art25

I have been having issues with the AC on my 08 Civic. It works great when I first turn on the car, but if it sits idle for more than a couple of minutes, it starts blowing hot air. When I turn it off for a while and then turn it back on, it blows cold again. I have had it checked out and gotten several different answers. Any suggestions?

ezone

Yeah.
Too many possibilities, and most people that WANT to DIY just shouldn't even try it.
Find someone that knows WTF they are doing.
Not everyone wearing a uniform does, and most people can't tell us apart.




No solid answers without seeing it myself.

But I'll guess.

Sounds either overcharged or running excessively high head pressure. Or a clutch problem.

Or maybe the engine is overheating and the PCM is shutting the AC off (you may not see this on the temp gauge either, seen it a few times when the block cracks and dumps coolant out).

Simple stuff:
Is the radiator coolant/antifreeze full?

When the AC kicks on, do both radiator fans run too? (They had better run.)
Is the front of the condensor clean and clear?

When it starts blowing warm:
Are the radiator fans still running at that time?
Is the compressor clutch engaged or not?
Is it powered or not?
(Looking for clutch and field coil problems here.)

Has ANYONE EVER touched the AC/freon or anything like that? WHY?

Depending on what I notice during the initial checks....

Next step might be to hook up a set of pressure gauges and see what the AC system is doing.

Then hook up a scanner that can communicate and give data, to see exactly what the AC REQUEST and AC CLUTCH statuses are when it quits.

Then study what I have so far, and make some decisions about what to do next.

markx916

There can be many problems... to me it might sound like you are at a start of a cracked engine block which is common with 2006 - 2008 BASE models only and early 2009 models. The engine block cracks around the area where coolant flows and eventually will leak everything out and cause your car to over heat. You should take a look around the engine block behind the O2 sensor, see if you see any hair line cracks around the block. Or just look under the car and if theres a pool of coolant then you have a cracked block. Good Luck let me know if it is or not. Thats what I think it might be because I heard many stories of cracked engine blocks... thats why I sold my civic after a few years of driving it around.

Also this car has a extended 8 year unlimited mileage warranty for a free replacement on engine block IF you have a clean title.... they wont work on it if its a salvage title...

just let me know if it is a cracked engine block or not.