Today was one of the first warm days of the season here in Tampa,

I flicked on my AC after class and NO cold air at all...

The heat works but no cold air...

Now this weekend, i removed my stereo and HVAC controls as well as the center consol to rewire a a few speakers with the stock amp. I know i didn't cut any wires, but maybe something got loose?

Can anyone point me in the right direction of why the AC would stop blowing cold?

The contrls all work, HVAC lights up and everything... but when you turn it down to 60 or Lo and put the AC on, no cold air.

I've never had this problem or any problem with the AC before.

Being that i just hit 56k miles, my warranty is gone and i'm stressing over what the repair bill can be like if I dont figure it out myself...

any pointers or tips on what to look for if I go behind my Stereo/HVAC again?

 

it's toast

 

^^There have been a few ppl here who had an A/C line leak. Sounds very similar.

 

^^ they messed with wirings too ?

 

No, but if the fan works, then I doubt it was wiring. Most of it is an integrated board with a wire loom, so unless you went after the loom, it is doubtful. Besides, the issue is not blowing cold air.... not not blowing air.

 

on second thought....

this weekend i went on a long trip; which is why i took the time out to do that work with the stereo.

I talked to a few passengers of mine, and they all agreed that at one point or another there was plenty of cold air blowing... i normally keep it on the 'auto setting' but when you're on an 8hr trip and its 80+ degrees outside, with the thermostat set at 70 and below the AC would most likely turn on. and come to think of it i DO remember cold air coming out....

so i guess the next question would be, are there any fuses or anything that anyone can think of that would cause such a problem?

 

I didn't touch any of the wirings for anything else. I went straight for the amp. also I losened the HVAC control, but i never actually removed it from the dash beacuse I saw that i didn't need to once I found the AMP.

There is a clip that goes into the amp, and i switched around the wires for the rear door 6 1/2 with the 6x9's in the deck. --- long story to explain why I did this, but essentially I have a sub for bass, and i didn't have an extra pair of 6 1/2 speakers after i blew the ones in the front door... .basically i put the rear 61/2's up front and made my 6x9's play regular mids/highs and not just lows. I have a sub in the trunk for lows.

anyway... bottom line is the only thing i can think of would be something coming lose somewhere that i may not have fastened. but i DO remember cold air this weekend as well as the passengers in my car.

 

There is a refrigerant line that runs in front of the radiator and as I remember, the ppl that lost cold air had a puncture there. I would look to see if you see any damage, but more than likely, you'll need Acura to look at it b/c you won't see microscopic holes. You could also look at the viewing glass on one of the lines to see if you see refrigerant passing through the system. You might also see an oily spot around the line if there is a leak, but not always.

 

Maybe I should leave the car running for a while with it switched on (though I get no cold air) to see if there is any condensation leaking from the bottom (like normal) --- that could tell me if the compressor is working (or whatever)


also, i'm sure you all notice a little hesitation when you turn the ac 'on' --- usually caused by the extra pull in power... anyway when i turned the ac on, i do hear a little fan kick on in the front of the car, and i get that hesitiation like normal when the ac kicks on, but like i said... no cold air... whats up with that???

lets see what other observations......

 

hmm viewing glass... i'll have to poke around...

man this seriously sucks.... 56k miles... and i drove 1200 just this weekend on a trip to atlanta from Tampa...

the manager at my dealership is pretty cool i MAY get him to still cover it under warranty but its doubtful :-(

anyone have any ideas on what something like this will cost? both to look at and to repair given it is a puncture of some sort?

 

Isn't there an A/C on/off button? If so, press and 'un' Press it and have someone listen for the compressor to "click" on. This should tell you if you accidentally diisconnected something in the dash.

Edit:
Oops, sorry I saw your post about the fan, but I'd still check the compressor to make sure it's clicking to on.

 

wehre is the compressor located exactly? so that I can double check that? i hear the fan turn on but i dont know about the compressor...

 

well I see where the compressor is, beacuse i can see the tubing and the 2 pullies attached to the motor...

it certainly sounds like something changes... the fan does turn on... all this tells me it has nothing to do with the wiring in the dash because it does stuff with the ac on/off command from the hvac controls....

but still no cold air.... either way i called the dealership for an appointment. gotta drop it off in the morning 7:15 AM...

so another thing i did was i left it on on purpose while i was sitting next to it having lunch today... to see if there was any kind of condensation or leaking from the bottom thats usual from the AC being on... and sure enough dry as sand... so clearly theres nothing going on in terms of any cold air being produced....

i'm thinking theres gotta be a leak somewhere... or it just needs to be charged....

but at 56k miles???

either way the service advisor at the dealership was pretty cool about it and she said depending on what the actual problem is, she'd try to speak to the acura representative and see if they'll cover it under warranty under "good faith."

