I have a 2000 Miata and a 2010 Accord. Neither one's A/C is blowing cold at the moment. In the past, I have been able to solve problems like this by either adding a can of refrigerant or removing the system all together. Now, with two cars down, I should probably just buy the right equipment to fix this stuff properly. What do I need?
Regarding the Accord:
Mmmm this could be as simple as the relay or the field coil. Both relatively simple fixes.
I've swapped the field coil on my wife's 2008 Acura RDX, my mom's 2008 Civic and a friends 2007 Acura TL.
For some reason they fail on Hondas.
Slippery wrote: Regarding the Accord: Mmmm this could be as simple as the relay or the field coil. Both relatively simple fixes. I've swapped the field coil on my wife's 2008 Acura RDX, my mom's 2008 Civic and a friends 2007 Acura TL. For some reason they fail on Hondas.
What is a field coil and how do I swap it?
JohnyHachi6 wrote:
On the Miata, I noticed that the engine speed wasn't changing when I turned on the A/C. After confirming that the fuses were good, I figured that the pressure was too low for the compressor to engage. I had a can of refrigerant on the shelf and I added some to the point where the gauge on the can was within the normal range. The compressor will now engage, but I doubt that the air coming out of the dash is more than 5 degrees cooler.
So, if an A/C system is ever open to the environment or looses enough refrigerant that it's basically at atmospheric pressure, you'll get some air diffusing into the system. When that happens, you're not going to get any appreciable cooling and need to pull a vacuum on the system (hence the vac. pump picture), and recharge the system with refrigerant. You'll want to fix any leaks before that too, of course.
The schrader valve tool pic is becuase every leaking A/C system I've ever encountered, that didn't have obvious physical damage or corrosion, was leaking form the valves and they just needed to be tightened.
Keep in mind when you recharge the system, you need to do that on the low-pressure side of the system. I don't remember how the fittings are set up and it's probably not possible to hook up the cans to the high-side, but if you did, the gauge would say that the charge was adequate, while in reality it was still far too low.
Woody wrote:Slippery wrote: Regarding the Accord: Mmmm this could be as simple as the relay or the field coil. Both relatively simple fixes. I've swapped the field coil on my wife's 2008 Acura RDX, my mom's 2008 Civic and a friends 2007 Acura TL. For some reason they fail on Hondas.What is a field coil and how do I swap it?
The field coil goes inside of the clutch and its what energizes the clutch to engage the compressor.
If you go to the Majestic or Bernardi websites you can look it up under your car/compressor. Usually around $70.
To change it you need to remove the serpentine belt, then the compressor clutch (if there is no space then you might be able to remove the compressor from the block while still leaving the hoses attached) and now you have access to the field coil.
I did all this with a couple of ring/c-clip pliers. I had rented some special tools at Advance but with my air compressor the pulley bolt came off easily.
In reply to Slippery:
Thank you.
Not sure what engine Accord you have, but I just looked a V6 really quick and Honda calls it Stator set.
Check #11 on this page:
Piggybacking here, but if the system has been exposed to air (hole in condenser), is the dryer a must replace, or can I boil the water out with the vacuum pump?
Manifold gauge set, vacuum pump, vacuum pump oil (change every few uses), core tool, dye, compressor oil (make sure to get the correct type/weight), scale to weight out charges that aren't a whole number of cans. With how much a can of 134a goes for now, it might not be an awful idea to just buy a 30lb tank for $120, which is about 40 12oz cans worth, then you also need a postal scale or something to that effect to weigh the tank with sub ounce accuracy.
Edit: Black light to better see where your dye is exiting.
In reply to bigev007:
You must both replace the dryer and hold a vacuum on it for a while.
The Accord belongs to my daughter. The compressor is engaging properly. I drove it to the parts store to get a can of R134 and was able to repair it on the way by turning down the temperature and turning up the fan. After a trip through the car wash, I will tell her that I fixed it, and she will believe me.
I still need to work on the Miata though.
In reply to Woody:
Woody, I tried to send you a PM about this but it keeps coming back. Is your email address still good?
bigev007 wrote: Piggybacking here, but if the system has been exposed to air (hole in condenser), is the dryer a must replace, or can I boil the water out with the vacuum pump?
