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Hey guys,

I have a 2005 Honda Civic EX, 32.5k miles on it. I've been noticing that this summer my a/c has not been working as well as it used to. I used to be freezing in my car pretty quickly when I first got it last summer. This summer seems to take forever to try and cool down the inside of my car. I will drive an hour home from work, and the a/c will still be on full blast and I will feel as if it isn't helping too much.

Is there something I should know to get it taken care of, or anything that I can check?

Thanks!

 
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The first thing you can do is put a thermometer in the duct and see how cold it blows. Set the system fan on high, temp on cold, and recirculate button on, and check the temp, if it falls below 60°F then it doesn't sound like you have a problem. If it doesn't fall below 60°F then you have to take ambient air temp and humidity in to account; if the outside temp is 100° and the humidity is above 60% any system is going to have a problem cooling any car.

If the outside temp isn't any different than last year, then the most common problem is the system is low on refrigerant (r-134a), which means you have a leak. The only way to find out is to put a set of A/C guages on the car and see what the system is doing. So as far as a easy fix goes, you're better off taking it to a good shop and have them look at it.

I've been repairing automotive A/C systems since the late 80's, and even in this world of technology and computers, the basic working part of the system hasn't changed much at all.

 
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Im not gonna be of any help but I have also noticed that my 05 civic A/C is not as strong as I thought it would. Don't get me wrong, it works fine but my old car, a crappy 93 dodge spirit, had a/c that would freeze you out of your car compared to my new honda. Is it because of the whole "CFC free" thing?

 
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You know my girlfriend was explaining to me the same thing. She had borrowed her mom's 93 dodge intrepid, and she said it was freezing her out of the car too. I don't know what it is about the technology, but it definitely functions a lot better. I know when I stood next to her car it was great, really cold.

Hmm, Yeah I know the outside temp and humidity has a lot to do with it. I live in NJ, so the humidity is always brutal here. And the temps have been high 90's and sometimes into the 100's, so I know that won't help at all... been getting hit with a lot of heat waves. But I know last year wasn't too far off as it is this year. My girlfriend's brother is my mechanic, her mom (who owns the shop) told me it's about $20 to hook it up to the machine to test that... he's very good at what he does too, so I'm going to take it to him when I get my oil changed.

The re-circulation button, should that always be on? I thought all that did was move the air already in the car and circulate it, not cooling it or anything... am I wrong? I've been leaving it off when I use my air conditioning... how should I be doing it? Should I turn the recirculate on as soon as I turn my air conditioning on?

 
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The recirculate button will make the A/C colder because it's recirculating the air inside of the car, if it's off, it draws in hot outside air. In the summer I always leave it on, plus it makes the A/C run more effectantly, so that could be your problem right there.

 
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its actually quite simple, behind your glove box are two cabin filters, which you probably never heard of, must be filthy, replace them.

try filling your frion

PS: do not attempt to wash the filters , they will cost you about 60 bux, but its worth it

 
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Do not over fill it. You can get a gauge at any auto parts store or Wal-Mart

 
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Good advice about not overfilling the system , but those gauges from the parts store are garbage. You really need a full set of gauges with a "low side" and "high side" gauge because r-134a runs at such a high pressure that just using the lowside gauge can be misleading.

 
Rep Power: 812

there are a few things. some mentioned already. if you live where i do and its 97F and 100% humidity then forget it, you're sweating. changing the cabin filters will allow more air to flow if your old ones were dirty, which would cool the car faster. but it won't make it any colder. also for the compressor to work at max output, you really need to be on the freeway. there is a huge temp difference if you've been driving for 20 mins at 65+mph constant. go try that and come back if it still doesnt get cold. then youre prolly a bit low on r134a. also if you have older car, you prolly noticed it got a ton colder, its due to the freon they use. my 87 jetta blew like a freezer. now r134a isnt really any safer, idk why they even switched. there is something called envirosafe that a couple member have switched to which is much safer and also gets alot colder. but its not something the average diy guy can do.

