Hello all,

I have a 1990 Honda Accord DX, manual transmission. My AC is not working (hasn't since I've owned it) and I'm trying to get it running. Before I spend the money for a recharge, I wanted to see if anyone had some insight on this. The clutch does not engage when I turn on the AC. Could I be looking at something other than a recharge? Does anyone know some steps I can take to know for sure what I need? I'll be checking the fuses today after work but I'm pretty sure they are all good since I was dealing with them a couple of weeks ago (for something else) and didn't see anything wrong. Any help/direction would be appreciated.

Thanks
Nick

 

Unplug the electrical connector going to the compressor (it should be a singe wire). Start the car and turn on the a/c. Use a volt meter to see if you have 12V at the compressor.

Just touch one volt meter lead to the single wire and the other to a ground bolt on the valve cover.

 

Has it been converted over to 134 or is it still R12?

 

I had to learn about AC systems due to necessity. It was not easy, I read, talked to AC guys, luckily I met a guy that walked me through the entire process. Your situation is a little complex, you don't have a history. Yea, 134a or R12? This is a concern because they don't mix. IF the system has not worked in years, you may have a cruded up system. Shops have equipment that can tell you which freon. Wish I could remember what year they changed to 134a.

Sorry to say, you may need some professional help, we are talking some big bucks; "been there done that". You could see if you can get the compressor running, but if there is no freon, you could cause damage; Freon has oil in it, running a compressor dry is bad. There is a factory shut-off switch that keeps it from running with low freon.

Come back and let us know what you find, good luck.

 

if system is empty clutch on a/c compressor will not engage..........Do a quick test,, remove the cap from the discharge line ( the smaller line ) going to evap ( firewall ) get a small screwdriver and press down on the valve ( do not have your face over the valve ) if there is freon it will spray on your face..,,,,,,if when pushing down no freon sprays that could be the reason or 1 of a reason why a/c does not work , there could be a leak in the system , also if no freon and system is still r12, this would be a good time to convert to r134a ,, so,,, first thing is to partly charge the system and add some dye to locate leak

try it and let us know

 

Thanks for all the responses ... so i checked the valve and there was no pressure. I have purchased a conversion kit but I was told that I needed to hook it up to the low side or vacuum end. Does anyone know which end this is or how I determine that?

 

The low side (suction) has the larger AC hoses. You may want to add a dye charge also being it is completely empty. The upgrade to 134A will take a different amount of freon than it did with R12 .

 

thanks ... I've added some coolant to it and the compressor/clutch did engage but I have not felt cold air yet. How much should it take and should i start to feel it immediately?

 

new update: I am feeling cold air but it's only coming out of the far right vent (passenger side). The middle two vents are warm air and the drivers side is warmer than that. Does anyone have any suggestions on this?

 

Hold on, did you evacuate the system (pulled a vacuum) before adding the R134a?

If all the R12 leaked out, then there was probably air in the system.