It's probably "proper procedure" to replace it, but in my experience, it's not necessary. If you pull a good vacuum, leave it for a few hours and do it again, you'll remove most of the water. I don't know what adsorbent they use, but water is a vapor at low pressure, so it won't stay adsorbed. If you're really concerned, you could heat up the dryer with a heat gun, while pulling vacuum. That would help quickly remove any water content. I've never done this and had very good results with evacuating and recharging old A/C systems.
The fact is that the dessicant in driers cannot absorb moisture without flow, so a drier sitting stagnant and open can be re-used. I routinely re-use driers many times over when testing a/c systems according to SAE standards for measuring BTU/H capacity, and have never had a problem. To be overly safe, I do keep them under a deep vacuum for several hours before charging, but that's more of a convenience than anything, since it usually takes me that long to set up the rest of the test.
In reply to JohnyHachi6:
The whole idea is to lower the pressure enough to boil the water. Heating the drier will just hinder the process.
it only takes a couple of wrenches- and maybe a hose cutter of some kind of you are lazy- to remove all that dead weight from the car..
In reply to novaderrik: I keep saying I'm gonna do that. And then I drive 4hrs home after a track day or autox and lament having no AC. If you live somewhere that doesn't get hot, it really hurts when it gets hot.
bigev007 wrote: In reply to novaderrik: I keep saying I'm gonna do that. And then I drive 4hrs home after a track day or autox and lament having no AC. If you live somewhere that doesn't get hot, it really hurts when it gets hot.
as i get older, i respect a good air conditioned car more and more... but i still love driving my factory non AC Camaro even when it's 95 degrees and 135% humidity with mosquitoes everywhere.. and to be honest, it was less miserable in that car 3 years ago when i was in San Antonio with 110 degree air temps than it is when it's 90 and humid here in MN..
Basic tools, a vacuum pump, and a set of gauges is all I've ever needed. I've replace everything from a o-ring, to the complete compressor, drier, orifice, oil, the works. The systems are usually fairly simple on everything I own. A pump, a couple of coils, a few switches and some kind of orifice.
For proper fill levels, all my cars have a sticker under the hood with the quantity of oil and refrigerant required.
If you have a Ollie's Bargains close, they were selling R134 for about $7 a can.
The AutoZone near me loans out vacuum pumps. Might check with your local store if you need one.
novaderrik wrote: it only takes a couple of wrenches- and maybe a hose cutter of some kind of you are lazy- to remove all that dead weight from the car..
I rode in/drove a 600hp turbo Buick today that had cold A/C.
I built a ~560whp turbo Buick (extrapolate that to crank how you will) that had cold A/C.
First thing we did with my boss's new car (a turbo Buick) was fix the A/C.
Go fast with class.
Also, that infamous H1 I did, had cold A/C... so does the ~1000hp twin turbo LS-engined car I'm working on.
The only reason to not have A/C is laziness.
bravenrace wrote: In reply to JohnyHachi6: The whole idea is to lower the pressure enough to boil the water. Heating the drier will just hinder the process.
Like you said, the idea is to boil the water - how do you do that? You can boil water by heating it (like on a stove) or lowering the pressure. Do both and you'll achieve the same result faster. If you heat a system while pulling a vacuum and the pressure goes up, it's because there's still a lot of moisture in there. If there isn't anything left to boil, heating it won't affect the pressure at all.
Knurled wrote:novaderrik wrote: it only takes a couple of wrenches- and maybe a hose cutter of some kind of you are lazy- to remove all that dead weight from the car..I rode in/drove a 600hp turbo Buick today that had cold A/C. I built a ~560whp turbo Buick (extrapolate that to crank how you will) that had cold A/C. First thing we did with my boss's new car (a turbo Buick) was fix the A/C. Go fast with class. Also, that infamous H1 I did, had cold A/C... so does the ~1000hp twin turbo LS-engined car I'm working on. The only reason to not have A/C is laziness.
ultimately it's just more stuff to go wrong and/or get in the way when you are working on something else. personally, i'm not going out of my way to add it to anything- but if it's there, i might keep it working.. my 97 Chevy truck has a slow leak in one of the charging ports that i thought i could fix by tightening down the valve, but there was no separate valve to tighten down. it appears to be integrated into the hose assembly when they weld it together.. tried putting an o-ring in the cap, but still leaks.. my next option is to charge it then figure out how to use some "The Right Stuff" or similar to seal it in such a way that it doesn't clog it..
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