Hissing A/C

[Wilson]

My 2000 Accord HVAC is pretty good and given the chance it make the car pretty cold. But lately it has been struggling to cool the cabin on hot summer days and I live in Miami. And to add salt to the wound, whenever my dad rides with me he complains that the car is hot.
I had measure the vent temp and the lowest I saw was 59 with 87 weather. Thinking that the refrigerant is low, I brought a can to charge the system and see where its at. As soon I remove the cap from the low side, it hissed like a pissed cat. And when I connect the gauge, the needle was in the red. What is wrong with my HVAC system?

Topic

[Wilson]

Here are pictures:
[IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20151227/8d78de13fd7078fa10689cdc2c7b55fb.jpg[/IMG]

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• uploadfromtaptalk1451216411195.jpg

[Frank Gonzalez]

That gauge only shows low side pressure. And shows the a/c is probably over filled. And some refrigerant needs to be removed. To properly diagnos the issue with your a/c, it would be best to use a/c gauges that connects to both low and high side of your a/c. Start the engine and see what your pressures are.

[Wilson]

I started the engine and let it run for a bit with the A/C on high. I checked the pressure and it read 15. So I charged it up to 35 and the air was getting nice and cold. That’s one minor problem fixed.

Unfortunately, the low port is still hissing with the compressor on and off. Here is video

[hondaguy453]

So your a/c is now blowing cold?
Does the low side port only hiss when you remove the cap? Like once you remove the cap it’ll hiss and then stop? If yes, that is normal. If you remove the cap and it constantly hisses then your valve core may be damaged or it may not be fully seated. You can try tightening it a little to see if it’s loose by using a valve core removal tool.

[Wilson]

[quote=”hondaguy453″ post=155090]So your a/c is now blowing cold?
Does the low side port only hiss when you remove the cap? Like once you remove the cap it’ll hiss and then stop? If yes, that is normal. If you remove the cap and it constantly hisses then your valve core may be damaged or it may not be fully seated. You can try tightening it a little to see if it’s loose by using a valve core removal tool.[/quote]

Yes, the A/C is now cold but I can’t see how strong it is since it’s not that hot when I am.
As for the low side port, when the compressor was running and I first remove the cap today, it wasn’t hissing. Then after I charged it, it started to hiss. I put the cap on and the hissing stopped. I remove the cap again and the hissing persist. But when I checked the pressure a few days ago with the compressor off, it was hissing when I removed the cap. So from your diagnosis, it could be the valve core. If that is the case, how do I repair it?

[hondaguy453]

Yeah, it sounds like the valve core itself. I highly suggest you take it in so the freon can be recovered and you might as well have them install a new valve core. They prob won’t even charge for labor, or at least I hope they wouldn’t lol. It’s not like it’s a strenuous task. They’ll just charge for the recovery and recharge of the system.

[Wilson]

Ok. I’ll do that.

[hondaguy453]

Go get a valve core removal tool and try tightening it first. If it still leaks, then go ahead and take it in.

[Wilson]

[quote=”hondaguy453″ post=155096]Go get a valve core removal tool and try tightening it first. If it still leaks, then go ahead and take it in.[/quote]
I’ll tighten it and it doesn’t work, I’ll turn it in.
Now since I’m a DIYer, I like to learn about my vehicle and how to maintain it. From an novice standpoint, which is me with no HVAC experience, is the task simple?

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[hondaguy453]

It’s really simple to do but you have to have an a/c machine to recover n recharge the system. The machine pretty much directs you through the service haha.

[Author]

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