AC Help Needed
 

I had a 1996 Honda accord and my A/C doesn't work. I bought it that way.

I checked all the fuses inside the car and in the box under the dash. It's blowing air but it's not hot, I think it's just room temperature.

Anyone know where the compressor is located on my car? I turned on the fans full blast and the A/C light comes on, but I don't see my driver's side fan activating.

Here's a picture of my compressor? It shows the residue from all the oil caked on there. I imagine a gasket in it blew and it's in need of serious repair?

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7200/6...5df598af_z.jpg

I moved your posts for better responses. It's confusing to hand two trouble descriptions in one thread.

Yes, that is back end of the compressor.

Is one fan engaging when AC is commanded on? Is compressor clutch closing (loud click) on the other end from your picture when AC is commanded on?

Most likely reason for no AC is leak that has allowed refrigerant to escape. Once that happens a pressure switch (low pressure opens) disables the compressor to prevent damage (refrigerant is necessary to carry lubricant to compressor).

Do you intend to repair yourself or need professional help?

good luck

If your doing it yourself youll need new o rings and ocompressor w/oil. Prob need a puller to remove clutch a new drier oil anx refrigerant will be needed. Make sure all is sealed good and pull a good vacuum to remove any air or moisture from the system.once all is good add refrigerant and chill....

I had the air on max with the A/C on(circulating the air) sitting in my driveway and none of the fans kicked on. I'm not really in a good position to see if the wheel inside the pulley is spinning. But I put my hand to the back of the compressor and couldn't feel any difference.

The guy at auto zone said if the A/C was on my engine would bog. I was on the highway and I didn't notice any drop if my engine performance or RPM's or anything.

I have some UV dye, a UV flashlight and my friend and I are going to take a look at it tonight. He's fixed a few of these, but are there any particular places we should look so were on the same page? I imagine it's probably an o-ring somewhere, none of the hoses look oily or anything. There's a little bit of rust(from oil?) on some of the metal pressure lines near the front of the hood. Otherwise, there's not really much to go on...

Don't assume anything with the a/c. You want to test before you start replacing stuff. Do not add refrigerant to the system unless you verify that you low.

The problem could be a leak or it could be electrical.

The engine may drop in rpm if the a/c engages for a second. The IACV allows more air in to keep the rpm steady.

The clutch plate is on the opposite end of the compressor in your picture. The pulley that is driven by the serpentine belt is between the body of the compressor and the clutch plate.

That clutch plate will not move when the a/c is turned off. Look at the plate with the engine not running. Start up the car and turn on the a/c. That plate should spin with the pulley. Also both fans should turn on. Let us know what you find.

Do you have a volt meter? I may have asked you this before, because you have several threads on here. I'm just too lazy to read through them right now.

Well, turns out the compressor is running, I was looking at the wrong side. Good looking out guys!

Me and my friend added the UV dye and saw the o-ring on the high pressure side was leaking(it's always o-ring in old cars). We first tried tightening it down a bit, but we decided it just needs replacing. Were going to try sucking out the old refrigerant into old R-134 cans(by we, I mean a certified shop), disconnect the line and replace the suction o-ring on the other line along with the damaged o-ring. Reconnect it, open up a vacuum line to suck the air out and then refill with 23oz of Freon.

Funny thing is I could have seen the leak without the dye($15 well-spent though and only $28 for the UV Flashlight), but because it was so caked with oil from the old camshaft/balance shaft leak it covered it all up.

Also, the passenger side fan came on alright, but the driver's side fan never did. It's funny, earlier before my friend came over I had the air circulating on max with the A/C on and the passenger fan never came on, but after he added the freon it came on like a charm.

Try starting the engine and turning on the a/c. Try hitting the motor of driver's side fan and see if it turns on. The a/c clutch has to be spinning for the fan to get power.

I would also consider replacing all of the o-rings in the system and the receiver/drier. The expansion valve, compressor shaft seal, and the Styrofoam in the evaporator under the dash are the other items you might consider replacing.

The o-rings are about 16 years old and others may be leaking. The receiver/drier has desiccant that will be exposed to moisture when you remove it. The Styrofoam isn't necessary to replace, but it may be moldy.

The reason I suggest doing this all at once, is that you want to do the repair right the first time, so you won't have evacuate the a/c system again to do repairs for a long time. Repairing the a/c isn't too difficult, once the R134a is removed.

TexasHonda may have some other suggestions and will hopefully post on here. He has posted a lot from his experiences doing a/c work.

To add to what PA is saying. There is a problem with the fan, BOTH fans should come on when the AC is running. This needs to be addressed as well, reduced cooling for the engine, reduced AC performance.

Well, I tapped the fan in the center with a mallet and it didn't come on.

Me and my dad tested it last June when we replaced the radiator, it worked fine then. The passenger side fan was dead though, and we ended up replacing that. The relay is fine, I suppose, I switched the relay fuse with the power windows fuse and the windows still worked.

This is kind of a mystery. Where do I check next?