Air Conditioning goes from ice cold to humid exterior air then back to ice cold..?

[FromTheInside]

While driving in this warm weather my A/C will be nice and ice cold, and then over about a minute it just gets humid and warm, like its just on the vent setting, and its stays like that for about 2 minutes, and then it will gradually turn back ice cold and will stay cold for like 3-5 minutes, and then go back to warm, and then back to cold.. Does this mean I'm running out of freon? I figured if I was running out it wouldn't keep getting ice cold, but it keeps fluctuating... Any thoughts?

[AKEP]

well you dont "run out" of freon. ac is a sealed system, unless it leaks, you have the same amount of refrigerant in the system forever.

But if you mean "is it leaking?" then i would say "no, because then you wouldn't have any cold ac at all" but i don't know for a fact. if it just started happening today, then you might have a new leak, and soon will have no cold ac.

if its not a leak, then something sounds like it may be clogged and the freon is having an issue getting past the blockage.

or maybe a bad pressure switch, if we have one.

im sorry, i haven't helped at all. but these are places you could start checking if you're an avid mechanic. relays, switches, high side and low side presures. see if your compressor is cycling on every few seconds. its hardly off when the cabin fans are blowing. even with the AC button OFF.

[02ES1]

Sounds like it could be a new leak causing your evaporator pipes to freeze up (sends warm air) and then when they thaw out it would send cold air again. There are other causes but I didnt do very well in my HVAC class. Fridays at 8am werent the best time for me to learn about HVAC. lol. Unless you have a gauge set I would just go to someone who specializes in HVAC.

[FromTheInside]

Thanks guys. I was hoping for a "oh yea that happened to me, this is what I did/what it was.." lol. I'll just have to have someone check it out

[Heitzke]

Gah, mine has been doing the same thing for a long time now. I was actually about to start a new thread about it. I know that the compressor is supposed to cycle, but why the change between cold and hot/ambient air?

Any ideas as to why it keeps cycling? Bad/dirty connector, wiring issue? It's like 90 today and the cycling a/c makes it rough to drive this thing.

[RedSiBaron]

Your compressor is wearing out, it will eventually seize and blow out.

It happened to me leaving the paddock at last years summer IA after we set up our booth friday before the event...we were driving out through tunnel and BOOM! Black smoke and the smell of freeon came through the dash.

It had been cycling like this, and eventually seized and blew a hole 3"x2" in the a/c compressor...its a scroll style and one of the fins stuck and seized it looked like, but im not sure what failed, that could have been the result.

All that I replaced was the compressor (and the dryer for good measure) and then pulled a vaccuum on the system and recharged it. And its been great.


Soooo if you have a really hot day, and its cycling really bad and you park it out in the sun, the expansion and cooling of the compressor metal may cause it to seize and upon driving it, don't be surprised if you hear a big boom...

If you replace your compressor, order it through hondaautomotive parts, you'll save a couple hundred dollars...

[Heitzke]

Sweet, I love driving around time bombs, ha. Looks like I'll have to get around to replacing this then, thanks for the tip.

[talonXracer]

I wouldnt simply start replacing parts. There is a procedure in the Helms manual that performs a functionality check for the HVAC system and will spit out a code for the failures. You might want to give that a try first.

[RedSiBaron]

I wouldnt simply start replacing parts. There is a procedure in the Helms manual that performs a functionality check for the HVAC system and will spit out a code for the failures. You might want to give that a try first.

Yup...sorry if I made it sound like I was suggesting going out and dropping 300+ on a new a/c compressor...

Thanks for the clarification...


Everything in the a/c system is expensive, and it also sucks because whenever you open the system to the air, you introduce moisture which takes a lot of life out of the desicant dryer element (the round vertical metal tube by the drivers headlight). Just something to think about...

[Heitzke]

I think I might just drive it at full speed towards a cliff and dive out of the window at the last second

[RedSiBaron]

I think I might just drive it at full speed towards a cliff and dive out of the window at the last second

DOOO IT!!!







...just setup a tri-pod with a camera first please

[Heitzke]

Ok, actually going to go about it the smart way. Ran the HVAC self test feature thing a few times and never spat out a single code.

Today I got under the car and checked out all of the connectors around or in some way involving the AC, and yet again, everything is checking out. I may need to grab some datalogs of when the ac starts blowing ambient, maybe could pick up something.

