Hello again...i love this forum

I have a 95 accord EX without a functional AC system. It worked ok (not real cold)...not great up until about 2 seasons ago. I had it recharged but it didnt make much of a difference. Then last year, it worked but the drain tube must have plugged and there was leakage coming through my ducts and running onto the passenger side floormat. It was funny ....i would make a turn and all this water would dump onto my passenger's feet. I mentioned this to a mechanic and he said he would try to clean out the drain. The problem persisted even after I took it in ....but the AC still worked.

The AC finally stopped working altogether. Blower works, heater works but it's getting quite hot and not sure what i should do. AC helped dehumidify my windows when they fog over ...so it's nice to have. ALso, i have a couple of infants in the car ...so it's nice to keep them cool on a hot day.

The car has 150,000 miles, runs great and I cant afford a different car ...nor do i really want a different car. How much should i expect to get it diagnosed/fixed? I know nothing about AC ....dont want to spend a fortune.

Here is one option but not real attractive: http://boards.jaylenosgarage.com/ind...showtopic=7360

 

Had the same drain problem and hilarious wet passenger feet with my 95, but I don't remember what they did to fix it.

It sounds like you have a leak and it's not holding the charge.

 

you should have a shop ,, hopefully one that specializes on hondas ,,diagnose the problem,,
if low on freon most likely there is a leak, they need to add freon + dye ,,this way they can detect where the leak is at .
as for the cost it could be anywhere from 50 dollars to 1000 dollars depending on what the issue is .

 

From your description, you likely have an eveporator leak. When this happens, the oil from the AC system lube attracts lots of dirt and dust, which accumulates in the evaporator fins and some accumulates in bottom of evaporator. This eventually leads to condensate drain blockage and overflow of condensate into the cabin. You can't clean this from the outside, IMO. Too much dirt and debris are inside the evaporator housing.

Fortunately, the evaporator housing is relatively easy to remove in the 94-97 Accords, but does require discharge of AC system.

Remove evaporator case, open and remove evaporator. Clean case, and replace evaporator w/ new or used replacement evaporator.

Reinstall evaporaotor case and reconnect to AC system. Replace receiver/drier. VAcuum and recharge w/ R134a and enjoy the nice cool air.

A challenging, but excellent DIY opportunity. If you take this to a shop, you will pay $1000+ likely. There is a downloadable 94-97 Accord manual available from the DIY Online Manuals note. You could do all the mechanical work and take to a shop for vacuuming and charging.

I did a similar job on my 94EX (faulty expansion valve and possible leaking evaporator) and total parts was <$100 (used evaporator module from salvage car). It took me most of 1 day including vacuuming and recharging. That was several years ago and it still cools fine w/ 220K miles.

good luck

 

We are having te same type problem in our 1993 EX with the AC NOT functioning any more, but no leaking that we know of on the passenger side. Is it hard to recharge this system?? And is there a leak sealer we can add to the system, or does it need to be taken apart first?

 

I think the most common place an older car will leak from is the compressor front seal because it sees the most wear although my evaporator also had a leak.
If you know you have a very slow leak you can keep adding freon as long as freon doesn't leak all out (just because a/c is warm doesn't mean there is no freon if your lucky). once pressure goes to 0 you'll need to evacuate the system (vacuum pump needed and you might as well fix the thing) to safely add freon you'll need a manifold gage set, discussed many times by others.
Adding sealers will probably not help IMO, some people think they hurt.
pro shops have ultrasonic detector or freon sniffers to find leaks. I almost bought a used one on ebay but bid got away 80-100 $s very cheap. so I'm sticking to the cheap dye, your system has to have some freon in it to test for leaks, if its empty just add some.

 

if your ac is fully charged then you have to look at your water heater valve and make sure it is closing all the way. On a car that old it is possible that the valve need to be replaced. On that family of accord there is no door to block off the heater core