In the past week I have noticed that the A/C in my 2008 Acura TL (125k) is taking 30-60 seconds to start cooling. I suspect there is something wrong with the condenser fan. It is my understanding that the condenser fan should run continuously when the A/C is running and the radiator fan runs only when the coolant temperature rises. After leaving my car on idle with the A/C running, I noticed that both fans were turning on and off intermittently as the coolant temperature rose and dropped.

Can someone confirm my understanding is correct? Any idea what could be wrong?

 

one fan should be running all the time if you have AC on, the other fan might switch off once the coolant cool enough.

 

When the TL is cold, how much coolant is in the reservoir?
Is the coolant also level with the bottom of the radiator neck under the radiator cap?

If either is low on coolant, fill to the proper level and let us know if that resolves the problem.

 

coolant should be to the min line in the overflow tank.

The A/C may be low on refrigerant and may need to be recharged.

 

The "AC" fan only runs when the compressor is engaged or if the engine is in danger of overheating. The compressor usually cycles unless it can't keep up. Watch the compressor to see if the fan cycling follows the compressor cycling. Ok just had to top mine off with freon, it has a very slow leak at the high pressure a schrader valve. Mine still cycles on a 102F day with 37F air out of the vents with the blower fan on high and a surprising 16F while driving at 50mph one step from high on the same 102F day. Just a point of reference to compare to. I'm not sure if going below freezing is possible in the more humid areas,mat least not for long. I assume the ECU should not allow the evaporator to hit 16F but there might be some overshoot.

So listen for the click of the compressor cycling and the fan should cycle at the same time or watch them visually for on off operation. The fan should click on to high, it's easy to hear in the car with the window down. As mine started getting worse and worse the AC fan would stop going onto high and would only run on low. Once I began adding freon within seconds the fan clicked on high.

I would measure the air temp coming out of the vents after it's been running for a few minutes with the fan on high to get an indication of performance. If I park mine in the sun with no shade, it can take 2-3 minutes before it begins to cool off. How long is yours taking?

 

I actually found the coolant in the overflow tank to be a little low but the radiator was full, I topped it off but caused no change to the issue. The fans actually have two speeds and both immediately turn on on "slow" as soon as the A/C is switched on, when the engine coolant gets too hot, the fans go on "high" until the coolant cools down.

I have had the freon levels checked but once the compressors kicks in, the A/C performs as it always had. My thought is that if the unit cools the refrigerant level must be adequate. Is this correct? Could low freon cause a delay in the compressor kicking in?

I believe this issue can be narrowed down to a delay in the compressor kicking in once the A/C is turned on. From browsing the forums, I think it is probably a relay, the clutch that engages the compressor or an issue with the compressor itself. Any thoughts on what is could be?

 

A delay in the compressor kicking on can be low freon levels. The compressor is not supposed to be on upon startup, it should kick in a second or two after startup. Engine coolant has nothing to do with the AC system.

The one fan should kick on high as soon as the compressor kicks on regardless of engine temp. If it does not, there's a good chance it's low on freon.

You can buy one of the $30 bottles with a gauge from the autoparts store and top it off. Just hook it to the low pressure side. Mine needs 35psi to cool well on a hot day. This pressure will vary by ambient conditions like humidity and air temp. The freon should never get low so if it is, you have a leak. Some look down on topping off a system with a leak. There's no way anyone could have checked your freon levels without using a machine to evacuate the system and see how much comes out by weight.

The proper way to measure and add freon is to completely evacuate the system and fill it by weight, not pressure. But the cans work well for a quick top off.

 

Would the AC system cool very well once the compressor kicks if it's low on Freon. My thought is if it were low on Freon I would not see the system cool very well and it is ice cold ones the compressor finally kicks in

 

Condenser fan and ac clutch are energized simultaneously. So if you say the ac clutch clicks/engages after the fan you may have a bad or failing field coil/clutch. Just replaced a bad field coil/clutch on a 2008 CRV and definitely noticed that the fan-on and clutch click were dead on with each other whereas before the clutch click was a noticeable bit after the fan coming on. Not condemning your compressor clutch yet but think it could explain a lot especially if it's gap has increased. Maybe it's slipping (but I'd think you'd notice that). Rule out the clutch relay too but I was fooled by it in the CRV. Fixed things for about 6 weeks as the contact resistance of the new one was lower but the ailing clutch eventually got to the point it would not engage at all when hot.

 

Just to add to the knowledge base in case someone encounters this problem. The issue was the compressor relay. Very weird since relays are usually part that either work or they don't and in this case it worked with a delay.

 

Perhaps the relay wasn't allowing the full current to pass causing the weak A/C

 

Well I hope that works out for you but as I said above with our CRV a new relay fixed if for only a short time. Fundamentally there's little difference between the TL and the CRV with respect to the fan and clutch relays and how they operate. My hunch is the new relay's slightly lower contact resistance is just enough to let your tired, increased gap, compressor clutch/field coil set pull in. If so, that will soon change. Again, I hope I'm wrong...

 

I too started experiencing this A/C delay about two weeks ago. At first it just seemed A/C was taking slightly longer than usual to kick-in, but when it did it cooled fine. Then the delay just kept getting longer. By last weekend, while I was out running errands—about three stops, all within a 5 mile radius of home—it got really annoying. There was no A/C from my house to my first stop until just as I was pulling in the parking lot. About the same thing from there to my second stop, then again for the third. On the way home it didn't come back on until I was about 3 blocks away.

Based on the above input, I replaced the Compressor relay. Cost me 7 bucks, so it wouldn't cost too much to be wrong and rule it out.

Worked! Just repeated the same errand circuit I did last weekend, and rode in cool comfort all the way!

 

Just a quick update regarding my June 2018 post, it's now over a year later and A/C still working fine after the relay replacement.

 

Do you remember where you bought that relay? Local dealer wants $40

 

acuraoemparts.com use code acurazine for 5% off or autozone/auto parts brand is fine.