imj0257

iTrader: (1)

My A/C has been fine as of late but this morning something wierd happened driving on the way to work. I had it on the whole time from home to work. On the highway enroute to work they are doing a lot of construction and it seems like right as I got to that point there was some faint whitish air blowing through my A/C vents and I was like WTF. I was thinking maybe I passed over an area where very small construction debris got thru the vents but it kept blowing in.

I turned the A/C off and it stopped then on again and still the same faint whitish airflow coming through (A/C itself works and blows cold air but I can still see this dust looking stuff; also, note I am going highway speeds ~ 70 mph). I am a little concerned so I turn it back off and open my windows the rest of the way to work. When I get to work and start driving on the side roads about 30mph I turn it back on and I don't see the smoke anymore so I'm thinking ok it has subsided and went to park. But my curiosity got the best of me so I decided to test it by going for a quick loop on side streets and as soon as I got it up to about 50 mph the same faint whitish smoke started coming through the vents again.

Any ideas? Signs I need a new A/C or A/C part and need to take it to the shop? If so, I will do it this afternoon at lunch.

nfnsquared

Any smell/odor with the smoke? Check your cabin air filter. When was the last time you replaced it?

Was the A/C on recirculate or outside air?

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

I did not notice any odor with the smoke. And damn I thought it was more recent but I just checked my log and I last replaced my cabin filter a year and half / ~25k miles ago. And I'm pretty sure the air was on recirculate.

Even if it were an older filter like that could it do what it is doing? I should go and replace it after work today.

nfnsquared

You're due for a filter change, but I really doubt that's the problem unless you have been driving on dirt roads for 25K miles.

If you were on recirc, that would seem to rule out outside contaminants.

I'm guessing it's just water vapor due to high humidity.

Try running it with no recirculation for a while.

Remote chance of a leak in the coils, but if that's the case you'll know soon enough when the low pressure switch cuts off the compressor.

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

Ok. I will run it without recirculation for a while and see if I can find a difference. Yea I also doubt the cabin filter, even though it is a year and half old, would cause this.

Thanks, will keep posted.

Mjakaz09TL

iTrader: (7)

This has happened to me with other cars in the past. I was told by a mechanic that it had something to do with the level of humidity or something.. cant recall exact details since this was a long time ago.

01tl4tl

actual smoke may be from melting connector- power lead to blower motor
running the fan on high a lot?
common prob on gen2 so I am guessing it carried over- may be a longer wire avail from acura (as gen2 got, $20 bucks)

vapor is a humidity issue--people dont understand the operation of recirc and fresh
read the owner book a few times
cabin filter should be replaced annually!!!!
airborne crud is worse each day, you breathe thru all the stuff on the filter~

01tl4tl

ck the coolant level in res and radiator- if a heater core were leaking it adds moisture to the cabin

nfnsquared

Almost forgot, one other thing to check:

Be sure your drain hose is not plugged causing water condensation to back up (could be a source of water vapor). If there's a nice puddle of water under the car after you park (after running the A/C), then it's not plugged.

A wet passenger side carpet is a sign it's plugged.

Big D humidity is terrible, hopefully that's all it is.

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

Took it for a drive at lunch. No more vapor. Looks like it was the humidity, just weird cus I've never noticed that before.

And I don't know if it is just me and this Texas weather (100+ degrees for like a month straight) but it seems like it could blow colder...would love it to blow colder!

wrxyboy

iTrader: (2)

check the freon levels for it to get a bit colder. I worked on a car that had no freon in the system but when i filled it up there was no leak. I do know that if you dont run the system for a long time like this guy did, the o-rings can shrink and let out the freon. I also know that when filling up a 134a system it is good to keep the motor revved at 2k to help the system pull in more freon. I have noticed this is a common thing for 134a cars. I have done numerous retrofits and noticed that i get the best results when i keep the motor revved at 2k

njtl06

iTrader: (4)

gaurantee you there is nothing wrong with the a/c...it's normal. will happen if running at coldest setting for a long time, or sometimes it just happens. just has to do with either condensation around the system or humidity in the vents (2 seperat issues). absolutely normal, happens on all cars under the right cercumbstainces. when i had my civic in college and my commute was an hour, in the summer would happen everyday cause i loves me some cold a/c...not so much in this car (2006 tl) cause i use the auto function which pretty much stops it from happening becuase the car turns a/c on and off speratically (just like a home a/c system), but if using manual controls, on coldest setting, will eventually do it...or if at gas station and turn car to acc. the a/c will shut off so your just blowing humid air in the car, when start car again and a/c comes on, a/c is denser than the humid air in vents and it will happen then. nothing to worry about.

