I have a 2013 Honda Civic. I’m thinking it just needs an AC recharge but not sure. It started off blowing cold just fine then it would blow warm air off and on some of the time and cold air most of the time. Now it doesn’t blow cold air at all. I’ve recently changed the cabin air filter. No funny noises or anything and the fan works it’s just warm air coming out. Any ideas on what it is or cost?
Go to an auto parts store and either rent a set of manifold gauges or go to Harbor Freight and buy a set. They work well for occasional use. If there's no pressure in the system, or, very little, evacuate the system with a refrigerant recovery machine. Don't use one of those "miracles in cans" that contain any kind of sealer, or you'll probably wind up trashing your AC. Also, don't just release R134a into the atmosphere, it's against federal law and you could possibly do jailtime if somebody catches you and knows the laws.
If I had to guess, your condenser probably has a pinhole in it. It's been 11 years at this point. If you want to troubleshoot it yourself, get some UV dye that's made for air conditioners and get funky sunglasses that brighten UV dye. If it's leaking somewhere, replace the components and replace the receiver/dryer.
I would leave it to a professional if you don't know what you're doing when it comes time to recharge the system. Properly running ACs can be very dangerous; the high side gauge is upwards of 225 PSI. For comparison, atmospheric pressure at sea level is only 14.7 PSI.
@justin-shepherd Yeah, use of the "recharge can" is one of the few things I would disagree with Scotty on, though he has gone back and forth on those - at least one of his videos says not to use them. (A friend ruined his AC system - and my gauge set when he asked me to check it - with sealer from one of those cans.)
I hate those A/C Pro recharge cans. My stepdad would use them once a season on his 1999 Chevy Cavalier after around 2007, and he eventually trashed is A/C as well. It was trashed to the point where even when the A/C was off, it would make grinding noises, so he installed a deletion kit serpentine belt that bypassed the air conditioner.
I'll never forget what my 1999 Ranger's condenser looked like after I put UV dye in the system. It looked like somebody shot paintballs at it, there was so much dye everywhere, haha.
@justin-shepherd I prefer to use an electronic leak detector. These days they're not very expensive.
I prefer leak dye, I'm a more visual person, though. When I actually see something leaking via the pinholes, it makes it easy to replace. The only real downfall is if your evaporator is leaking, you can't tell that without taking the car apart, haha.
@justin-shepherd Actually for the evaporator if you're using dye you should be able to see it come out of the condensation drain.
If you use enough, it will, I guess, lol. I hadn't thought about that.
Well either pay a mechanic to hook up his gauges to tell you if you're law in the refrigerant or go to an auto parts store and buy a refrigerant add can with a gauge on it and follow the directions on the can. It's not hard to add. Pray it's that easy
