The compressor on my 2012 Honda CR-V mostly seized up almost 3 weeks ago (barely could turn it by hand). Compressor and expansion valve were replaced but it's still not blowing cold most of the time unless it's after the sun goes down. I suspect the condenser might be clogged internally, but my mechanic also noticed my vent fan isn't blowing very hard compared to other CR-Vs he's working on. The other evening I had it randomly start blowing much harder and much colder, but it didn't stick. I find it odd that it would do this if it was an issue with ac system itself rather than a wiring issue. Does this sound like it could be an issue with the system itself, an electrical issue or does it sound like both?
What are the most likely solutions you can think of?
Thanks!
Compressor and expansion valve were replaced
What about the condenser? Condenser replacement is standard procedure when a compressor fails.
No, it hasn't been replaced. I've thought from the start there could be some kind of partial restriction in it. Mechanic said he's only ever seen systems that didn't cool at all when the condenser was restricted...mine is cooling a little but nowhere near enough overall, so I think there's a small restriction rather than a total. He's going to try a different compressor (won't cost me anything) just in case the one I got put on is bad (as well as check the wiring on the climate controls), but after that I'm having them replace the condenser if it doesn't improve.
What would cause that odd episode of the fan blowing harder and colder, though? Doesn't that sound like something electrical?
What would cause that odd episode of the fan blowing harder and colder, though? Doesn't that sound like something electrical?
If the fan suddenly started blowing faster you have some kind of electrical issue. If there is still debris in the system because the condenser was not changed, and perhaps the rest of the system was not even flushed out, you could have junk flowing around in there will have random effects until it finally jams up and destroys the compressor. (The drier should also have been changed, you didn't mention anything about that.)
@chucktobias The sudden amount of cool air and the fan blowing faster both happened at the exact same time and went away together as well, so that makes me think there's something electrical with the temperature of the air as well.
And no, the receiver drier wasn't changed yet either. I'll ask the shop about flushing the system just for good measure.
The sudden amount of cool air and the fan blowing faster both happened at the exact same time and went away together as well, so that makes me think there's something electrical with the temperature of the air as well.
If you have some electrical issue going on it could affect the temperature blend door or the compressor control valve as well as the blower.
And no, the receiver drier wasn't changed yet either.
That's supposed to be done whenever the AC system is open to atmosphere, though frequently mechanics will skip that step if the exposure is not for very long. However, compressor failure adds another dimension to the problem due to the issue of contamination. You can't have chunks of failed compressor floating around in your AC system, and the drier is potentially contaminated.
The following is the additional work that should be done when replacing a compressor that has failed internally to insure there is no debris left in the AC system:
- Replace condenser.
- Replace drier.
- Replace expansion valve or orifice tube.
- Flush all old, contaminated oil out of the rest of the AC system.
The expansion valve or orifice tube should keep debris out of the evaporator, but I'd go so far as to say if that part is accessible and not too expensive it might as well be replaced as well while in there.
@chucktobias Thanks for all the info! I'm hoping that the new expansion valve hasn't become blocked by anything as that was just changed out.
How hard is it to figure out and fix these potential electrical issues that may also be going on?
@mwarwick89 All that stuff is computer controlled so aside from basic electrical troubleshooting you'd need a scan tool that can do bidirectional testing for diagnosis.
@chucktobias Darn...this is turning into quite a pandora's box situation. A/C issues were abundant on my previous vehicle (took $3000 to fix them all) and now this one is giving me the same trouble ($1500 so far and still not back to how it used to perform).
@mwarwick89 Unfortunately when a compressor seizes up that's a real catastrophic event and to be on the safe side a lot has to be replaced. I can only guess that the mechanic who worked on it was taking some shortcuts to try keeping the bill down. Sometimes it may be possible to get away with that but it's a risky proposition. Hopefully it won't be too tough to get your AC sorted out. Condensers and driers are usually not very expensive.
@chucktobias I've had this type of experience with other mechanics as well where they kind of take things one step at a time. Usually it requires repeated visits as you might have imagined. Like I said before, he's going to try a brand new compressor at no cost to me (since the current one he put in is under warranty) and take a look at the wiring given the weak airflow and weird episode of freezing air and strong airflow I had randomly occur the other day. After that will be the condenser. I'm just afraid of the possibility that this could end up being a computer or electronic-related rabbit hole. If the 2nd new compressor and condenser make the air consistently cold, I'll probably wait to get the airflow issue fixed until later since I don't want to spend much more at this point. Thanks again for all the help!