my air conditioner isnt cooling as well as it was. what do i need to check to see if something is wrong?

Question

i drive a 1997 honda accord.

Answer 1

The air conditioning refrigerant molecules will work their way out of the system as they escape through seals and the hoses. Its normal for a 10 year old car to need to have the air conditioning system recharged with refrigerant. Your car uses refrigerant 134-a and, by law, must have the refrigerant recovered and recycled using special equipment. You can expect the recharge on the system to be about $100. Do not try to do it yourself with the recharge kits that they sell at auto parts stores as many of those kits use non-approved alternative refrigerants that can either damage the system components, cause fires or damage the system seals. As long as there is still some cold (cool) air coming out, then the only thing you'll need is a maintenance recharge of the system.

hope that answers your question

Answer 2

Something most overlooked is bugs clogging up the condenser that sits in front of the radiator. It's a good idea to carefully wash it out with a strong blast of water, as long as you don't wet the alternator. Do it with the engine cold as a spray of water on a hot exhaust manifold can crack it. Hopefully that's all you'll need. The next easy thing to check for is a loose/worn belt on the compressor. Then you might be low on refrigerant (R-134 is available at any store/walmart; aaaand, you don't need a license..) as an older car can develop a minor leak, usually through hoses and connections that are sealed with O-rings. Usually a small leak pushes out a bit of refrigerant oil and you will see an oily/dusty spot at the leak point. You can chose to have the leak repaired or take the "Do it Yourself" route of adding some more R-134. There are some cans sold that already have the proper hose which will adapt to the "low side" of the system. The service port usually has a blue cap on it and it mates with the connector at the end of the hose that comes with the cans. (costs about $10-$15 per can). You may see a red capped service port, that's the "High Side" (high pressure), that port is a different size so to keep you from making a mistake. People have taken a sensitive thermometer and put it in one of the vents, put the A/C on full blast high, and then started adding the gas (R-134) and watch the temperature drop. They stop adding gas when the temp reaches it lowest point and then starts to creep up. It's easier if you have a digital thermometer. It shouldn't take more that 2 -12 ounce cans if the system is completely empty, look for the service label under the hood, it has the system capacity in ounces, I think. That's the easy stuffll..

The more serious stuff might be a bad compressor clutch that is slipping or not engaging at all, a bad compressor that is not pumping efficiently anymore, a serious leak from the compressor.. if either of those two parts are bad, new or rebuilt compressors with the clutch are available; replace them together as the car is old, There may be problems with the switch on the dash, fuses/relays associated with the A/C and evaporator/expansion valve problems. For something that bad, take it to a shop. Should the repair require that the system have a hose/compressor replaced, the shop will use a special machine to vacuum out the system to remove any moisture that may get in (routinely done).

Now the politics.. I don't want to get into the argument of global warming. But don't you find it odd, that with all these laws and heavy fines that are associated with the release of ozone damaging gases, that R-134 is available to the average Joe 24/7. Once the seal on the can is broken, there's no way you're going to prevent the eventual escape of what is left in the can when you do a partial charge on a car. Did you know that the outlawed R-12 gas (used in pre-1994 cars) is sold to anyone in Mexico? Nuff said.. Good Luck..

Answer 3

Go to to AUTO AC service centre & get it checked for 1 loose drive belt 2.Charge with freeongas22. 3 Malfunctioning of thrmocontrol

Answer 4

it might need coolant added to it i dont know how to do that but my jeep was the same and my husband added stuff and now its great,go to a auto store and they should be able to help you