When I went for a highway drive the AC on my '94 quit blowing cold, after that I've diagnosed the following:

The AC Compressor does turn on, as the cars idle will drop for just a sec before the IAC compensates.

The AC Condenser fan does work, runs as soon as you hit the AC button. The other fan turns on after a decent drive.

There IS a freon leak, R-134a I believe, but its a slow leak.

I did try adding a cheap can of freon, on can no.1 the gauge immediately jumped to red (and is still red even though its been disconnected from the car), can no.2 went into red too (and didnt break). I have not added any freon as the guages indicate an overcharge (at least one does).

Should I try adding some anyway? What else could be the issue?

 

See my post # 9, 15, and 16 in this other thread to see if it may be due to the cable adjustment.

https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/for...justment-8250/

 

Do not add any R-134a. You really haven't verified your charge is low, or figured out your actual problem with your a/c.

How many oz did you add already?

Wear safety glasses, because an overcharged system can "explode".

1. Look at the compressor when the engine is running and a/c is off. Verify the clutch plate is not spinning in front of the compressor pulley. Turn on the a/c and verify the clutch plate is spinning.

The change is idle doesn't mean the compressor turned on. I'm sure the ECU changes idle settings as soon as you turn on the a/c regardless of the a/c working. The return to normal can be the ECU adjusting to the load with an inoperative a/c.

2. When you turn on the a/c in step 1, both fans should turn on immediately. The passenger side fan is the radiator fan, and the driver's side is the a/c condenser fan. These are just names, because they both turn on to cool the radiator and the a/c condenser when the engine is running. Which fan (if any) is not turning on?

3. The only way to verify the charge is correct is using an a/c manifold pressure gauge. The gauges that come with the cans is worthless to diagnose and to charge an a/c system. Never charge a system without first verifying you are low on R-134a, and never charge without using an a/c manifold gauge.

 

I have added only a little bit of extra freon, now it gets "cool" but not as cold as it did previously. After a short drive it returned to not working since I only added a little less than half a can.

1. The clutch does not rotate, AC on or off it is stationary. Hopefully its just low on freon. While I was charging it the RPM did dip then go up a little, seemed to start cycling, but I didnt think to check the clutch at that time.

2. The passenger side fan turns on when the AC button is pushed, the drivers fan turns on only if the engine is warm after a drive. I cant help but think that the relays may have been swapped.

The cheapo refill can guages are a joke for sure, one read straight down in the middle while the other would rest in "green" when unplugged.

 

Ok, now you have somewhere to start.

The relays can not be swapped between the fans. The condenser relay is bolted on the frame for the condenser fan. The radiator fan relay is in the fuse box. Two simple tests to try on the condenser fan (driver's side). Unplug the fan, start engine and a/c, then use a volt meter to see if you have 12V. An easier test is to leave everything plugged in, then start the car and a/c. Tap the fan motor body with a screwdriver using light/medium force. If the fan kicks on, then the fan motor is shot.

You need to do almost the same test on the a/c compressor. Unplug the 1 wire connector, start the engine and a/c, then use a volt meter to see if you have 12V to ground (use valve cover bolt or battery negative post) as ground. The compressor should get 12V with the a/c turned on, and not have 12V when the a/c is turned off.

Let us know what you find.

 

I have a Voltmeter but where would I put the ends to make proper contact within the plug? Not sure what setting is Volts either, I'm very new to these.

For the fan I will try both of those tests when I have a chance in my schedule, expect results by the end of the week at most.

For the compressor I will look for the plug and test that too, two things I should have noted earlier though:

1. When I brought the car the high/low AC port caps were missing, not sure what that entails, but I did replace them with fitting caps.

2. That valve cover ground wire was missing its bolt (so it was loose), I've installed another bolt to hold it down.

 

Id suggest finding a youtube video on how to use your specific volt meter. It is a very useful tool to diagnose problems.

The black lead should be plugged into the spot on the meter saying com. The red lead will have two places to plug. Plug into the spot that says V (along with mA, and Ω). Don't plug the red meter lead into the spot that says 10amps.

Practice with your volt meter on you battery. The dial on the meter should be set to direct current volts (DCV). The number should be higher than 12 (likely 20). Touch the red lead to the + battery post, then the black lead to the - battery post.

When testing the plug of the fan, the meter is setup just like the battery test. With the connector unplugged, put the red lead into the side of the plug with the non-black wire. The black lead with the black wire. If you get them reversed, the voltage reading would be -12V instead of 12V.

 

Once I find the volt meter I'll try it out, I did use it previously to troubleshoot a Volvo, not much else I'm afraid.

This Tuesday I will begin testing stuff out.

 

Heres what I have found:

1. The condenser fan is not receiving power to the blue plug, reading was 00.1 or something of that effect. Light knocking made no difference. Makes some noise when manually rotated.

2. The AC Relay reads 13. Volts, I used the brownish relay next to the condensor relay, so if that was the right relay the AC is recieving power.

Also, found a single ground wire to the compressor that wasnt hooked up, could this cause any issues?

 

Since you are new to reading voltage, repeat the test on the fan and do both fans. The working fan should give you 12V and the non-working fan may or may not have 12V. Use the black wire in the plug as ground and then try the negative battery post as your ground.

There are 4 wires to the relay and two wires should have 12V to ground (use valve cover bolt or negative battery post as the ground). Let us know which wire colors have voltage.

The single wire going to the compressor is the power to turn on the compressor. That is the wire you should test for 12V to ground (valve cover bolt or - battery post).