I also notice the problem being significantly worse during peak temperature hours. Sometimes at night the ac will work for a good while without ever cycling, but driving around while it's 80-90 outside it might not cycle back cold for 10-15 minutes. gaaaaaahhhh

[02TWSI]

Mine was doing this, so I forked out the moolah and redid the entire AC system. LOL.

goodluck

[Heitzke]

Mine was doing this, so I forked out the moolah and redid the entire AC system. LOL.

goodluck

Haha wish I liked my car enough to spend the money on that.

[02TWSI]

All it did was bring piece of mind lol... A/c is a must :x

[FromTheInside]

Ok, actually going to go about it the smart way. Ran the HVAC self test feature thing a few times and never spat out a single code.
Do you have instructions for the HVAC test as well as relavant codes?

[gettheledout]

My A/C does this only when it's very hot and humid. Very cold, then very hot. I had numerous shops check it and run tests, there is nothing wrong they can find. I'm just going to keep it going, then buy a new compressor if I have to down the line. Why spend that money if it could work for another 5 or 6 years? Then again, if you live in a hot part of the country it might be worth it..

[FromTheInside]

Well shit.. Was out tonight and figured I'd grab a can of R134a with gauge to take a shot in the dark and see if that could be the problem, as I wanted to atleast rule it out before going to a shop. Followed the instructions and the gauge read about 70psi, which was in the RED and meant "Mechanical Problems"... Crap..

Oh and it doesn't even blow cold anymore, its just ambient air..

[gettheledout]

Well shit.. Was out tonight and figured I'd grab a can of R134a with gauge to take a shot in the dark and see if that could be the problem, as I wanted to atleast rule it out before going to a shop. Followed the instructions and the gauge read about 70psi, which was in the RED and meant "Mechanical Problems"... Crap..

Oh and it doesn't even blow cold anymore, its just ambient air..

I wouldn't trust that gauge, take it to a shop. Mine was in the red and the actual pressure was fine.

[FromTheInside]

Took the EP into local service center today.. Problem ended up being one of the wires going to the compressor had been torn-up/ruined/bad connection.. They re-wired it and A/C is back and working perfect.. No other problems with my compressor or any refridgerant leaks.. $143.00 total.. I'm very pleased this didn't end up costing $300-500++

[apexracing]

you payed them 143$ to fix a wire! holy crap im glad you got it fixed but damn.

[RedSiBaron]

you payed them 143$ to fix a wire! holy crap im glad you got it fixed but damn.

that was my thought...by that calculation i should have been paid 10k for all the wiring repair i did on friday...

[FromTheInside]

you payed them 143$ to fix a wire! holy crap im glad you got it fixed but damn. I have absolutely no idea how to fix any wiring and if I were even going to try and look under the car to find what needed to be fixed I wouldn't even know what to look for.. I don't know how to fix everything and don't pretend to know how too, so sometimes you gotta just throw in the towel and let your wallet take the hit..

[sittinlow]

Your compressor is wearing out, it will eventually seize and blow out.

It happened to me leaving the paddock at last years summer IA after we set up our booth friday before the event...we were driving out through tunnel and BOOM! Black smoke and the smell of freeon came through the dash.

It had been cycling like this, and eventually seized and blew a hole 3"x2" in the a/c compressor...its a scroll style and one of the fins stuck and seized it looked like, but im not sure what failed, that could have been the result.

All that I replaced was the compressor (and the dryer for good measure) and then pulled a vaccuum on the system and recharged it. And its been great.


Soooo if you have a really hot day, and its cycling really bad and you park it out in the sun, the expansion and cooling of the compressor metal may cause it to seize and upon driving it, don't be surprised if you hear a big boom...

If you replace your compressor, order it through hondaautomotive parts, you'll save a couple hundred dollars...

Same....

[BlueCTSi]

Took the EP into local service center today.. Problem ended up being one of the wires going to the compressor had been torn-up/ruined/bad connection.. They re-wired it and A/C is back and working perfect.. No other problems with my compressor or any refridgerant leaks.. $143.00 total.. I'm very pleased this didn't end up costing $300-500++
Can you post a pic of the wire they repaired, I have the same problem and I hope is the same issue rather than the compressor.