I own a 95' Honda Accord. The A/C stopped blowing cold, the acceleration became intermittent and catchy, and it started making a clunking noise about every 30 seconds. All problems go away when the A/C is turned off. I recently learned that my wife had put in 3 bottles of free-on when the A/C stopped blowing cold air because the genious at Auto Zone told her it would be a good idea. When she did that is when she added the acceleration and clunking problems. I took the car to my local auto hobby/do it yourself shop on Keesler Air Force Base and had everything tested. We cleared out the fluids, ran a vacuum test and put fluid back in. The system has no leaks, but the pressure on the back side is running too high and on the other side it's too low. After cleaning out the 3 bottles of free-on and putting back some it still ran warm. Also, the free-on came out foamey (not sure what that means either). The A/C guy helping me out suspected that the compressor was clogged. So I went in to clean it out, but when I got the dash board torn apart and got my hands on the A/C black box I can't get the sucker all the way open. I've removed every possible screw and cut away all of the instalation hosing around the middle of the box. I can't get this thing open and need some seriouse help. I'm not sure if it's connected to the firewall somehow or if the box halves are connected in the back or if there's a clamp. I'm not even sure that this is the problem I need to be fixing. If one of you guys/girls could drop me a hint it would save me a 300$ "estimate" at the local A/C shop. Thanks for your help I look forward to your responses.
Jake

 

dead compressor, you wll need to replace at the minimum. (compressor should not place excessive drag on system when engaging- most likely damaged by lack of oil or overcharge on system)

compressor
receiver dryer
"H" (expansion valve)

The rest of the system will have to be flushed with a chemical solvent that is designed to remove metal peices and or sludge

 

The compressor is attached to engine via an accessary bracket, not in the dash board. All of your problems point to the compressor. So put the dash back together and release the pressure from the system and remove the compressor for testing (get a manual). The box in the dash, is air transfer unit that cools the air going into the car. If there are no leaks it will always be either the compressor (sounds like a bad clutch on the compressor, clunking) or no conditioner oil in the line.

Hope this helps

 

I'd agree with the previous two posts in one aspect... if it's not leaking then your problem isnt' in the dash. I'd start with making sure the compressor is coming on. turn on the A/C and make sure the compressor kicks on completely, if it is then I'd start troubleshooting your compressor... If you want you can pm me with your e-mail address and I will e-mail you the manual pages that cover heating/cooling in PDF format to further help you out... Like they said though, if the compressor is coming on AND the system isn't leaking then I'd bet that's your issue now....

 

MMM.. first off the noise you heard every 30 seconds could have been the a/c clutch rapidaly engaging and disengaging,, .

This is what i would reccomend before you atart replacing parts..

evacuate the system, put it inder a vacc for a few hrs, charge system with no more than 19 ozs of r134a. .. hook up a pressure gauge and chk the pressures,, make sure heater valve is fully shot when **** is on cold,,

low side pressure should be 15-35 .... .high side 180-210- high ambient temp and humidity will raise the pressures

if the high side pressure is too high and the low side is low,, it could be a restriction on the condensor, or rec drier ,, or the high side of the system,,
you might want to run some a/c solvent through the system before you put it under a vacc and recharge it..

 

Can someone help me with a similar problem. My A/C was not blowing cold air. I recharged with about 2 cans of R134a (24 oz). Unfortunately , I believe I overcharged the system and now when the AC is engaged, When I first tried the system out, there was a very ugly sound almost like belts slipping or metal grinding. I turned off the engine and released some of the pressure. The clutch cycling now causes a significant loss in power, the compressor just doesn't sound right. Am I going to have to replace my compressor and/or clutch. How much will it run me?

 

I am almost in agreement but since they put so much r143a in there without an oil charge then most likely the compressor bit the bullet.....

 

CRIDPATH>>>>>>>>>>&g t;without knowing year and model i cannot tell you how much r134a the system takes but 24 oz is too much............ on overcharged A/C SYSTEM WILL cause loss of power, a/c not cooling well . possible damage to compressor ......

evacuate and recharge system with proper amount and keep your fingers crossed