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I have the settings as they should be to use the AC. I see A/C on is selected, have my knob turned all the way to 60, and all I get is lukewarm air at best. The heater works OK so I’m wondering if it’s something electrical, my cabin filter, coolant or something else?
I also need to add that when the AC is full blast, the sound it makes is loud. Very loud. A deep buzzing/vibration from the front right side of the car.
This happened to my vehicle. AC was on full blast and got lukewarm air also. Freon was fully charged and there were no leaks. It ended up being a melted wire underneath the passenger glovebox. I suspect this is where you are hearing the buzzing/vibration? check out the this thread
There a red/blue wire or yellow/blue that connects to the blower motor it gets fried and it's a regular... I purchased mine off eBay for $14 but you can also get i from the dealer... it goes way up in the dash and it's kind of a pain to get to.. I just splice and shrink wrap with tape.. And A/c woks again
Also there is another piece way up under the dash close to the firewall with wires the run towards to motor too called a resistor those can go bad too. its a $45 part at Autozone.. but check the wire to the motor first.
I also need to add that when the AC is full blast, the sound it makes is loud. Very loud. A deep buzzing/vibration from the front right side of the car.
Where is the noise? Front right side of the passenger cabin or front right side of the engine compartment?
Like Saudade said, Does the compressor engage?
If your answer is I don't know then I'd recommend taking it to a shop.
Sound comes from the Front right side of the passenger cabin. To update everyone who replied, I was just making a bonehead choice by not looking at "mode" to see where the airflow was coming from - - the A/C works fine. The deep humming/vibration still occurs which does not bother me.
Put your ears near the blower motor.... My civic had a humming/buzzing sound .. Turns out chipmunks went and built a nest with grass in my damn blower. But humming sounds like a dying motor or something is not grounded.
The blower is pretty easy to pull out and inspect. It's possible the fan just needs a good cleaning, worst case is that it needs replacing due to bad bearings or brushes but they're not that expensive. While you're in the area change out the the cabin air filter.
Automotive shop in Austin told me that there is no refrigerant at all in the car, thus no AC. They quoted me 1800 bucks and I immediately said no. Is there another cheaper option I can pursue?
Automotive shop in Austin told me that there is no refrigerant at all in the car, thus no AC. They quoted me 1800 bucks and I immediately said no. Is there another cheaper option I can pursue?
You can try adding freon to the car. If you have a leak, you will just constantly add freon. With your 1800 dollar quote, did the indicate what the loud humming was?
Everryone - thanks for the replies. You will see in these pictures attached that they are trying to claim that my expansion valve, receiver drier, compressor are all bad. I don't know how to prove or disprove this on my own or if I should just get a 2nd opinion.
Also, right after they cleared out the blower and cabin air filter, when I started my car, it started to shake the steering wheel and I could see the front hood of my car bounce a little bit.
I forgot to mention that the loud buzzing is gone when the lukewarm ac is on full blast- the cabin air filter and blower had tons of leaves and acorns in it, so at least that issue is over.
Well, no refrigerant does mean no cold. That's why I asked earlier about the hoses.
Has your AC gradually gotten warm over a period of time, or is this somewhat sudden? You may need to charge the system with some leak detector to locate the leak.
If you have truly lost all refrigerant, you run the risk of moisture getting into the system. This is a bad thing. So normally, you pull a vacuum on the system to test for leaks and remove any residual moisture, then recharge with fresh refrigerant. The system is charged by weight you you need to ensure you add the right amount and not overfill or underfill. "Topping off" is a practice many use but it's like changing a wall outlet without flipping the breaker. Lot's of people do it and not get shocked but there's always "that guy". You can get pretty close using a set of manifold gauges if you have a set and know how to use them.
So you might ask another shop to do just that, evacuate and recharge and see how it goes.
Thank you for the detailed response. I will ask a different shop soon about doing an evacuate and recharge and going from there. Is that an expensive job? Is this very time-sensitive with moisture issue you just brought up? Should I just not run the AC at all?
What’s funny is that there are brief moments where I feel cold air, but the more it runs, the more warm the air gets.
Yeah, sounds like you have some refrigerant left. The issue with moisture in the system is that the system, when operating normally, is pretty dang cold!! That mean that any moisture inside could freeze. At best it may just restrict flow and render the AC less effective (in this case once you shut down and it warms up, the ice melts). At worse ice could form in your condenser (in front of the radiator), your evaporator (inside the HVAC box under the dash) or your compressor and cause a failure. Not a good outcome in any of those. I note the estimate they gave you does not include the condenser nor evaporator.
Moisture also leads to corrosion. In your case, I doubt this is an issue so no need to panic.
The refrigerant also carries the lubrication around. Loss of refrigerant also means less lubrication. I would refrain from running the AC for now. I know it's a bit warm in Austin but you can always do the 2-40 AC trick (open 2 windows, drive 40mph). OK that was an old geezer joke. lol
Costs vary by region and by shop. My guess is labor is about $100 plus cost of refrigerant. So shop around.
02-15-2019, 02:32 PM