 
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http://www.dndtransportrefrigeration...questions.html

Check this site for the difference and more info

Its just R134 has no ozone depleting capability while R12 does have ozone depletion material....

While Both R134 and R12 has global warming potential...

 
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I had the same problem with my ac on my 02 vic.It wouldn't blow very cold and when it did it would take 15 mins to do it. it stopped working all together the other day so I brought in to my brothers shop and he diagnosed it down to an electrical problem with the compressor thermal protector.I ordered the part at honda and its gonna take 3 or 4 days to come in so in the mean time we just jumped the wires for the protector thingy.My brother said it would probably make the compresor run all the time which it did but man does my ac ever blow cold now.I hope it doesn't mess up the compressor though.

 
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Hey guys, I'm just going to go ahead and revive this thread. I'm still not sure what my problems are, but there have been some changes.

- Had a huge engine issue over the winter. I believe my thermostat had gotten stuck, wound up blowing the header and had a general misfire. After replacing the spark plugs and still having the issue, I discovered I bought the extended warranty when I bought the car, so for $50 they determined what the problem was, had to completely re-mill the head and replace the thermostat... Just shy of $1000 worth of work, for $50... I like it!
- When advising the mechanic of the A/C problems, he stated that since they had to disconnect / remove the engine, they had to completely refill the r134a / recharge the system, so it should be better.

I haven't noticed really any difference with the AC. I'm taking environmental temps into account, being I live in NJ it can frequently get humid. We haven't reached really hot days yet, but there have been days I've had the AC on... I've had really hot days where the AC worked perfectally, and then the following day the AC works like crap, so I really don't know what the deal is.

This is also with max cold, fan on high, recirculate is enabled.

 
Rep Power: 812

check the charge level, might be low and leaking. drive it on the freeway at least 10 mins at max air to circulate the lubricant in the system.

 
Rep Power: 228

Im having a problem with my a/c also. It doesnt blow very hard and the air actually gets very hot at times, then kinda gets cool. So i have taken it to two shops to see if they can detect a problem, leak or jsut need a re charge. They would tell me that the air is blowing fine and the air is cold. So i told them it the air usually gets hot after i drive for like 5 to 10 minutes (freeway or normal streets). They told me that my unit was just to small for the heat. I live in Arizona so it would make sense because the average day in the summer is 110 to 115. But there are so many other people who live here who have civics who are rolling around with there a/c blasting . I know not everyone has this same problem. i understand that it wont work as good but i dont think they are driving with there windows up and there a/c blowing hot like mine. Does anyone know if there has been a recall on our units?

 
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you hear the compressor and fans coming on? ac can only do so much if all the components and vents are cooking hot. check the condenser fins for dings and stuff.

 
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I do hear it come on, thats the only time i feel the air get cold. I hear it and im like heck ya, here comes the cold air lol

 
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okay well the fans should be on ALL THE TIME when the ac is on. now technically the compressor isnt designed to stay on constantly. it cycles on and off otherwise it would burn itself out. so if you feel cold air when it comes on, i dont think you have a problem other than its just way too hot outside. when you have a car that is 100s of degrees and the ac maybe blows 50-60 degree air, there is no way youre gonna do it. by the time all that moves through the hot venting system, you already lost alot of cold.

 
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Great so basicly im screwed then Thanks man, appreciate the help.

 
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Hey guys im having kind a similar problem. My A/C isn't working, however the fans come on, its full of freon, and when the ac is turned on there is a change in sound from the engine/surrounding components. Im not really sure what would be causing the problem but i think its the compressor. Any information regarding the problem or possible solution are much appreciated.

 
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i have a 03 civic lx. this whole summer my a/c unit wasn't blasting COLD air. it would blow air in general but not COLD at all. i've had the civic for a few months and still tryin to recognize the parts to the car. please help

 
Rep Power: 234

Have it evacuated and recharged. Should cost about $100. Although, if you have a leak it will probably leak out by next season.