need help (A/C problems)

[hampsternazi]

Ok so my A/C went out in my car about 2 months ago. I heard a weird sound from under the dash on the passenger side after it went out, kinda like a hissing sound. Anyway i took my car to honda cuz my uncle is a used car salesman there. They looked at it and said they did a leak test and put 2 cans of r12 in it. They charged me a great deal and sent me on my way So anyway i live 100 miles from this honda dealership (i come home just about every week so the trip to honda wasnt that far out of the way). So I got it fixed on Monday. On thursday i thought it wasnt feeling very cold when i was driving home from work. I figured i was kinda paranoid but the next day back to nuetral-hot air. WTF! I called my uncle and he talked to them and they said "we will look at it for free" Does anyone know what the hell is going on with my A/C?? Is there a leak, they said they did a leak test and they know my uncle well and i dont think theyd screw him. Whats under the dash that would make that noise and could it be a leak from there they didnt pick up? Could they have not sealed something back after they were done? Anyone with air conditioning knowledge please help me out, im going back on Friday, and i need to have some clue as to whats going on. And what can i say to them to make them not charge me again??

[evol90accord]

The hissing noise under your dash is the refrigerant flowing through your evaporator box, its supposed to make that sound. Have the place that serviced it look at it again, they obviously did something wrong. Most likely it has a leak in a hose somewhere and it only leaks out slowly when your driving the car (the vibrations make it leak). I had that on one of my tubes, and the shop just used a clamp on it. no problems since.

Good luck!

[hampsternazi]

ok does the hissing sound get louder, alot louder when its low on refrigerant? it got really really loud, like now you can hear it over the radio. Anyway i looked at the ac fix thread and looked at that guage thing while my car was on and my ac was running (the glass bubble thing) and its clear and theres bubbles all in it, does that mean air is getting in the hoses (leak)?

[BustedLX]

The system is most likely low on refrigerant, that's why your OE dryer canister is showing bubles and why the hissing noise is so loud.

Is there a funny smell coming from the vents?

What I would do if I where you is to take it somewhere with the equipment to properly diagnose and repair the problem. You don't want to go messing with your A/C system if you are a novice. Several things are under large pressure wit hthe system on and inhaling refrigerant can be very dangerous even deadly.

[evol90accord]

I've personally never had the problem with hissing. I only hear it when I turn off the ac system or the car, you can hear it keep going for a second or two until the pressures equalize. Don't try and diagnose it yourself if a shop already did the work. Take it back to them and have them fix it right for free because of the hassle it caused you.

[jeesare]

Problem with a/c as well

I also have a problem with my a/c. Its not the compressor nor the freon. For some reason something is not making the compressor turn on. Was told there is an electrical problem which won't be looked at until Thursday. I hate messing with the a/c. Little too complicated for me. Meanwhile I'll have to sweat my balls off until then. If anyone has or had the same problem, post it please.

[TheTempest]

the only thing that wont turn the compressor wrong (correct me if i'm wrong here) is the plug sitting right next to it. It tells the CLUTCH on the compressor when to engage (ie. turn the A/C on). Without the clutched engaged, the pully spins...but the compressor isn't compressing

Check your plugs, make sure it didn't just come out.

[PRIMOCB7]

the only thing that wont turn the compressor wrong (correct me if i'm wrong here) is the plug sitting right next to it. It tells the CLUTCH on the compressor when to engage (ie. turn the A/C on)

if your compressor has no freon(as it was in my case), the clutch will not engage. i had the system vacuumed, and recharged and its "muy hace frio"

[xacc92x]

r12 to r134

does your car require r12 fluid, i thought they stopped using that. look into r134. IF not do a "retrofit" from r12 to r134, ask your honda tech about it. And that CLUTCH idea sounds about right.

[xacc92x]

ask a pro

i know you prob wont but dont go messing with your a/c system. cause like someone else here said it as alot of pressure in. And if you do have r12 in the system it could be deadly. But they do sell a/c pressure test kits at autozone, but its not for the unexperianced o whateverr.

[xtremeskier97]

If the system has too much refrigerant in it, the clutch will not engage either..but this is surelly not your case.

In the evaporator box..there are 3 connections. Just outside of the evaporator box (just inside the engine bay side of your firewall) there are 2 more connections. The 3 connections inside the evaporator box all have to do with the expansion valve. It may be possible that your expansion valve has gone bad..or more than likely...some o-rings have gone bad in there (if this is where the sound IS coming from).

Have the shop do a leak test and be there when they do it. Have them show you the leak.

Good luck. And I know about the sweating like crazy in a car with no a/c...but atleast you have windows that work...I didnt. Had a sunroof, no a/c, no windows, in the dead heat of summer in Louisiana. Not fun at all driving down the road with our hands out of the roof trying to direct some air into the car. :/