So, when I bought my car, I thought I wouldnt need the a/c because well, Im used to the heat from L.A., but now since Im in Houston, things are waayyyy different and now that I have a baby in the car sometimes, I desperately need Air conditioning. My friend took a look at it and said that the car just needed some freon... but its r12 and the only way to get it is to have a license. I took it to an ac shop and to recharge it with the r12 is going to cost me $180 but to convert from r12 to r134 will cost around $300. My friend also told me that the fan for the a/c doesnt turn on. My question is, should I spend the $180 to recharge it with the r12 or spend the $300 to convert it? Or could it be that its just the fan? Btw cold air only comes out when i first start the car in the morning in the shade, other than that, its like the sun is blowing directly to my face.

Next question: When I had the ECU/TCU replaced, the drivers side seat belt stopped working. Its amost all the way to the back enough so that I am protected in case of an accident, but I just wanted to know if its not working because of the ECU/TCU or it could be something minimal?

and now for your bonus question:
Im pretty sure my CV joints need replacing, how much would/should the parts and labor cost to replace them?

 

There are 3 fans on your car. Two of them are in the engine bay and cool the radiator. The third on is inside of the car and blows the hot or cold air through your vents. Which fan is your friend talking about?

When you turn on the a/c, both fans in the engine bay should turn on.

Secondly, the vents should only blow air around the outside temperature when you have the a/c turned off and the temp gauge set to the coolest level. Does it feel like the heat is on the whole time your car is on?

The seat belts on accords have a lifetime warranty. Call a dealership to verify then take your car in.

I don't know what the labor rate is for CV joints. Try to shop around to get quotes. I found the remanufactured ones are hit and miss on the quality. I would suggest to buy new ones from O'Reillys (~$70 each). The brand is oreillys/master pro and I thought the build/quality was excellent. Find a shop that will just charge you labor.

 

they are the ones towarda the front of the car. only one of them turns and the other doesnt. the car only blows air when i turn the air on otherwise no air blows through

 

ive seen those diy conversion kits for the freon. is it a good idea to buy one and potentially save hundreds or just take it to a shop?
btw sry for double posts but my phone wont let me type longer

 

Don't worry about the double posts.

That fan will not disable the a/c, so I posted some tests to diagnose at the end.

When you have the a/c turned on and the fan inside the car turned full blast, is the air hot like you have the heat turned on? Or is it about as warm as the outside air?

As for the fan.....

The fan that isn't working is likely shot, but you should diagnose first. Unplug the connector to that fan. Start car, then turn on A/C. Use a volt meter and touch a lead to each pin of the connector leading to it. You should have 12V.

Plug connector back into the broken fan. Try to hit the back of the fan with the handle of a screwdriver when the a/c is turned on and car is running. If it turns on for a second when you have the a/c turned on, then that pretty much verifies that you need to replace that fan. Easy DIY job.

 

its hot like if i have the heat turned on full blast

 

Your a/c system might be ok. I'm guessing that when you have the heat turned on in the car (a/c turned off), that you can't control the temperature either? Is that right?

 

If my above post is the case there are two possibilities.

The temperature control **** could have cracked internally. You can turn the ****, but it doesn't pull the cable. Alternatively, the valve on the heater core may be stuck on high heat.

 

so i took it to my friends mechanic but i think he doesnt know anything because he told me the compressor doesnt work, but if the compressor didnt work wouldnt that mean that no air comes out? he also said that r12 and the 134a freons are the same thing and that putting the 134 in a r12 car does no damage at all. Im taking it to my mechanic tomorow

 

ok lets take this 1 at a time

1.. to replace the axle parts+ labor should be no more than 150-200 dollars each side' you can pick up an axle yourself and take it to the shop ,, they will charge you labor but you save money on the parts

2.... the seat belt itself is the only part that is life time warranty on the srs system, motors, control unit are not lifetime ,, you need to have a shop diagnose the issue ( honda dealer or a shop that specializes on hondas

3.......whoever told you that it would cost $180 to recharge the a/c system and $ 300 to retrofit it to r134a RUN AWAY FROM THAT SHOP,, it is absolutely a total RIP off,,,
i would convert it to r134a ,, all you need is to evacuate the system ( you need an a/c machine for that,, remove the valves in the a/c lines,install some r134a fitting, and charge it with r134a freon,,,,,,,trust me it works i have dona a **** load of them with no problems ,, doing so you have to put less r134a freon than the system requires i believe you car takes 30-32 oz of r12 i would put no more than 24 oz r134a,

the reason the compressor might not work is that system is out of freon,, it needs to be diagnosed ,,,

4....... the fan is inop.........the driver's side fan is the a/c fan,, the pass side is the main cooling fan

chk the fuses ,,if ok,, chk to see if you get power and ground at fan connector ,, if you do you got a bad motor ,, if you do not ,, could be a bad relay,, wiring ,