Before writing anything, I would say that I am not much into car mechanics ( I know very little about it).

I have a Honda Accord DX 1994 with 100,000 miles on it. It gave me problems with my AC unit for long now. I had a leak in the tubings which was repaired by GoodYear in 2007 (When I bought this Car).

Later in 2009, I had to replace my Compressor and the local mechanic charged me some 450 $. I guess he put a refurbished one. Now since March 2010, I have my AC issues again. I thought it was not charged up, and so I took it at Meineke Car Service. He said that the Compressor was leaking and had to be replaced. He also replaced the condensor and cummulator. He charged me some $ 800 for all this. While giving my car he said my AC switch in Dash has to be hit twice/thrice real hard, so that my AC starts working. It was cooling okay that day, was not getting very cool though. i thought it may take a while to get cold. The very next day, I relocated to Toledo, Ohio from Dallas, Texas for my work. On the way, the AC was cooling well, then after about a 100 miles, it was not cooling at all. I switched the AC off, called up Meineke with no result, and drove all the way with my Car windows open to beat the heat. I thought I will show it here in Toledo to another Meineke service station. The AC still blows warm air when switch is kept on Cold, and blows much warmer when switch is turned on Heat. There is no Meineke Car station here in Toledo and the nearest one is 150 Miles down south. Also, I cannot take the car back to Texas, as I have permanently moved here. I tried troubleshooting but am not able to get this thing going. I dont know what could be wrong with my Car AC. Is it the dash switch, or thermostat or something else. The Meineke Car center told me it could be something electrical. Can Anyone suggest me something. I do not want to invest anymore in this. Please help me guys....

If the Dash switch is the issue, How do radiator fans turn on when I switch it on? and also the green indicator turn on when I turn it on.

Please help.

 

After reading your thread it sounds like you are having a few problems here. One is with your fan switch and the other is with the actual cooling correct?

Does the fan work in all speeds or just one? Do you still have to beat on the switch **** to get it blowing?

To be honest, without some proper tools such as a gauge manifold or leak detector, it might get a little difficult to diagnose. IMO, Meineke might not have been the best place to get A/C service. You might want to consider a shop that specializes in auto A/C to help you diagnose your problem. Sounds like you had quit a few components replaced such as the compressor, condensor and accumulator. I am not knocking on Meineke as I am sure there are very competent individuals working in some of these shops, however, there are bad mechanics everywhere and there might be a possibility that they left a line loose on one of your replacement parts causing the refrigerant to leak down.
If you can identify the main refrigerant lines going to and from the compressor you can start the car and run the A/C on max high. Then go and feel the compressor lines to see if one of them is getting cold. BE VERY CAREFUL SINCE ONE OF THESE LINES WILL BE EXTREMELY HOT AND WILL BURN YOU IF YOU TOUCH IT FOR TOO LONG. The high side line of the compressor (pressure side) will be very hot. The low side line of the compressor (suction side) should be cold. If the low side isn't getting cold than you aren't moving refrigerant (leaked out or a metering/moving problem).
Just a very basic idea of what the A/C is actually doing. As the refrigerant is moved through the system via the compressor, the evaporator located under the dash has refrigerent moving through it. As the inside air is forced through the evaporator, the heat in the air is removed and carried out by the refrigerant absorbing the heat. There are a list of components that allow this refrigerant to move through the system and remove the heat from the inside air such as a metering device (TXV-Thermostatic Expansion Valve), condensor, accumulator just to name a few. Eventually, the inside air cools down once the heat is removed causing the metering device (TXV) to regulate the amount of refrigerant needed to keep the inside cool. The hotter the inside air, more refrigerant is needed to pass through the evaporator so less metering is required. To keep it basic, this should give you an idea of waht is happening and maybe you can do a few checks on your own before taking it to a shop.

Hope this helps.

 

Turn the AC on and look at the compressor to see if the clutch energies. It is the center part. If it isn’t most likely you are low on Freon and you still have a large leak. The hitting the bottom twice makes me question the mechanic as well as needing both the compressor and condenser. In my experience it is mostly condensers that go bad but compressor fail just not common that both fail at the same time. The accumulator is a filter that gets changed at times when the system gets moisture in it such as a leak or opening up the system to replace parts.

 

I tried doing the things........ What I found is both the high and low connection to the compressor are still hot and not getting cold. The Compressor is not kicking off....... When I tried to fiddle with a switch (red color relay) I found that it started but just lasted for about a minute.. I dont know what you call that red switch and there are so many wires going in it.. So I was hesitant to do something with it. What should I do If it is an Electrical problem.


Thanks

 

If the compressor kicks on for a short amount of time then off, it usually means you are low on Freon and have low pressure in the system. Looking more like you still have a leak.

 

As Chris mentioned, short cycling of the compressor can indicate a low refrigerant charge. Does the compressor only kick on when you play with the switch or can the clutch ingage on it's own?
If the compressor is cycling on it's own you need to find out if you have an adequate charge in the system. If it only cycles when you play with the switch I would focus on that. Do you have a schematic of the system to know exactly what switch you are playing with? Are you good with a multi-meter?