Ok.....

Forgive my long winded first post and thank you for taking the time to read it!

I drive an 2004 TL, the air always blew pretty cold but at times at stop lights the temp coming from the vents would warm up a bit. I stopped by my local "quick lube" that I always use for an oil change this past Friday, they had a A/C recharge special for $50.00 so I figured "what the heck' and had them do it.

I drove the car straight home after (about 3 miles) and I guess it didn't seem much cooler to me, I went out of town for the weekend in our other car so the Acura sat all weekend. I took it to Lowe's this afternoon when I got home, got in the car and the air was ICE COLD....NICE! Drove about a mile and it was blowing warm (the heat index today was 110°).

I come out of Lowe's and it was very similiar, it blew nice and cold after sitting 20 minutes but shortly into the drive home was warm again.

So I can hear the compressor click on I guess and the fan on the front of the car (I assume a condensor fan) comes on, when this all happens it blows nice an cool. Then the fan shuts off and it will try to come back on 15-20 seconds later but it seems to have an issue doing so and then starts blowing warm through the vents.

It's odd to me that it's warmer now than when it was before the recharge! I checked all fuses, switched around the relay's to make sure one of them wasn't the issue. Could they have caused a problem with what they did?

Is the compressor what controls that fan or are they seperate? I am GUESSING the compressor is the issue, it not doing what it should is not allowing that fan to do what it should? I know I'm stupid but am I wrong too? LOL. Is maybe just that fan the issue?

It all strikes me as odd that it works when it first comes on and then quits cooling, almost like something warms up and shuts off..

I'm hoping someone has had a similiar issue and tell me WTF is wrong?

Again guys, thanks for your help and sorry for the long post.

 

Sounds like it might be overcharged.

Warming up a little while the car is stopped is normal. It needs airflow over the condenser and the fan can only do so much. Mine seems to cycle the fan with the compressor and cycling is normal but the duty cycle is what to pay attention to.

Since it's been charged, will it remain cool on the freeway or does it do the same thing and warm up after a while. At least the answer to this would eliminate or condemn the fan.

 

Overcharged would REALLY be the best I could hope for! I feel sorry for whoever answers the phone over there should I determine that's the issue.....LOL.

To answer your question, it stays warm regardless of engine R.P.M. or how fast I am driving so no driving on the highway doesn't have any effect one way or another.

I'm not all that informed about automotive A/C systems as you can tell, if I bring it back to them can they (or should they) hook up to my car and determine if it's overcharged? I would guess if they are stupid enough to overcharge it they are too stupid to perform this task as well!

 

The problem with the entire scenario is there's no such thing as topping off the AC system. The gas has to be vacuumed out of the system and then recharged with the correct amount. It's not good practice to "top off" the system, giving you an unknown amount of gas in there.

AC systems aren't my strong point but I think it's safe to assume that if it doesn't run cooler going down the freeway you can eliminate the fan as the issue. The compressor can go down on a high pressure alarm if it's overcharged and that sounds like what's happening.

I believe the high and low pressure switches are linked into the diagnostics so plugging into the ECU should show you what's happening. The ECU commands the compressor to turn on and off so you can see if it's actually commanding the compressor off and go from there.

 

They claimed to evacuate the system (I think that is the correct term?) and re-fill it. They said it was about half full before the service, if that makes any sense?

Your making good sense to me though and really appreciate your thoughts!!!

 

I would suggest you have you system serviced by a real professional. If it blows ice cold as you say, there is a good chance you may have and under charge condition meaning less refrigerant in your system than you need. A/C systems work by compressing and then releasing pressure on a refrigerant. It is this release of pressure that creates the cold. The high and low sides of your system must be properly balanced and if not, you risk damage to your system. A quick lube place is not a place where I would take my car for A/C service.

I also am not by any means an expert in A/C systems, so get your car into a shop you trust to have them check your system out and see what gives.

 

I love this forum! All your guys' help is much appreciated!

I dropped it off at my local auto center and they checked everything and confirmed that it WAS in fact over charged by 4 ounces. They checked for leaks, and started over from the beginning.....it now blows an ice cold 43°!!!

I brought the final bill of $174.46 to the quick lube that caused the problem and they were actually very nice, he paid the repair bill and gave me a $50.00 gift card (that I will be giving away, I will not go back!).

THANK YOU AGAIN YOU GUYS FOR ALL YOUR WORDS OF WISDOM, I REALLY APPRECIATE IT!

 

Great and good for you. And I learned something here as well. I do know that in home A/C systems, when the charge is not sufficient you can get overly cold refrigerant... at least that is what a service tech told me once.

Glad it turned out to your advantage. BTW, in which part of the country do you live?


Hey IHC, if you're listening. Do you have a washcloth handy that I can use to get some of this egg off of my face. It's either egg or I stepped in something.

 

^Don't feel bad as you can also get cold air at idle and warmer when at higher RPMs when the system is low on gas. The higher the RPM's the lower the pressure drops on the low side, and even to the extent of shutting off the compressor, but at idle as the pressure rises, the compressor will come back on. On a unit that is overcharged, the low side becomes hotter and can't keep the interior cool.

No wash cloth needed.

 

How about a tomato.

I agree, no washcloth needed. The way I look at it, we had a 50-50% chance of being right. I have to wipe the egg off my face daily and scrape the other stuff off my boots. Ask Turbonut lol.

 

crazy thing i had the same issue for the last two days but i got my service done about 2 months ago and my a/c was fine till the last to days were it will blow cold air and after a while it will blow warm air

 

The only proper way to check is to put a set of gauges on the car to see the pressures.