 

Is it possible you're out of liquid refrigerant (whatever they use instead of Freon now)? It would seem to me that 50k miles in Florida might use up the stuff. My Audi had an electrical short 4 yrs ago that led to a SLOW loss of cold air.

 

uuum... an A/C system is supposed to be a sealed system. If you have to top off on that refrigerant stuff, there's a leak.

 

Absolutely! In humid climates (FL and HI) the condenced water collects in the drip tray behind the glove box. The aluminum finned condencer then sits in this water (mixed with dust and debris) creating conditions for corrosion. You probably have a leak there, it is very common here in Hawaii, especially on older cars without micron filters.

 

hmmm...

still can't figure out if there is a leak why it didn't gradually die on me... one day it works... the other it doesn't... wouldn't a leak be slow??

 

Here's a definite possibility:
Your AC condenser -- not to be confused with the compressor -- was hit by a rock while you were driving. The resulting puncture caused the refrigerant to leak out and, presto -- no more cold air. It's happened to me and other A'zine TSXers, including Sauceman.
I said this in a post back in the fall:
"My AC condenser was KO’d within a few months of my taking delivery. (Bought the car in October of 2003 and the condenser was hit during the winter that followed.) The service adviser at my local dealer said the warranty wasn't applicable because the damage was done by an 'outside force.' An attempt to get assistance from Acura client relations failed. Then, to my surprise and relief, my local dealer’s service manager decided to replace the condenser under warranty as a 'good-will gesture.' For anyone who hasn’t already noticed, the TSX condenser is something of a sitting duck for road debris. It’s vulnerable because of where it’s positioned and how little there is in front of it.) I’m hoping I won’t be the first person to have a condenser nailed twice, because I’m almost positive that the 'good-will gesture' was a one-time thing."

 

Isn't there a user that sells a mod
that is a mesh that goes in front the TSX condenser?

 

^^Yep, this is the story I remember.

 

brought the car in this morning.... they didn't do anything to it... i got a call back at like 4pm telling me they couldn't get hte car in today and was wondering if they could keep it till tomorrow...

not trying to be an ass beacuse i'm still hoping they'll cover whatever they find under warranty, i told them thats okay but is there anyway i can get a loaner for work the next day...

i was told i'd get a call back by the end of the day if they could find anything since they were supposedly out of loaners...

didn't get the call back so i'm SOL for work tomorrow... gotta make a friend drive like a half hour outta his way to take me back and from work...

oh well....


if the condenser is the problem, and its not covered, whats the cost on soemthing like that???

 

I believe the cost figure I was given back in May of 2004 was about $700.

 

SOOOOOOOOOO

Ferman Acura Comes through for me once again!!! I tell ya after having gone to many dealerships in FL, I bought the car when I lived in orlando, my parents live in ft. lauderdale and I now live in Tampa.... NONE comes CLOSE to matching the excelent service department at Ferman Acura. All the other dealerships would never even look at my car once they saw how old I was and the aftermarket stereo. But Ferman always treated me like I was a 40 year old buyer in terms of respect for me and my car.

Well I had to sign an agreement for $49.99 for an AC Diagnostic....

Once they got it in, they found that there was a leak in an "evaporator line" -- this line caused all of the coolant or whatever it is to leak out, and caused the compressor and clutch to fail...

Long story short, they put in a call to the District Manager or whoever it is to request a good will repair since the car is 6k miles out of warranty, and what do ya know they approved it!!!! --- GOTTA love acura for that...

So they gave me a brand new 06 TSX with Navi to drive around while they replaced my:

AC Compressor
A/C Hoses
BG A/C Kit
Freon
Clutch Set
Coil Set,
PAG OIL

--- dunno what like half of that stuff is but its all on the wordk order. Works better now than it did before!!!

Well, I'd like to say thank you to my Service advisor, Tammy; Warren the SVC Manager, and whoever the district manager is....

One thing I didn't ask though is if the leak was the fault of the car, or if it was something that hit/ripped it... I didn't want to ask too many quesitons once they said they'd cover all of the repairs...

Thanks guys for all the help on the matter...

 

Lucky man... now go buy a Lotto ticket.

 

seriously i might just have to do that

 

Yes, Acura will do this type of thing for ya.

 

Glad you got it fixed under good will. Knew it was something we had seen before and it is usually the least complex of all possible failures... most likely a rock hit made this happen.

 

You just dodged one tremendous out of pocket repair.