A/C problem... - Honda Prelude Forum

L-U-R-C-H · 09-18-2002, 08:26 PM

My A/C is acting a bit wierd. Sometimes it will blow out cold air and then 10 seconds later it will just spit out regular air. And it will just constantly keep switching between cold (A/C) air and regular air. Any ideas?

Thanks.

Absolut · 09-18-2002, 10:42 PM

You need a recharge or freon.

Scalifludesi · 09-18-2002, 11:57 PM

Can you feel the compressor clutch engage/disengage before the change in temp occurs? If it does, you gonna need a new compressor soon. Same thing happened to mine. You might wanna check your condenser fan also to make sure that it turns itself on the moment your turn the ac on. From what I've read there's a thermal protector built into the ac compressor and when your ac is under heavy load it shuts itself off. Just my $.02 after months of diagnosing my ac dilemma.

influx · 09-19-2002, 12:12 AM

ya my a/c is busted too, took it into a place they said the compressor was going bad, i had the same symptoms...
they said i had too much pressure on one side of the lines and too little on the other...

anyone know how hard it is to get that compressor out of there??

Scalifludesi · 09-19-2002, 12:46 AM

Taking out the compressor isn't hard at all.

1. First you need to loosen the top and the side bolts on the alternator.
2. Right above the compressor/bottom of the alternator there's a bolt that adjusts the belt tension.
3. Turn it around so that you can loosen the belt.
4. On the top part of the compressor, loosen the suction and discharge bolt & pull the hose upward.
5. Now loosen all 4 bolts that attaches to the block on the compressor.
6. Unplug the 1P connector and pull the compressor out.
7. Put the new compressor in and do the above steps in reverse.

*Always use new o-rings and don't forget the refrigerant oil (put some oil on all the o-rings too). If you need specs/pics on the install let me know and I'll scan the service manual for you.

jgprelude · 09-20-2002, 01:52 AM

You can easily swap out the compressor, but your going to have to pay someone to pull a vacume in the lines so that it can be recharged properly.

bdaddy · 09-20-2002, 08:53 PM

ya mine was doing that!! i recharged and now its ok!! but i think im gonna need a new a/c after a few more thousand miles

bdaddy

Scalifludesi · 09-20-2002, 09:13 PM

What do you mean a new ac? As long as your compressor works perfectly and there's no leaks everywhere, you only need to change the accumulator and the expansion valve on the ac system and while you are replacing your expansion valve you might as well clean your evaporator core. I finally traced the source of my ac problem today...when I opened up my evaporator, it was FULL of dirt and leaves. No wonder my vents weren't blowing strong air, also my expansion valve is froze. That's why my ac doesn't blow cold air because the freon can't get into the evaporator core.