how to pull the valve, I think book time is 6 hours or some shit? There's a couple of bolts you don't need to put back in that are a real bitch to get to.
 
Pt_Ranger_v8 said:
The expansion valve is a bitch to grt to on these, unless someone has been there already. You take off a large portion of the filter housing and ducting behind the glovebox.

The rest of the system is straightforward and pretty easy to access/swap out.

I'd go for the most complete kit on rockauto - should only be a couple hundred bucks. Make sure you get the correct oil, and take your time swapping the o-rings.

There's some good YouTube videos on how to pull the valve, I think book time is 6 hours or some shit? There's a couple of bolts you don't need to put back in that are a real bitch to get to.
Click to expand...

If there is a bit of debris blocking the orifice/expansion valve, it might be worth blowing some compressed air from the other side. OP might get lucky and dislodge it with little effort.
 
Mikel said:
If there is a bit of debris blocking the orifice/expansion valve, it might be worth blowing some compressed air from the other side. OP might get lucky and dislodge it with little effort.
Click to expand...


It's a $16 part that is part of the lineset. You have to take everything apart to blow it out.
 
iirc the desiccant bag bursts

but the condenser is practically a filter, they got little tiiiiiiiiny holes in the flat tubes, they're like .030 mig wire sized if not smaller
 
[486] said:
iirc the desiccant bag bursts

but the condenser is practically a filter, they got little tiiiiiiiiny holes in the flat tubes, they're like .030 mig wire sized if not
Click to expand...
So if that’s the case you basically need to change the whole system.
 
Looks like I can replace everything less lines and compressor for around $200. Might try that and see how it goes.
 
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