alfadoctor

Never-ending surprises. After we got the car back from the shop for the timing belt issue, now the a/c doesn't blow cold.
I checked to see if the compressor is engaged and it is. The a/c fan motor is working as it should. So the shop said bring it back and we will see what is going on.
This afternoon the shop called and said the a.c compressor is running and putting out 150 psi on the high side. So there is plenty of refrigerant in the system. The story I got is that the compressor is a variable pressure and it could somehow be not working, or the expansion valve is toast. The shop wanted $110 to hook the gauges to the system and see if they could figure out which one it is.
A new compressor is $705. I am looking for the expansion valve, and it must be listed under the heating section?
This could get really expensive in a hurry.

Any one come across this issue?

RL09

Take it to an AC specialist. somewhere they only do ACs. don't tell him what the shop said. just ask him why its happening.

and if there's psi in the system, i think there is metal tubes in the engine compartment you could touch and see if they are cold. It's where you fill up Freon. if AC is on they get very cold.

alfadoctor

You must have been reading my mind. There is a good A/C shop here in town that I was going to take it to for a diagnosis.
The best price on a new compressor was $686. I was surprised that the expansion valves were not that expensive. It is the installation that gets your wallet.
It will be a week before I can get it into the shop, so more info as it comes.

HDNBenjamin

I have recently got my AC worked on at Pepboys because it was working intermittently. It was the expansion valve that went bad. This happened after I pumped AC Pro into it.

RL09

Honda i think has one of the best AC systems in the world. I've seen old accords and civics driven all lives in the desert and their freaking air is always ice cold.

alfadoctor

I am in agreement. It was working perfectly. Now it is not working. I would bet an expansion valve went bad. No matter what it is, it will need to be repaired but at what cost. So we will see in a couple of weeks.

stevieray

It probably is an expansion valve but hopefully you can find someone who can get to it without tearing the dash apart. That's where all off the labor comes from in on the EV install. As an aside, don't you dare buy a compressor from Acura if you have to have one. densoproducts.com sells the very same part (their P/N is 471-1493) for $375.90 plus shipping. I had to replace my compressor earlier this summer and I just bought the Denso online, took it to the local Acura dealer and they evacuated the system, installed the compressor and recharged it for right at $300. Good luck---

alfadoctor

This is awesome advice! Thank you.
I hope that the dash doesn't have to come out to get to the expansion valves, that could be a long drawn affair. I can see the bill now...parts $30 Labor $1000 crazy

truonghthe

Surprise no one ever mentioned about the A/C switch locate in the center stack, yes I do see these goes bad from time to time (its only happen on the RL tho), you can find a cheap replacement on Ebay. May be this is the time to upgrade to the 09+ Climate control unit.