CSX 09 A/C issue

Earlier my wife's car has an accident in her 09 Acura CSX, and since the damage was in the front the following shows up on the ICBC repair report (from the car shop we sent the car to):

Cooling & Air Conditioning:
755 Radiator
736 Shroud, Radiator
969 A/C Evac Rechrg & Rcvr
731 Condenser, A/C

Manual Entries:
R134A (Refrigerant?)
Coolant Allowance


After the fix we have not much issues, but after 7-8 months (around this past April) I noticed that when we tried to turn up the heat the air would NOT be hot enough --- normally I would feel slightly hot air on 25 degrees Celsius, now I can only feel SLIGHTLY warmed up air on 30 (or HI = Hot)...

And just during the past few days in Jun when it warms up in Vancouver (around 14-20 degrees average), all of a sudden I figured that even when I started up my car and then drive for 5 mins, the AC on LO (i.e. Coldest = 19 or 18 degrees Celsius setting) the fan blows hard but all I got is air that is way warmer than outside air!!!

My wife has sent this back to the car shop that fixed my car and they said there are no leaks, coolant is ok... she also brought it to the shop that does our CSX's regular maintenance and they said they cannot find any fault/leak with it. They are suggesting a possible sensor failure for the climate control, but I am not sure this is the culprit of the problem.

Is this likely something to do with the car shop that fixed my car wasn't doing the repairs properly? My CSX is very low mileage (84027 now, this was bought in 09 or 08 so around 8-9 years?), and I have no big issues with the car at all (no engine/AC issues before), and this only started happening after the car shop fixed the car.

I am not sure if the car shop replaced/topped up refrigerant (the item R134A suggested they did...), since I heard they tend to decrease over the years (something like 15% reduction each year) but I also saw some posts saying that AC issue usually is related to either a relay/fuse not working (I have yet to take out and swap the relays, both are Omron G8WL 12V DC ones --- one has both a radiator fan-like sign & Snow Flake sign and the other one just a snow flake sign on the circuit diagram under the under-the-hood fuse box), or the compressor (or condenser) could be malfunctioning.

I tried to put the key in ignition position II and then tried the "hold off button & pressing re-circulation button 5 times" check and the light on the climate control thing just turns off completely (no error code on climate control/display panel).

I also tried "no A/C" button on and put the fan in highest speed and you can hear the fan sound normally, then when I switch the A/C button on the two huge fans behind the radiator goes on as well (but that's the only sound I heard, just the AC fan and the two fans behind the radiator... supposedly should hear some kind of noise from compressor which I have yet to locate under the hood...)

So... is my car's compressor out (that causes cold air failure I heard), and maybe also a faulty Heater Core/heater core valve as well (which causes the failure for hot coolant to heat up the air for warm air when Thermostart is set to HI/hot)?

As I and my wife are both working, we really wanted to get this fixed ASAP but I just want to know what to tell the car shop or the maintenance shop to look out for when trying to fix this issue, it would be a hell to have to go in and out of these places every few weeks...

The car is overall still in pretty good condition and I would hate to have to trade it in for a new car because we cannot drive a car in summer without A/C and no warm/hot air in winter here...

Thanks in advance.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Heat, make certain cooling system is filled. When cold, check the overflow tank to make certain coolant is up to normal, remove rad cap to be certain coolant to top. Check operation of heater control valve if the CSX has one.
As far as A/C, have the garage put gauges on the system to see if refrigerant is up to snuff and if correct, then determine why the compressor is not engaging.

R134a won't leak over time as it's a closed system. Many years ago when people were converting R12 to the R134a and used the R12 hoses, over time the refrigerant would leak out through the hoses because of the smaller molecules, but manufacturers made changes to the hoses, layered and lined.

Jackass

The fact that you don't have good heat nor do you have good A/C would lead me to the HCV or a blend door issue. However you posted this in the 3rd Gen TL forum...so I have no idea overall how the HVAC system works in the CSX. On the TL...those two items would be where I would start.

CSX 09 A/C issue

"Jackass" (felt a bit uncomfortable calling people that online...), I have no idea what HCV is. Blend door I know roughly what it is... but I somehow has a feeling this is something to do with refrigerant charge or maybe something with the temperature sensor as the maintenance car shop told my wife about...?

Just an update... since I have that maintenance replaced the A/C relay (since I took a good check and the A/C clutch did NOT move when I switched the A/C button on...), the A/C clutch started spinning --- that night I tried to drive it such that it warmed up to middle of the temp gauge, and I find that turning the switch to 25 degrees Celsius worked --- the air is a little hot, and 27 degrees is already pretty full blown hot air... However, the A/C setting to LO ends up no change, the air coming out is at most COOL, but not icy cold. My FR-S however has icy cold air even at setting at fan level #1 (colder than the CSX's A/C on, FULL fan and LO setting...).

