terrible2

Hey guys,

I know you guys have probably beat this horse to death, but I just bought a 2000 Honda Civic. It has a salvage title and from what the PO told me, the car had a fender bender on the drivers side, then someone graffitied a door so they just said it was totaled. Yes I know it need s to be 75% of the total cost to be deemed totaled.

Anyways I noticed that when I turn the dials to AC, air will blow out strong, but not cold air, does anyone think I need to recharge the Freons? I dont believe at 9 years old it should need it. Im assuming more of a leak somewhere in the lines.

Also if air is blowing out, that means the compressor is working?

Thanks for the help in advance, Im more of a Jeep guy but working on this Honda as my DD, and well it needs tons of TLC

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

can you hear the compressor and fans (both fans) kick on? you should hear a clicking sound when you turn ac on. if theres a leak, compressor wont turn on. usually a shop can do a leak test and fix wherever its coming from. no sense in getting it charged if the r134a will just leak out again. and does the a/c light come on when you press the button?

terrible2

Ill check for the fan and something kicking on but yes the AC light turns on, the reason I havent checked it for leaks is because its going to cost me $40 to check the leak, whatever to fix it, then they say 2lbs of Freon would cost $170?? wtf I get alot more out of the bottle.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

our cars use r134a not freon, and its a ton cheaper. freon is basically illegal and only some shops have it for recharge on old cars and it costs a bundle. im pretty sure 2000 civics dont use freon. also they sell cheap leak detector kits at the auto store that might work. you will also find r134a that you can try to use to charge your car and see if it works. or just take all the parts out and dont use ac.

terrible2

I live in Hawaii, I dont care what anyone says about rolling down the windows but im a severe sweater. So I may have to just roll down the windows but id rather not = (

Sorry maybe it wasnt freon maybe they had r134a which they sell more than 2 lbs with the DIY recharge kits at auto shops for only $25. This was also firestone quoting me, is there anyway to check if AC compressor works on without trying to listen for something kicking on? I could try to recharge it, it seems simple enough as long as I dont overcharge it.

Sorry I havent filled out some information, ill get to it soon and will probably hop on here alot and try to share some of my limited knowledge = ) Thanks for your help so far.

terrible2

didnt hear a fan kick on, in fact heat also doesnt work. Heater core could be broken along with leak in AC? But the car sure does blow the air from the outside to the inside of the vehicle well.

terrible2

help?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

if its below freezing, compressor has a safety lockout. for the heat, do you hear any noises in the dash when you move the temp dial. the switch itself may be broken, or the door mixer in the back of the dash is stuck. how is your coolant and have you changed it lately?

terrible2

Hmm havent changed engine coolant, just bought it. What color should the coolant be? ill check it tomorrow.

As for the Heater making sounds when I change the dial, nope. How would I check to see if its stuck? take out the plastic console?

As for temp lockout, its not freezing outside its about 80 degrees = )

You think I should just try to refill it first? or spend that freakign $40 to get it tested for leaks

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

just test it, if you refill and theres a leak, it will come right back out

terrible2

Will do that tomorrow. Thanks

terrible2

So I attempted to use the DIY AC Refill.

Heres what I found

Warmed up the engine for 3 minutes.
Took the guage and got like 0
Attempted to fill it up with AC button on and high
When I pressed the lever to charge it, it would spike, then slowly as I tried to hold the lever down to charge it would fall down in PSI until no matter how hard I pressed down on the can, it wouldnt force anymore in.

Something definitely did kick on when I tried refilling it that hadnt kicked on before, im guessing compressor. Now when I went inside the car I could hear this hissing from behind the dash it seemed like, and still no cold air.

What do you think? Evaporator? if so would I need a new one? or a leak in Evap?

terrible2

Any suggestions?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

you really need to fix the leak, otherwise what youre putting in is coming right back out. they have leak detector kits at the auto store you could try yourself.

civicpapi

The best bet is to have a shop with professional gauges hook it up and moniter the high and low side readings.

The do it yourself kits, read the directions and make sure you get one with a gauge. It hooks to the low side port which is smaller in diameter. You start the car let the AC run on full blast for like 10 minutes or so. Look at the gauge typical there is a red, blue and green area I believe. When you hook it up you can get a basic idea of the charge amount. When you push the can's button the gauge will move but that is not accurate reading, I think the reading with the button not pushed is the right reading.

R134a was put in most cars from 1996 and on, I believe that was the year, to double check there should be a service stick under the hood.

terrible2

ill do that gearbox. Also on the note of filling up the AC, the reason I couldnt is because the amount of force I literally put on the level to push r-134a into the low port, was doing nothing. No matter how hard I tried to press it, I couldnt squeeze AC into it.

Kinda like blowing through a straw with the other end closed...which actually wouldnt be a straw

civicpapi

You are trying to fill on the low port right? Typically the fitting will on fit the low side anyway.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

may have to just take it to dealer. they have a special machine that hooks to both ports to measure and charge it.

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

If your trying to use autozone **** then your wasting your time and my atmosphere. For around $100 you can have the whole system looked at and recycled..repairs maybe a little bit extra.

terrible2

Heres my thing, AC repairs can be upwards of $500. My car cost $2200 and ive already put $240 into it for new tires...Its kinda counterproductive to put about 1/2 the price of the vehicle into repairs when I couldve just bought one for $3000 = )

As for the low port comment...yes it wont fit on the high port anyways because of the different diameter tubing.

For $100, I would be fine if I knew that they would fix it, but I would rather not have it recharged then find out that theres a leak and have to fix that. If I could find theres a leak beforehand then id repair that and recharge it myself. But ill have to get the DIY leak diagnosis which ill do this weekend.

Also $100, that seems cheap, Hawaii is nothing like the states I did a local search on Yahoo for AC Repair shops and got 0 hits in hawaii. Firestone quoted me $170 just to fill up the AC not to include the $40 leak check thats mandatory. = \

So remember to get a car with working AC if you ever move to Hawaii.

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

Holy ****, disregard my post. Hawii is its own country lol.