94 Accord LX AC blows cool not cold air not cooling car interior in

Main concern is that AC compressor does not lock up in the future due to lack of oil from lack of refrigerant as compressor on same belt as water pump and alternator

94 Honda Accord LX 5 speed manual transmission 2.2 L engine

While the car is 20 years old it has less than 50K miles on it. Car driven only 1X or 2X per month, but turn on AC for a 10 minutes everytime driven to lubricate the AC system.

The AC does not blow cold air only cool, not enough to cool cars interior in summer heat.

It came with factory installed AC with R134A type refrigerant.

Over the past 2-3 years the AC blowing less and less cold air when being used only cool air

Since I do not use the car much not too concerned about not cooling cars interior my main concern is that the AC compressor does not lock up and break fan belt that also operates the alternater and water pump due to lack of refrigerant oil.

I have been trying to diagnose the problem and fix it myself due to my limited budget and infrequent use of this car.

I opened the hood and visually inspected, so believe the valve to the heater core is being shutoff by the cable from the temperature control valve.

I also believe there is a good level of R134 refrigerant as no oil leaks seen and the AC compressor kicks on (RPM slows and hear change in engine noise) and stays on constantly in summer heat as it is supposed to do when turn on the AC all indicators of
good refrigerant level.

I understand gauges found in retail stores one attaches to AC system are not accurate and introduce air, moisture, and other problems to AC system, so trying to avoid using them or adding refrigerant. Also both the radiator fans turn on immediately when turn on the AC and off when turn AC off.

Read something about a bad AC thermostat (seperate from the antifreeze thermostat) seems to be an electrical component and that could be the problem. I am not familar with an AC thermostat, so wondering if my Honda has one, and if that is the problem. How to know if that is the problem, and how to test that electrical component to see if it have gone bad or not. Also what the AC thermostat in that car does, and how it works.

Any advice with someone knowledgeable about diagnosing AC problems in Honda Accord from the 1994 (after R12 stopped being used) to 2010 era are welcome.

 

First check that heater control wire or heat control **** is not damaged causing heater core to be open to hot coolant all the time. This will reduce cooling.

While a frozen compressor would cause loss of belt, the only impact would be loss of alternator. Water pump is driven by timing belt.

A slow loss of cooling is most frequently associated w/ loss of refrigerant. Look for oil/dirt accumulation around hose crimps, connections, condensor face, and compressor clutch rotation plane (oil slings out and dirt sticks to oil).

If dry, the loss may be an evaporator leak. My experience is that expansion valve to evaporator connections (brass on aluminum) corrode and distort the oring seals causing a leak. Fix is to remove, clean both parts, and replace oring. System must be discharged and evaporator case removed, a fair job but not too difficult.

On the other hand, this vehicle is 20+ yrs old so, refrigerant loss may be an accumulation of very small leaks at many sites. You could have system discharged, vacuumed, and recharged (add 2 oz of PAG). This is likely to restore cooling.

A final option., since you don't care about having AC, you can buy a shorter bypass belt (no-AC belt for this model). This bypasses the compressor and only drives the alternator. I've done this while I was repairing AC compressor on my 94EX.

good luck

 

Also to add to this, you also need to be sure the heater valve is closing all the way. The OE cables on the 94-early 95 Accords where adjustable and would come out of adjustment.

If the valve "seems" to move with the temp ****, pop the clip from the valve that holds the cable and manually close the valve and see if the ac "seems" to be cooler.

 

Good to know if AC compressor locks up will not stop
the water pump

I have visually inspected the heater core shut off valve
at 90 degrees from open position or at a completely
right angle from the hose, so it seems to be fully closed.
I see no adjustment on that cable. Hesitant to take clip
off and do any testing fearing breaking cable

I read the other suggestions, they seem too costly for me
to have done by mechanic, and evaporator repair described
seems beyond my ability.

I did find out this Honda has an AC thermostat, but it costs
$100 so not planning on buying that expensive item.

Thanks for your input

 

A re-charge of refrigerant/oil should not run more than about $100, however w/o a leak inspection you may not get long term cooling.

good luck

 

Replacing the a/c thermostat requires discharging the system and removing the evaporator from under the dash. The thermostat is there to shutoff the a/c compressor is if the evaporator gets too cold.

Check your local auto parts stores to see if they have an a/c pressure gauge as a loaner tool. Checking the high and low pressures can help identify a problem.

 

Replacing the AC thermostat, a part that costs $100 plus
not something I plan to do, and certainly not until
I determine that is the cause of this cool but not cold
air coming out of my AC system

Thinking of going the route of recharging the AC system
to address this lack of cold air

Spoken with others about their old cars (not Hondas) and many
have problems with AC not cooling the car, so must be
a common problem with age of car.

Since I do not have any experience doing this detailed
step wise advice is sought on recharging the AC system

Thanks for your past and future input on this repair

 

If you have an Auto Zone in your area-go there and have them check the air system..If you need help charging the system, they usually have some one there who can show you how to do it..also offer that someone there and offer to buy them a Subway sandwich and watch them do there magic..

 

There are many youtube videos on charging AC system.

good luck