This was night time around 02:00 when outside is around 14 degrees or so.

However when I tried it again the next day when my wife was with me, the heat is again gone... 26-27 degrees are totally cold air (colder than the night before when I have it full A/C LO... maybe because it was warm at early evening when it was around 20 degrees Celsius???), 29 was when I first get the "hot" air feeling again. Full blown A/C again has no change, still mediocre cool (not icy cold).

So I basically have a heating that sometimes work nicer/close to normal after the A/C clutch works again, but no change to the A/C coldest LO setting.

Is this still looking like a blend door issue (which is related to the dial knob on the temperature control panel)? Or is this something to do with the refrigerant not fully charged or somewhat leaking?

"TurboNut", there is no difference --- I simply registered as a new member and I posted a new thread, and voila here is where my post ended up... I thought I did something wrong but I guess my post got AUTOMATICALLY sorted under TL, since I went to the main page and found that there is actually NO CSX forum in here. RDX / ILX / TL /TSX forums and even RSX forums are available, just not CSX --- probably because CSX is no longer in production and most people already got rid of it and thus no point discussing it anymore?

I thought about posting this in Canada post section but I found that almost no one reads it... my post was in this section for 2 days but I only got you two replying.

I was feeling a bit not too easy about this A/C cold & hot air failure issue... I would certainly only choose to go to Acura servicing department (which I only went like ONCE, before they moved it to the notorious Automall in Richmond, BC) as my past experience wasn't that great with them. Last time I went there they quoted for a wiper blade at almost 4 times the pricing than that of a 3rd party replacement that works just as well.

The maintenance car shop guy (who my wife has been talking to regarding this issue) told me that they have NOT been asked to check or replace a heater core during that guy's 15 years as a mechanic (or service advisor??), and if I wanted them to check the heater core they need to take EVERYTHING out from under the hood --- 15 hours of labour, minimum. I did take a peek at under the hood and honestly I have no way to tell where the heater core is actually located (probably buried deep inside the passenger side behind the firewall???), but based on the fact that the night before when A/C clutch is working I did get the proper heat amount from the temperature control dial I think likely the heater core does not have a problem...?

Maybe I will try check the coolant level again, and maybe also have that car maintenance shop recharge the refrigerant again to make sure everything is topped up... that's probably the only two things that would costs me the least to fix the A/C issue, otherwise I have to start going the steep end of having the whole temperature control panel checked for problems (including the temperature sensor or the dial that controls the blend door... maybe electronically?)

This is for sure something I need to fix, whether or not this would lead to me getting a new family car... (probably can't trade well given the A/C and heating is kaput)

Jackass

I have been Jackass on various car forums for the last 15'ish years. Heck when I first met my future wife (she was friends with some of my car buddies), she knew me and called me Jackass which baffled my friends and family....well actually they understood that I am a Jackass, just not why she called me that to my face.

HCV - Heater Control Valve. It is the little thingy majig that controls how much hot coolant flows through the heater core. If it sticks closed, no heat. If it sticks open, too much heat.

No idea why the CSX isn't referenced in the forums other than lack of members with them maybe? But in theory the ILX would be the closest sibling since it is also platformed off the Civic? I really don't know that much about either to know if they are really that similar or not since it is different generations of the platforms. I am guessing you may have more luck searching out the Civic forums since I have a feeling the Civic Si of the same year should be roughly the same vehicle and those forums would be more familiar with the platform details.

I do not know enough about the HVAC system in that platform to know how the heat and A/C is adjusted....so everything I am saying is pure theory and guessing at this point. The fact that you have issues heating and cooling leads me to think you have more than one issue to work through. I do not believe there is a single item that can impact the ability to get hot air and the ability to get cold air. A failed A/C clutch should not impact the ability for the heat to be hot. It may impact the ability of the defrost to clear the window....but not how hot the air is.

Assuming the blower is functional:

Lack of hot air
- HCV not opening
- low coolant
- blocked heater core

Lack of cold air
- low freon charge
- failed A/C compressor or clutch
- maybe a stuck open HCV??

I am "guessing" if the HCV is sticking that could possibly explain your odd heat behaviors. Sometimes it works...sometimes it doesn't. I know the TL has a method to do a diagnostic of the HVAC electronics...unknown if the CSX has that same feature.