Automotive Air Conditioning Information Forum (Archives)

PeterG on Sun June 07, 2015 6:21 PM

Year: 1995
Make: Honda
Model: Civic
Refrigerant Type: R134

I have been having intermittent A/C issues for years. Regardless of outside temperature the A/C may work for hours on end, not work for days, randomly start working again, no rhyme or reason to it. The compressor is cycling the whole time like everything is fine. I have taken my car to 3 mechanics for the issue. All of them have checked the refrigerant, changed countless relays, etc. The problem has stayed the same. The last mechanic I took it to claimed when they emptied the system it had 9 ounces of oil in it and was only supposed to have 2 and that if it still wasn't fixed that he would need to flush the condenser. This same mechanic put my timing belt on, off a tooth, so I have reason to not trust their diagnosis.

I am tired of this issue and want to tackle this issue and all roads lead here. I would greatly appreciate any input. Thank you.

mk378 on Sun June 07, 2015 6:37 PM

Pull over and look under the hood to confirm that the compressor really is engaged when it is not cooling. If that is the case, you will need to measure the pressures.

If the compressor is not engaged, but the condenser fan is running, you probably have the very common situation of unreliable engagement due to the clutch gap being too large.

Edited: Sun June 07, 2015 at 8:40 PM by mk378