Air conditioning issues
08-30-2016, 06:53 PM
#1
Air conditioning issues
05 Acura TL
Air conditioning works fine while driving except for a weird smell (similar to bittering agent added to cans of air to prevent people from huffing it) and it feels rather humid. While at Idle, the temperature drops significantly. I recently had the radiator fan fail (violently), which did damage to my radiator. Replaced radiator and both fans. Ac issue remains. Checked Coolant levels and its sitting at max without going in the red. The good thing is I apparently have no leaks. Coolant level remained where it was the last time I had to service it (beginning of this summer). Ran the self diagnostic (hold off button while pressing recirc 5 times in 10 seconds) and it ran a quick test (Hi, Lo) and displayed nothing but the clock after it finished the LO portion of the test. Everything else I read points to a bad compressor. My father seems to think its the dryer. Even with the ac running on Max speed in my car, its pretty weak (for what I think an 05 should be capable of). I plan on replacing both items very soon but am wondering if this will fix the rate at which air exits my vents...I want rushing rapids....and its more like a gentle stream. I was told it could actually be a capacitor (or resistor) and a different part (cant remember what he said) that is the culprit...also was told that this is a known issue on honda cars made after 1990.
Is there any validity to this claim?
Also, I am shopping around for compressors and was wondering which manufacturer you guys would recommend. Prices are all over the place and I dont want to pay top dollar if it wont really be worth it.
Air conditioning works fine while driving except for a weird smell (similar to bittering agent added to cans of air to prevent people from huffing it) and it feels rather humid. While at Idle, the temperature drops significantly. I recently had the radiator fan fail (violently), which did damage to my radiator. Replaced radiator and both fans. Ac issue remains. Checked Coolant levels and its sitting at max without going in the red. The good thing is I apparently have no leaks. Coolant level remained where it was the last time I had to service it (beginning of this summer). Ran the self diagnostic (hold off button while pressing recirc 5 times in 10 seconds) and it ran a quick test (Hi, Lo) and displayed nothing but the clock after it finished the LO portion of the test. Everything else I read points to a bad compressor. My father seems to think its the dryer. Even with the ac running on Max speed in my car, its pretty weak (for what I think an 05 should be capable of). I plan on replacing both items very soon but am wondering if this will fix the rate at which air exits my vents...I want rushing rapids....and its more like a gentle stream. I was told it could actually be a capacitor (or resistor) and a different part (cant remember what he said) that is the culprit...also was told that this is a known issue on honda cars made after 1990.
Is there any validity to this claim?
Also, I am shopping around for compressors and was wondering which manufacturer you guys would recommend. Prices are all over the place and I dont want to pay top dollar if it wont really be worth it.
Last edited by Thomasv; 08-30-2016 at 06:59 PM.
08-31-2016, 12:46 AM
#2
Almost forgot to mention that sometimes I have to bang on my dash to get the display (ecu) to work. Just up and loses connection for no good reason. Good thing my lovely dash is already cracked otherwise I'd be worried about the constant hammering with my fist. 
08-31-2016, 01:36 AM
#3
Senior Moderator
sounds like you have freon leaking into your air system (causing the smell) and causing poor performance and/or A/C evaporator/condenser. After there is almost zero freon left, the A/C relay cuts power to the compressor to prevent damage.
1st make sure your 2nd fan is running in the engine bay.
2. Check freon levels
3. Check to see if clutch for compressor engages
You can buy a new compressor from rockauto for around $200 from denso, same one as factory. I'd highly recommend replacing the drier component of the refrigerant system. Condenser may need to be replaced requiring removal of quite a few things.
1st make sure your 2nd fan is running in the engine bay.
2. Check freon levels
3. Check to see if clutch for compressor engages
You can buy a new compressor from rockauto for around $200 from denso, same one as factory. I'd highly recommend replacing the drier component of the refrigerant system. Condenser may need to be replaced requiring removal of quite a few things.
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