Hot, with a chance of sweaty! AC fluctuations!?

[Nick]

Hi Guys,

First, got to love how Eric is trying to promote mature chat on his comment sections.. right on!

Now to the point, mu Honda CRV 04 has a fluctuating AC performance; more precisely, when MAX AC is on, it puts ice cold air through the vents for a minute or two but then hot air comes out thereafter. If I stop the AC and restart it later, it will cool again for a few minutes and then gets hot again. Is this typical for any specific AC symptom-diagnosis pattern with a clear solution?

Summer is around the corner, and I want to stay cool with your help!

Topic

[college man]

You may be low on charge. Have the system charge checked.

[John B Kobberstad]

Unless you have at least a refrigerant recycling machine to evacuate the refrigerant, a set of manifold gauges to monitor the pressures of the high and low sides, a scale which will measure to 1/4 ounce, a vacuum pump to remove the air from the system, a tank of refrigerant (NOT a 12 ounce can) and Nitrogen to test for system leaks you really can’t do the job properly and could cause more damage to your system. My guess is that you have a slow leak in your system that needs to be fixed and then the system needs to be properly recharged with the appropriate weight of refrigerant. My advice it to take it to a refrigeration specialist. DO NOT put a stop leak product into your system, because if you end up having to take it in and pay to have it fixed after this stop leak doesn’t fix the problem, you’ll be paying a lot more for the repair job. That stuff will mess up the equipment used to fix the your system and the repair cost will be passed on to you. It will VOID a warranty also, if you have one.

[Nick]

So you guys think I might have a slow leak? … my miniature periods of cold air followed by hot air thereafter is a possible prognosis I suppose?

So if I don’t want to invest too much dough, what’s the smart approach here: A or B

A ) take it to a good service centre and just get them to recharge the system with refrigerant and dye?

B ) invest in the diagnosis full force and check to see if the problem is the compressor or if the condenser is overly abused (many damaged fins), or some other component? If it works upon initial activation of the dial, the system must be capable, just not sure what is holding it back so to speak.

…… worth noting that on the gray stone driveway, I had a centrally located white stain on these stones. Related? What stains white besides salt residue anyways?

You guys are awesome. Hope I can find some good guidance!

[John B Kobberstad]

You seem to have a leak in your system that needs to be fixed because the refrigerant is low and causing the problem which is why it is coming on then going off. Low refrigerant will cause the low pressure switch to disengage the clutch and shut off the compressor. There is lots of A/C info on pages 1 and 2 of the “How To” forum here

[Ryan]

I would recommend using a professional for any A/C work, I think you’ll get better results. My father had a Mitsubishi Lancer with this problem, the A/C would blow cold, then get warm, and after turning it off for a bit and switching it back on it would be cold again for a few minutes. Ended up getting the compressor replaced and it worked great from then on.

[Author]

Replies