Sust Man

So I charged my ac last year because it didn't blow under 45deg. About 1/2 can was perfect (autozone recharge kit). This year it seems like it could use a little extra as well so I did the same thing. The cheap gauge I have has "normal" being a range from about 25-45psi. The stupid can says that if the ambient temp is 95-100 degrees, then "normal" is more like 50-55psi.

So what do I do? I fill it up to near 50psi. Then my ac doesnt blow below 60deg and the compressor starts kicking on and off every 2 or 3 seconds..... obviously too much. So after driving for a minute or 2 I pop the hood gradually "discharge" the system while checking the temp guage on my vent, stopping when it started blowing about 45deg. It got down to 40 as I drove and I decided to just leave it alone and be happy where it is at.

After my car sat for 2 hours, I drive home......AC wont blow below 55 or 60deg now. Ac compressor still runs, and my crappy pressure gauge still reads around 25-30psi ("low normal").

Did I screw up my compressor? Would a good professional flush n fill (with the correct amount) alleviate the problem?

fsttyms1

I would have it checked out. It shouldnt go low over the course of a year. Have them vac the system and charge it properly

Sust Man

Yea I'm gonna take it in tomorrow. It has been "good enough" this whole summer but these 100 degree days made me decide to top it off with freon. Now it isn't even close to as cold as it was before I started messing with it.

Any chance this was enough to ruin the compressor? I just want to gain as much knowledge as possible before I take it in tomorrow. I don't trust most mechanics.

01tl4tl

sure you can blow out the seals- but you would see oil traces on the outside
assuming you used 134 can with oil in it

Best thing for this car is add a little bit of leak detector/ UV dye freon
If it leaks anywhere its easy to spot with special yellow glasses or a blacklight
Fix that -then have it vac and filled to spec
Doesnt hold much- look at label on the compressor

Is the passenger side fan operating with the compressor?
Is the driver fan working normal with temp?

best to fill the ac on a day well before its 100 out!!
or use a bucket of hot water to place freon can in during install= prevents freezing- that can gets COLLLD in your hand
70 outside air temp would be about perfect
Open the front doors so the ac will definetly run full force the whole time filling

approx 40 degree from center vents is great- 45 is good- at 100 its hard to get that same number,, especially stopped, no 60mph airflow thru the the condensor etc
Is your air temp guage accurate?

constant on and off compressor is usually low freon or a bad valve

Sust Man

Good input, thanks. Yea the temp gauge I use in the vents is pretty accurate. Its also been in my vents for over 5 years so I have some history on its readings. I valet parked cars for 10 years in the hot texas climate, and got a good idea of the differences between ac's. The ac's in our cars are already below average in my opinion, but should consistantly blow 40 deg after 5-10min of driving at a decent pace no matter how hot it is outside. I am of course referring to our TLs. Newer Accords and TLs have much better cooling ive noticed.

There are cars that blow harder, colder, and get there much quicker than these compressors (ie almost every Toyota or Lexus ever made), but they are good enough. That being said my ac last year worked the best it had in 5 years when I shot it up with 3/4 can of freon. In the 4 years prior to that I just thought it was a naturally weak compressor (my 99 TL was even weaker fully charged). As I charged it last year you could instantly see that visible foggy coolness begin to come out of the vents. After that charge you could park it in the hot texas sun for an afternoon, (temp gauge in my vent reads 130-140), get on the highway with the ac on full blast and the vents would hit 40 after 5 or 10 min MAX.

I know by even some mechanics this is excellent, but in my opinion it is what I expect from an ac. Anything less than this is unacceptable, and ANY reasonably new automobile out there today will achieve this level or better from what I have seen.

Of course it is possible that my gauge could be off from the start, and your 40 deg is really 45deg on my gauge. Anythings possible.

Sorry for the tangent. You can probably tell that I HATE the heat!!

YeuEmMaiMai

suck it all out with a vaccum pump and make sure system can hold it for at least 4 hours and then recharge. if system cannot hold a vaccum, find leak and repair it.

01tl4tl

I get the feeling he doesnt have that sort of tool- just a basic low side guage attached to a can tap unit, and no troubleshooting ac guide

We need high side pressures too to figure out whats happening
And current low side pressure after the adjustments

How is the cabin air filter? replaced how many years ago ?
Should be done ever year--20 bucks for good ones

Sust Man

I probably replaced around 1 year ago. It had never been replaced before when I did it, and honestly I didn't really notice much difference. Although I wasn't really doing for airflow but more for air quality so maybe I just didn't notice the change.