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Quick question about AC on my 03 civic Update 6/27

Dabba

Dabba

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I was driving today and suddenly my AC stopped blowing cold. Kept messing with it while driving, no go. Got to school, got out, checked the belt, and couldnt see anything wrong that was obvious. AC just seemed to die. Get in the car tonight, driving home and i say **** it, lets see if its still dead, nope, blows cold. Anything off the top of your heads that would cause it to die, then come back?

Edit: So I filled it with coolant. Still does the same thing. Itll start out ice cold, then just blow warm like someone shut it off. Then let the car cool down and itll start all over again. IF it was a leak, i would expect it to just be cold. What the hell is going on? I dont want to keep wasting coolant, but I also really dont want to get robbed at a mechanic haha
 
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find the a/c relay under the hood. switch it with another relay that's the same size. see if that does anything.
 
Its very unusual for a system to suddenly stop completely and then restart due to normal mechanical stuff.
You could have a loose wire on the compressor or somewhere else.

If the air flow seemed to decrease a lot when it stopped, then the drain might be stopped up and letting ice form on the evaporator.

Odds are its an electrical problem of some sort.
 
Sorry. Been busy with finals. My stepdad said it might have some sort of saftey with the cooland being low, the compressor stops. He has a gauge somewhere, so going to eliminate that before looking for electrical gremlins. Havent heard that one before.
 
I was going to say the same thing your stepdad said. If the coolant is low they'll begin to cycle on and off.
 
I incorrectly assumed it would just slowly get warmer over time. I'll take a look at it Sunday or Monday. It's been raining. Thanks guys.
 
If the refrigerant gets low, the compressor will start cycling on and off. It has a low pressure switch on the low side of the system.
There may be systems that trip something out and keep it off until its reset. I see that in home and commercial systems all the time, not so much in cars.

But, we are dealing with Japanese tech, so who knows.....

A cool day will give lower pressures than a hot day. So, it might work one day and not the next.
But, if it does not have a lockout, then yes it should get warmer and warmer as the compressor stays off longer and longer.
 
Automotive AC tech is automotive AC tech, regardless the ethnic persuasion, lol! :haha: All the same fundamentals.

You have a leak, therefore low refrigerant. Get the leak fixed and system recharged/serviced and you'll be good to go.

Does the car have a lot of miles?
 
A/C thermal protector is a common failure on that model.
It will shut down the compressor without warning.

I speak the language... Honda A tech
 
Shes got about 140 and i never charged it from when i bought it years ago with 50k. Ill just charge it and see if it lasts haha
 
So i edited my first post but, i put coolant into the thing and didnt help. Still just shuts off once the car warms up, maybe 20 mins into a drive. Let it cool, start it back up and it works, until the engine heats up again. What the hell? :angry1:
 
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