Chad05TL

When my A/C is on recirculate, I still smell peoples exhaust at times. I dont smell it behind all vehicles of course, just the ones that are crap cars. Like diesel, or old cars or smokey cars.

Is there a problem with the recirculate doors closing all the way on these 3rd gens?

Thanks,
Chad

jvinhj240

I would close outside air when there is something like that or dusty.

Chad05TL

Maybe I am not clear. When my windows are closed, and my recirculate is on, I smell oder coming from the vents. So somehow the outside air is still getting inside when all the windows are up and recirculate is on, because I can smell the cars that stink if I am behind them.

warren4066

that happens to me too even on previous cars that i've own...i just turn everything off until i pass that vehicle that reeks

Chad05TL

ya but recirculate should shut the door, right?

Where is the door anyway? I want to check it. And see if there is something to adjust.

Chad05TL

the reason I posted this question is because if outside air is getting in and my recirculate is not closing all the way, then my A/C could be cooler. However I did just add some R134a and now the compressor stays on like its suppose to when the blower is on high and on LO. The compressor Was turning off and on too much(cycling). Well, I found out that if the pressure is just a TAD low, it will cause the compressor to not work as it good as it could. So now I just want to attack that possible door problem.

c0inn

Do you want your compressor to be on all the time when the A/C is on? and when you are refilling the r134a how do you know how much to put in?

Chad05TL

The compressor will cycle automatically on it's own. There is no adjustment in that. All you do is fill the low side of the compressor to the "full or filled" section of the gauge by connecting a can of R134a and a gauge to the low side valve. It has a black cap and an L on it for "low". I am filling mine to the upper side of the "Filled" shades area on the gauge. I just use a cheap walmart gauge to read the pressure. Actually I have 2 of those cheap gauges and both read the same, so I think they are accurate enough. One of my cans has the gauge permanantly attached to the can. But the other guage is not permantly attached to any cans. So I used the r134a that has no oil in it so i can get maxium concentration of r134a which is the coolant part. not the oil. You can buy the cans either way.. right? But yes, when the system is low on r134a, it will cycle on and off more than normal. And thus the pressure won't be as high on the high side as it can be. Mostly, the more pressure on the high side, the cooler it blows. Just as long as you dont over fill the low side. Because there is a such thing as over filling and the high side is porportional to the low side. If you fill the low side, the high side is increased too.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

If the system was low on refrigerant, as it's a closed system, there is a leak. As far as the door, possible seal damage, or odor can be entering through other areas.
You can run a diagnostic check of the system:
Turn ignition switch on
Press and hold the off button. While holding the off button, press the recirculation buttom five times within 10 seconds. Release the off button and the self diagnostic will begin.

The blower motor can be run at any speed regardless of what teh panel is displaying.

Any problems the temperature indicator will light up the segments, corresponding to the error.

If there are no problems detected, the segments will not illuminate.

Actually gauges should be connected to the system to see the operating pressures. These do it yourself cans leave a lot to be desired.

Chad05TL

where is the temperature indicator? I have seen the outside temperature on the panel, but not the inside. Whats that ball looking thing on my dash board by the front glass? I dont have daytime runing lights.. So, not sure why its on the upper dash board..


Also, I understand there may be a leak in the a/c system. But at this point I am going to wave my hands a bit and say it's not bad enough to be usual and just fill it now and see what happens later.
Also I read another post on here where someone said these systems may come a bit low from the factory. And after all, my system is just a tad low. Not really even in the "low" section of the gauge. But I have already assumed there may be a slight leak, but you know, unless it's bad, I can expect something like that to happen over 4 years. My car is an 05. And I know the leaser b4 me did nothign to the car. Even radiator water can evaporate over time without leaking.. weird huh?

c0inn

Ive heard even if there is a leak, its not really worth getting the a/c fixed since it is so expensive...unless of course your finding yourself refilling the refrigerant every few days

Harrisonk531616

There will always be air getting into the car; closed or not. The only completely sealed HVAC system i can think of are the ones in the planes. The air for the HVAC enters in from the cowl. The door does not close "air tight",there will be gaps. Just a plastic flap that directs air to different route.

i dont think the freon bottles from autozone are that great for the car. because when you top off the freon, your allowing air to get into the system. The machine usually recovers all the crap in the system, then it creates a vacuum prior to filling the system with freon so no air gets into it. Compressor shouldn't be on all the time...you should get ur systemrecovered at acura

Harrisonk531616

a/c won't work if the system pressure is too high also...

Chad05TL

I agree that the stem of my little pressure gauge probably had "air" in it.. but lets not go overboard and say I need to get the system recovered and vacuumed out and all that jazz. Even the professional gauges will have "air" in the lines of the gauge itself, unless they bleed out the air prior to tapping the valve and probably a lot more because their lines are longer. Some residual "air" is no biggie. But if "some" r134a leaked out, someone might conclude that air got INTO the system. Like it swapped places. And if someone said that, then I would reply by saying, No, air didn't get into my system because there is still "pressure" on the inside, even though it’s not as high as I like it. Because air won't go “into” the system because the pressure inside the a/c system is higher than atmospheric pressure.

Chad05TL

well, I thought my compressor was staying on last night as I was filling the compressor but today when I drove the car, I could tell when the compressor engauged and when it disengauged because of the sound of the engine as I idled at a stop light in traffic. So, I guess quick cycling of the compressor is normal for this car. I timed it by my watch as I sat there, and the compressor was on for 6 or 7 seconds and then off for about 13 or 14.. Then on and off again in that same pattern. I am going to check the pressure again today when I get home and make sure its not over filled. I put nearly all of a small can in it yesterday evening. I might buy a better gauge at auto zone or o'reilly.

