Automotive Air Conditioning Information Forum

Your car's A/C compressor has a speed sensor on it that sends compressor RPM data to the A/C amplifier, and so does the engine's computer (ECM). If the amplifier senses a difference in RPM between the compressor and the engine's crankshaft, it shuts off the compressor (for reasons I won't go into ...

It might say 12 ounces on the can, but it's anyone's guess as to what a can actually contains without weighing-in each one. I've seen some of those "12-ounce" cans yield only nine or ten ounces of refrigerant according to my equipment. It's possible that the system could be undercharged by as much ...

Thought I'd mention that Tim at AC Kits, this site's sponsor, has two styles of side can taps in stock. One can handle three types of cans: R-134a, R-12, and oil. The other one handles only R-134a cans. Each is priced the same.

I don't recall your mentioning the vehicle's make model, and year. But ...

The newer self-sealing cans sometimes refuse to release their contents. If you can't find any of the old-style cans, you could try accessing the cans you have using one of those side-tapping gizmos. That's a technical term

If I understand correctly, everything that GM Tech mentioned checks out. So it doesn't appear that the ECM is shutting off the compressor for any of the reasons cited. I'm not sure whether the intake air temperature sensor has anything to do with the compressor not engaging, but I'd go ahead and ...

Cusser said: Could be a pressure issue due to insufficient refrigerant. See above response.

+1 on that. It would be very interesting to recover the charge and see how much is in there now. If it's low, the system has a leak someplace.

It's sure looking like the problem is a faulty blend-door actuator. But before you spend the money for a new one, try the test mentioned earlier. In any event, let us know how it goes.

I'm not an expert on Honda A/C systems. But because you're getting heated air (not just ambient air) out of the driver-side dash vent and nice cold air out of the passenger-side vent, it seems to me that the most likely cause of the problem is a faulty left-side blend-door actuator.

You could test ...

Good work finding the condenser leak and solving that problem.

You didn't give the vehicle's year, engine size, front and rear A/C or front only, and refrigerant type. It sounds like a European-spec vehicle, although you didn't say.
However if I do a vac test the gauge drops to near enough zero ...

Verified the a/c circuit was good all the way to the compressor coil which did not measure correct resistance. I decided to replace the whole compressor. That's fine, because the clutch assembly probably would have cost almost as much as the new compressor.
While researching I wanted to verify ...