AC repair in Honda Civic

cjones4@hvc.rr.com

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Feb 8, 2003
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The AC has gone hot in my 2002 Civic. I was told it's pretty easy to buy a recharge kit and do it myself. Anyone have any experience and/or tips on how to do it?
 

Ben Konopacky

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Re: AC repair in Honda Civic

the first and most important thing to do is find the leak in the syst.,repair it ,evacuate and then recharge the syst.. if you are only going to recharge,its a waste of time and money,you will be doing it again..<br />note:eek:il spots are a dead givaway for locating leaks.
 

dolluper

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3,900
Re: AC repair in Honda Civic

There are kits avail that have sealer,adaptor hose and 2 cans of freon they are the best but if you have a cracked fitting or hose your out of luck it won't fix it otherwise it will work great for small pinholes in condensor to seals leaking
 

SS MAYFLOAT

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May 17, 2001
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Re: AC repair in Honda Civic

mooner, Ben is right, you must find the leak first. Is the system completely discharged? If so you must evacuate the system with a good vacuum pump. If the leak is not repaired, the vacuum pump will pull in noncondensables. Noncondesables cause compressor failure and hoses to blow. <br /><br />If you still have some freon in the system still, it is possible adding some refrigerant will get you by for awhile. Always charge on the suction/low pressure side of the comnpressor. This is the hose that usually comes from inside the car to the compressor. Directions should be on the charging kit.<br /><br />Sometimes its best to leave this to a professional. That is if you don't want to spend more money in the long run. Boo Boo's and mistakes do get costly in learning how to do air conditioning. With the car being as new as it is, I would take it to a reputable shop.<br /><br />Good Luck
 

SoulWinner

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Apr 16, 2002
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Re: AC repair in Honda Civic

If you drive on salted roads in the winter, your condenser may be shot. A cheap way to find out is to get a recharge kit and put some freon in the system. If there is big leak you will hear it when you shut the engine off.<br /><br />The most important thing to remember is to identify the Low Pressure side of the system. When you look at the compressor, there are two lines with fittings next to them. On some vehicles they are labeled with an "H" and a "L" indicating high and low sides. If they are not labeled, you can determine which is the low side be looking at the two lines. The two lines are different diameters, the smaller diameter line is the high side, the larger diameter is low side.<br /><br />Hook up the recharge kit to the low side and charge it up. Nothing to it. BTW, there should be a sticker somewhere under the hood that says how much freon the system is designed to hold. Don't over fill it. That can kill the compressor.
 

cjones4@hvc.rr.com

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Re: AC repair in Honda Civic

Thanks for the tips. It has 102k miles on it so warranty is not an option. I can't see any oil spots or obvious places where it might have leaked. The Low side fitting is easily accessible. I also found the lable that tells the proper capacity and type to use. I think I will give a kit a try if I can find one this weekend. At least the weather cooled off a little!
 

TELMANMN

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Re: AC repair in Honda Civic

I was told Honda's walk on water and don't scare the fish. Do Honda's really break?
 

petryshyn

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Re: AC repair in Honda Civic

Mooner<br />A/C can be dangerous when worked on by non-experienced. A large leak can freeze skin or corneas in a split second. Wear goggles and gloves when connecting or disconnecting fittings and hoses.<br />As mentioned before, add some vapour to the system. Listen for leaks. If no sounds present, soak down all fittings, hoses, pump, and condenser with warm water mixed with disk soap. The smallest leak can be detected by the presence of bubbles. If the cooling got worse slowly over time, the leak may be tricky to find. If it happened suddenly, look for oily components.<br /><br />All comments on this topic ASSUME you are low on refrigerant. This may not be the case.<br />*is the compressor clutch cutting in when A/C selected?<br />*is the hot water valve stuck?<br />*is the compressor clutch getting 12v?<br />*is the belt slipping?<br />*is the condenser plugged?<br /><br />There are many reasons for no A/C operation.
 

cjones4@hvc.rr.com

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Re: AC repair in Honda Civic

schematic - you make some excellent points. So far I have not tried anything. I dont think the belt is slipping, do you have any tips on how to check for the other things you listed?<br /><br /> It did stop working all of a sudden, didn't gradually get warmer.
 

SS MAYFLOAT

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Re: AC repair in Honda Civic

mooner, without having a charging manifold/guages to hook to the system to see what you have is like shooting blindfolded. Like our friend schematic mentioned above. Just because it quit working doesn't mean it is low/out of freon.<br /><br />Manufactures put low pressure switches in the system to shut down the system if it gets low. Systems that continue to run with low or no freon will in fact distroy a compressor. The oil that is in the freon lubricates and cools the compressor. Without the freon, it will overheat and burn up the compressor. This is a Big Cha-Ching item.<br /><br />Do you know how to use a Volt/Ohm meter or have one? With one of these, it would be easier to determine if your problem is electrical or with the refrigerant charge.<br /><br />BTW, Freon can be very painful on your unprotected fingers. BTDT with severe frost bite to fingers from a ruptured line that dumped liquid freon on me. Took awhile to get healed up over it. Use gloves neoprene coated that are impervious to liquids. <br /><br />Thanks schematic for putting your info forward. Its good to see you back again! :D
 

cjones4@hvc.rr.com

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Re: AC repair in Honda Civic

Yes, I have a multi meter and know how to use it. What would I check for with the meter? Thanks.
 

SS MAYFLOAT

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Re: AC repair in Honda Civic

This is some of the things I would check first.<br />Locate your low pressure cutoff switch. This should be on the low/suction side of the system. Should be 2 wires. Pull the wires off and check for continuity. If none, then it is open which means you probably are low on refrigerant.<br /><br />If you have continuity, now move onto the compressor clutch. There should be 2 wires going to it. One is ground and the other is the 12 volts coming into it. Unplug the compressor clutch. Take the continuity reading on the clutch coil. (where the wires plug into the compressor). If it is open (no meter defection) the clutch coil is shot. If you have continuity, then put you meter on DC volts and plut your leads into the wires going to the compressor clutch. Make sure your leads and meter are out of the way of moving parts. Start the engine and turn on the AC. You should have voltage. If not, then there is something else (possibly another saftey) that is keeping the compressor kicking in. <br /><br />These directions are somewhat vague. I don't normally work on auto AC's, but mostly the principal is the same. A good manual with a schematic will help trace your problem if it is electrically related. Hope this helps you.
 

TELMANMN

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Re: AC repair in Honda Civic

If you see oil residue anywhere take it to a reputable person to fix. As already noted if system completely down needs a vacumn pulled after fixing what is wrong. If you see nothing that looks like the oil has leaked out then give the re-charge kit a try. The instructions supplied should be easy to follow so if you feel lucky go for it. It's how one learns. <br /> I have done several, dating back to the old refrigerant when kits were still available, and it would last for a summer(as long as a small leak) but if try and goes down withinn a few days or more then you do have bigger problem.<br /> As to salt causing problems with the condenser I have two 99 chevy's and have never touched the AC. Still working strong and we do know a little about salt up here in Minny.
 
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