Wankenstein

1998 Civic EX stock coupe . A/T, 149K

A/C is not leaking and get gets cold during nights, early mornings and rainy day but, struggles to get cold during Florida summer days. During days hours the A/C gets cool but not cold now matter how long of drive time. Sides and back windows are tinted as dark as legally possible.. strip across front windshield.
I had a similar issue a year ago with my Mazda 3 and after a hi/lo switch replacement and evacuation & recharge the air is colder than when we first purchased it. The mechanic who did the a/c repair was very meticulous and said that (in his opinion) it's good to fully evacuate and replace freon every 7 or 8 years.

I am wondering if a full evacuation and recharge would help the Civic's a/c to cool better/faster during sunny days

ezone

Probably not, but feel free to try it out and report your findings.

Be sure to note how much freon gets recovered from the system, to see if it was low.


Remember, the AC systems in these cars can be a bit undersized so they can seem weak in high demand conditions.

I drive around with a digital thermometer in my center vents just so I can see how cold the vent temp is whenever I want. It takes (what sometimes seems like) forever to cool down on a hot day, but then some days my interior can be 150* or higher so it's expected.

Wankenstein

Doing a google search on the subject it seems this is a common complaint. As you said the AC system is undersized. The mechanic who did the AC work on the Mazda mentioned a few times getting as close too the exact amount of total freon needed to make it as cold as possible.. I didn't comprehend all that he was telling me but, it definitely made a noticeable difference. Unfortunately, he doesn't work at the same place I took it to before and not sure if I want to spend money on work that may not provide improvement.

ezone

Yes, the small capacity AC systems have very little room for error. Just a little bit over or under spec can really hurt performance.


Back in the olden days when AC systems were huge and might hold 3+ pounds of R-12 freon they were a lot more forgiving....You could lose a pound and never know it, the system would still cool good.

Ask where he went and go there? That's how we gain a following. I've got customers that have followed me for more than 2 decades, through 4 dealerships and several car lines.....and still bring me Mazdas LOL

Wankenstein

As well as your devoted Civic Forums followers.