Chad05TL

I just went to lunch and came back.. and the car had been sitting in the sun, and after I ran it about 4 minutes it was already cooling off in the car, and I parked at Wendy's and ate in the car, and I timed the cycling of the compressor again, and this time the compressor stayed on about 1 minute and then cycled off for about 6 seconds, and then back on again. So I was very impressed. I think its working like it should now. The difference in this car with "brains" and my old Camaro, was that the Camaro would stay on regardless of the temperature in the car. So if it was 70 degrees in the morning and you turned it on, it would freeze you out.. But in this TL, if its 70, even if the A/C is set on "LO", the compressor will come on, but it doesn't stay on, or "engaged" very long. The system tries to be smart and regulate the duty cycle of the compressor. But the good thing is that when its Hot outside, it will stay on longer until it brings down the temperature of the interior. But it just won't make it wretched cold inside like a traditional "dumb" cooling system. But it gets pretty cool though and comfortable at 90 degrees so far. (in Dallas).

Chad05TL

well, something weird just happened. I drove to target in a hurry because I left my phone there from over lunch, and I zoomed pretty fast, and the whole time while I was gone, probably 15 minutes, the compressor only came on for a second and then shut off immediately. So the air was blowing WARM! Its never done that. I need to make sure the pressure is not too high after work.

timmahh

I recommend not touching your a/c system anymore.

They are meant to cycle, not run constantly. I don't believe it should cycle every 6 seconds. Sounds like you might have overcharged it. Have you checked your cabin air filter? I believe when you have the glovebox out you can see the recirc door and verify that it's closing all the way; there could be something blocking it for some reason.

If you want maximum cooling put the temp to 'Lo' and set it to auto. The system will decide what vents to use, when to run the a/c, and when to use recirc. Note that on 'Lo' temp the blower will always remain on at full speed. If you have navigation the climate control is linked to it in regards to the vehicle and sun position.

Chad05TL

i'm still troubleshooting. I'm almost starting to think there is a switch that is going out under the hood when it gets hot. So, basically, I just bought another gauge to read the pressure. I turn it on LO and connect the pressure gauge and it was reading wayyy high pressure but the stupid compressor was not running. Dont ask me why it wasnt with it on LO and auto and high fan. So, then all of a sudden I hear it click on for about a half a second then off again. And it did that like 4 times. So I am thinking that maybe it wouldnt come on because the pressure was too high..?The weird thing is that if the dang thing would come on, in which it finally did, then the pressure on the low side drops to "filled" range, and that is where it's suppose to be when the compressor is running. But I ended up letting out a little bit while the compressor was running and then the compressor stayed on. I want it to stay on because the AIR was WARM.. So, I know these compressors cycle under normal operation. but if the air is warm and its not coming on like last summer.. then there is a freakn problem. So i dunno. I am going to run it a while and see what happens. It seems like if I can get the compressor to run a while, it does but then it may start turning off too soon. Like the car never gets down to 64 even if its 70 degree's in the morning and the compressor shuts off. But I really knew there was a problem when today the air was warm and the compressor only clicked on for 1/2 a sec and shut off like 4 times in a row. So, it was trying.. but It's either an electronic switch that is getting too hot and shutting off the compressor or its too full. But If I could keep the compressor ON, then you would see how the pressure is only in the "filled" section. But when the compressor wont come on, the pressure goes up even into the red. But thats only when the compressor does not come on. And thats not a proper reading. When the compressor is on the pressure drops to normal.. I dunno, maybe just a tad too high kept it from coming on and therefore dropping the pressure on the low side within normal range.. not sure. But I'll see what happens in the next few days. I find it amazing that a $38,000 Acura TL has A/C problems.. and transmission problems and so many other issues spoken about in these forums.

timmahh

Ok not trying to be a smartass but here is my recommendation:

1) Dispose of all your R134a cans according to EPA instructions
2) Dispose of all pressure reading gauges you have
3) Take care to Acura dealer to fix the a/c
4) Enjoy nice consistant cold air from your vehicle

If you keep filling/draining things and playing around with the system you're going to burn something out, and when the engine has to come out to change the a/c compressor and/or clutch it's going to cost a lot more than a diagnostic at Acura.

Harrisonk531616

You will have NO air in your system; if you get it properly recovered and refilled by a professional machine. The machines vacuum your system for at-least 5 minutes prior to refilling your system.

Why don't you just bring your car to Acura and have them look at it. Seems like it would save you more time, troubles and headaches.

Chad05TL

maybe later I will. I'm going to wait and see how the a/c performs in the next week or two. I want it to get warmer outside, but foecast shows only a high of about 80 for the next several days

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

When its warm out, put the A/C on high, recirculate and put a stick thermometer in the center vent and read the temp.

Chad05TL

I probably will just so I can tell how far off it really is. But I do know that it would fluctuate a lot depending upon if the compressor is on.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

When it first kicks on, hot and humid, the compressor will stay on.

csmeance

the compressor in the TL is supposed to cycle like crazy! 01tl4tl gave an excellent explanation and insight into the issue last summer. I'll try to dig up his post, but basically the system was designed to cycle. I suggest you take your car to acura before you further damage the A/C system and have then fix it properly. As far as the recirculate, when on you shouldn't be able to smell the smog and stuff from diesel vehicles. Have them check the blower housing for any obstructions and proper functionality.

Chad05TL

I know the compressor is suppose to cycle. good lord.