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

And how do I check the freon levels? (Cus I have no idea), Is this something I can do myself?

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

Ok so that definitely was just water vapor. But still, it seems like it is blowing mildly cool air rather than cold air; I KNOW it has blown colder air in the past. I'm thinking either I need more refrigerant (freon in the TL?) or possibly a compressor issue? But I'm thinking it could be the refrigerant level. How can I check the level of it? And I heard I can go to an auto parts store and get more of it to fill it up (also heard not to overfill it cus it can make it worse!).

Thnx...

SG81

iTrader: (1)

that's happened to me a couple times in my CL. at first i thought it was smoke, but then realized it was some kind of cold mist or fog. not sure what causes it, but it's no big deal

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

Ok so my car buff buddy of mine has a can of 134a and a gauge attached to it and tried to add more freon yesterday. For some reason it wasn't accepting any. He thinks there might be a leak in a line or something.

I dropped the car off at the dealer this morning to get it looked at

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

Well fuck. They found a hole in the line so the freon isn't getting thru to cool the cabin. Gotta fix that PLUS they found out I have a broken engine mount

Just paid off my credit card debt last week. Lol.

SG81

iTrader: (1)

so does the hole have anything to do with the smoke/mist?

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

I forgot to ask about that. Maybe some freon leaking onto a hot part of the engine bay and evaporating through the vents . Maybe just water vapor.

But my guess is a because... I've had the car for 2.5 years now and driven it in all kinds of weather conditions/cold/hot/humid and this was the first time I've ever seen that mist.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

One of many reasons, but a low charge will allow the evap temp to drop, have it freeze up and the vapor will be seen coming out the vents.

nfnsquared

I would've thought the low pressure switch/sensor would have cut off the compressor before that could happen.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

That is only when the gas is low enough that a potential problem might occur with the compressor from lack of lubrication, so it can lose some gas and the clutch will still operate as needed. Also, the TL has a sensor that is supposed to detect the freezing up of the evap and will cut the current to the clucth until the evap temps rises.

Trek7300

I have not noticed this on my 2005 TL, but I have noticed it on the 93 Integra we used to own, and on the 1996 Honda Accord that my wife drives.

Here is what I noticed. The integra and the Accord do not have automatic A/C, so you have to manually switch from recirculate to fresh air and back. When it is really humid, I would normally start out with the system in Recirculate mode to help cool off the interior quicker. After getting on the interstate for a while and the interior fully cooled off, I would usually switch to fresh air mode. What I noticed was that when the compressor cycles off, then the whitish "fog" would appear coming out of the vents. This is nothing more than literally a "cloud" of water vapor, similar to how you can see your breath in the winter time.

When the compressor turns off, the temperature of the evaporator coil goes up quickly when the system is on "fresh air" since the outside air is warm. Some of the condensate still on the evaporator coil re-evaporates into the air. Since the car is really cool inside, the moist, slightly warmer air hits the colder air in the passenger compartment. Voila - you have the ingredients needed to form a cloud, or fog.

When I would see this happen, I could put the system on Recirculate and it would stop. When on Recirculate, since it picking up air that has already been cooled from within the passenger compartment, you will not get this "re-evaporation" effect.

On the TL, in Auto mode, the system will decide automatically whether or not to use recirculate mode based on the interior temperature, the exterior temperature, and based upon the input from the sunlight sensor.

Robert Burch

SouthernBoy

What he experienced was partial coil freeze up. This is not at all uncommon with Honda products and other cars as well. It is most always caused by a reduction in air flow across the evaporator and/or an unusually high humidity condition. In other words, running your A/C in the recirculate mode on high humidity days can cause this condition. In the AUTO mode, the system will start out on recirculate, but will switch to outside air once the interior temperature is stabilized. If you have set the interior temp too low this will prolong the recirculate setting. And if you have several people in your car, the interior humidity will rise quicker, thereby promoting coil freeze up.

01tl4tl

just wanted to 2nd the notion of step up the rpm to 1500-2000 to add freon.
the pump is working at a proper cruising rpm then- and will suck the freon in faster

in some high ambient temp areas.. the tech places the freon can into a bucket of hot water so it doesnt freeze up as it dispenses--they get COOOOLD as they get low

and a fan blowing on high into the evap coils/radiator for the ac,,as if it were driving down the freeway getting a cooling blast-helps!!