VietNinjaJ30A1

So I've been having some issues with the A/C on my 2007 base RDX. The symptoms are as follows:

On really hot days, the A/C will work for one trip (e.g. go from the house to the store) and then all of a sudden it will only blow hot air when I turn on the car (e.g. leaving the store and going home).

Then later that night, after the car has been sitting for a while, the A/C will work again and blow cold air.


Dealer visit #1: they took the car in and said there was a leak in the discharge hose. They replaced the hose, did and evac and recharge, and put a dye in the refrigerant to detect any other leaks.


Then on Thursday it happens again. I was running errands with my fiancee and after leaving the store, we come out to a car blowing hot air. So I drove straight to the dealership (same one) and left the A/C on so they could witness it first hand.


Dealer visit #2: they called me after looking at the car and told me that the compressor was damaged from the 105+ degree heat we've been having and because the extra strain it puts on it running in this weather. I DO drive my car quite a bit in the dead heat of the day. The service advisor said that the compressor turns red when it turns on from the excess heat, and that it has actually been warped. He also told me that the condenser needs to be replaced because it "kicks on and off and it's not supposed to". Maybe he means the condenser fan? From the little knowledge I have on A/C systems, the condenser is similar to a radiator...there is no real "on" or "off"...it's a tube with fins on it.


I'm going to go in an talk to them in person today about it...and see if they'll let me see this stuff first hand. They're asking close to $1600 for parts/labor so I want to make sure they're not just replacing the condenser because of the fan or some switch/relay that may be faulty.

Any help would be great!

737 Jock

Wow. Sorry you are still dealing with this!

If your AC blows hot, but then the next day blows cold again, I would think that pretty much rules out a refrigerant leak. The refrigerant is under pressure and if it leaked, it would all leak and not blow cold after that.

It sounds more like an intermittant controller or sensor issue that is shutting off the compressor if it thinks measurements are out of normal range.

But overheating of the compressor (really? glowing red?) should be prevented by the computer shutting off the compressor for out-of-range readings. If the compressor is actually warped from heat, then the system is failing to shut it off to protect it. An HDS hook-up should provide much more info.

You sure aren't going to get anything useful out of that service advisor. It's anyone's guess what he means about the condenser , and ambient temps of 105+ are well within normal service range. Perhaps you should wander around back and get some straight talk from the tech working on your car.

VietNinjaJ30A1

I talked to the service department to get more details and they told me that when the compressor kicked on it was throwing sparks and you can smell a burnt smell coming from it.

I asked for more details on the condenser and they said that the condenser does "turn on and off" in the sense that when it's "on" fluid can flow through it and when it's "off" fluid can't flow through it. I didn't know there was a valve of some sort that kept fluid from flowing through the condenser, so I just took that at face value.

Could there have been some damage to the compressor when I bought the car (used...not certified...not from Acura...big mistake) and I just didn't know about it? I asked my advisor if this means I just can't drive my car in 105F heat, and he said absolutely not, but that while the parts are tested to function in these environments, their durability decreases over time in "extreme" environments.

They have the parts on order (compressor+clutch+coil and condenser) and will start work on it Monday...

hotbryan333

If it blows cold air once in a while, its probably the ac compressor, to be specific, ac compressor switch. The switch might be shot, try to get a used ac compressor and swap the switch first, it might solve your problem, its the cheapest route to tackle, not doing all the recharging crap that your dealer performed for $$

sickgixxer33

i would first try to swap in a new relay before changing anymore parts. there is a service news related to this kind of issue. the thermo coupler sensor on top of the a/c compressor when it goes bad it completely cuts power to the a/c compressor, i have yet to see one work intermittently.

Kaze66218

The compressor is fine..if it's not the relay, then the problem is clutch coil/ field coil in Honda terms it needs replacing. It it works some of the time that means belt/ relay problems (not as sure, as many seem to lean towards, as I'm giving out a second thought on the matter as the relay has already been covered.)/ field coil or referred to as "AC clutch coil"(which is what I lean towards). This happened some months ago on mine, wife took it to Acura they even told her it was a broken AC compressor per ticket, some $2000 job.

My thought is it wears out stupid fast while clients controls are set to auto.. This mo fo can really heat up. It's because as the coil wears out it's less efficient if taken off auto and manually set it will never quit, that's why older cars didn't have this issue as we do... Just speculation!

Luckly she called me before agreeing and drive it home without getting the refrigerant pul back in. They still owe us refrigerant, well... pay us back for having a mom and pops AC tune and lube refill.

Anyway check this first if the nut/bolt is loose on the pulley, which the stealership pulled on us, if the line had been purged and refilled the AC still wouldn't work. Check for that, then go to Honda dealer get a 07 crv [any model] AC field coil for $120-150 and take it to a mom and pops tune and lube and get it replaced if it seems too much for ya.

IF the Acura stealerships says that AC compressor is a package pre-built unit and coils are not sold seperately, that's total BULL SHIT go to Honda if you can't get it from acura.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

just one quick question....

do you turn ur AC off before shutting down the car ? and turn it on again once ur car is ON and running ?

dcmodels

Acura FIELD COIL SET (no pulley) is $90 ($70 online).

Acura CLUTCH SET (including pulley) is $150 ($112 online).

Acura THERMAL PROTECTOR is $60 ($40 online).

Acura COMPRESSOR (including CLUTCH SET and COIL SET and THERMAL PROTECTOR) is $500 ($380 online), so I assume that the $2,000 quote from your dealer included (a lot) of labor for installation, system flush, recharge, other?

---eof

Kaze66218

They purged my AC lines never refilled it either, and ac ran fine. My wife took it in for tranny service.

Yeah I call them stealerships.

At the acura they really don't know how to mark stuff down while you are dealing with a service weasel. He tried telling me over the phone his service was far Superior and that it would involve $1400 for x hrs labor and not including Acura parts.. his words around $2000 plus tax + piece of mind(Fn-BS). Told him to give the keys back. They never even bothered with the tranny fluids.

BTW that's a deal on the field coil set where did you find one at that price? prolly mark up shipping..IDK but this is a good price.