Mike Cooper

Michael Pardee wrote:
> "Mike Cooper" <mcooper73@antispam.yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:ntjEe.1164$mU3.145@trnddc02...
>
>>motsco_ _ wrote:
>>
>>>Mike Cooper wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Does anybody know if the Accords from '98 - '02 have a "sight glass"
>>>>anywhere in the A/C lines to visually check the R-134a level without
>>>>gauges? My previous Accord, a '92, had one on the receiver-drier but
>>>>that was an R-12 system. I found what looks to be the receiver-drier on
>>>>my '02 (small cylinder in front of the radiator, has A/C lines going in
>>>>and out as well as an electrical connection, probably to shut off the
>>>>compressor if the R-134a pressure is too high or low, but no sight glass
>>>>found anywhere).
>>>>
>>>>Also, are the "stop-leak" compounds offered in some varieties of R-134a
>>>>really effective at all? In this case I suspect a pinhole leak
>>>>somewhere since the performance of the A/C has deteriorated gradually
>>>>over the last 3 months or so (43K miles at present, no visible damage to
>>>>any of the lines). If so I'm tempted to do a DIY charging job with the
>>>>gauge set rather than pay $75 or more just for the diagnostic.
>>>>
>>>>Any advice appreciated -
>>>>
>>>>Mike
>>>>
>>>
>>>-----------------------
>>>
>>>Have you changed your cabin filter(s yet? If they're plugged, you'll only
>>>move about 1/2 as much air thru the system as you should, whether on
>>>RECIRC or regular.
>>>
>>>'Curly'
>>>
>>
>>Yup, that actually _is_ something I did on my own since I didn't want to
>>pay the dealer $109 for the labor disassembling virtually everything on
>>the front-passenger side under the glove compartment.
>>
>>Airflow has never been a problem. However, ever since the car was new the
>>air coming out of the vents (with A/C and RECIRC both off and with the
>>temperature dial all the way to Cold) always was slightly warmer than the
>>outside air. I assumed it was unavoidable that any incoming air would
>>pick up some heat from the heater core - my '92 was the same way. In any
>>case, the difference in A/C performance when I'm at freeway speeds versus
>>sitting idle at stoplights is much more obvious lately. That difference
>>was only slight in previous years.
>
>
> Mostly, that sounds like the compressor is going bad. The valve plates leak
> and otherwise don't perform well, and that effect is minimized when the the
> engine is turning faster. An '02 sounds awfully new for that, though -
> usually it takes about 10 years to reach that point.
>
> Another possibility is that the condensor fan has quit. The airflow on the
> road takes over to make the fan unimportant while cruising. The fan is
> something you can check yourself, while the bad compressor is a conclusion
> even the experts reach when everything else checks out okay.
>
> If the refrigerant is low, the cooling is the same at idle as at speed, but
> the compressor cycles more often at speed than at idle.
>
> Mike
>
>

More details: if the compressor is in fact going bad, is it possible
that visible "vapor" coming out of the inside vents is a symptom of that
failure? It rarely happens, but at 26K miles I reported this to the
dealer during a routine maintenance visit (it was documented but they
couldn't find a problem at the time). So there is a chance I could get
this fixed under warranty since I reported it early on, even though the
warranty has since expired. Compressor fan is OK.

Mike Cooper

Michael Pardee wrote:
> "Mike Cooper" <mcooper73@antispam.yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:ntjEe.1164$mU3.145@trnddc02...
>
>>motsco_ _ wrote:
>>
>>>Mike Cooper wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Does anybody know if the Accords from '98 - '02 have a "sight glass"
>>>>anywhere in the A/C lines to visually check the R-134a level without
>>>>gauges? My previous Accord, a '92, had one on the receiver-drier but
>>>>that was an R-12 system. I found what looks to be the receiver-drier on
>>>>my '02 (small cylinder in front of the radiator, has A/C lines going in
>>>>and out as well as an electrical connection, probably to shut off the
>>>>compressor if the R-134a pressure is too high or low, but no sight glass
>>>>found anywhere).
>>>>
>>>>Also, are the "stop-leak" compounds offered in some varieties of R-134a
>>>>really effective at all? In this case I suspect a pinhole leak
>>>>somewhere since the performance of the A/C has deteriorated gradually
>>>>over the last 3 months or so (43K miles at present, no visible damage to
>>>>any of the lines). If so I'm tempted to do a DIY charging job with the
>>>>gauge set rather than pay $75 or more just for the diagnostic.
>>>>
>>>>Any advice appreciated -
>>>>
>>>>Mike
>>>>
>>>
>>>-----------------------
>>>
>>>Have you changed your cabin filter(s yet? If they're plugged, you'll only
>>>move about 1/2 as much air thru the system as you should, whether on
>>>RECIRC or regular.
>>>
>>>'Curly'
>>>
>>
>>Yup, that actually _is_ something I did on my own since I didn't want to
>>pay the dealer $109 for the labor disassembling virtually everything on
>>the front-passenger side under the glove compartment.
>>
>>Airflow has never been a problem. However, ever since the car was new the
>>air coming out of the vents (with A/C and RECIRC both off and with the
>>temperature dial all the way to Cold) always was slightly warmer than the
>>outside air. I assumed it was unavoidable that any incoming air would
>>pick up some heat from the heater core - my '92 was the same way. In any
>>case, the difference in A/C performance when I'm at freeway speeds versus
>>sitting idle at stoplights is much more obvious lately. That difference
>>was only slight in previous years.
>
>
> Mostly, that sounds like the compressor is going bad. The valve plates leak
> and otherwise don't perform well, and that effect is minimized when the the
> engine is turning faster. An '02 sounds awfully new for that, though -
> usually it takes about 10 years to reach that point.
>
> Another possibility is that the condensor fan has quit. The airflow on the
> road takes over to make the fan unimportant while cruising. The fan is
> something you can check yourself, while the bad compressor is a conclusion
> even the experts reach when everything else checks out okay.
>
> If the refrigerant is low, the cooling is the same at idle as at speed, but
> the compressor cycles more often at speed than at idle.
>
> Mike
>
>

More details: if the compressor is in fact going bad, is it possible
that visible "vapor" coming out of the inside vents is a symptom of that
failure? It rarely happens, but at 26K miles I reported this to the
dealer during a routine maintenance visit (it was documented but they
couldn't find a problem at the time). So there is a chance I could get
this fixed under warranty since I reported it early on, even though the
warranty has since expired. Compressor fan is OK.

Mike Cooper

Mike Cooper wrote:

> Michael Pardee wrote:
>
>> "Mike Cooper" <mcooper73@antispam.yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> news:ntjEe.1164$mU3.145@trnddc02...
>>
>>> motsco_ _ wrote:
>>>
>>>> Mike Cooper wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Does anybody know if the Accords from '98 - '02 have a "sight
>>>>> glass" anywhere in the A/C lines to visually check the R-134a level
>>>>> without gauges? My previous Accord, a '92, had one on the
>>>>> receiver-drier but that was an R-12 system. I found what looks to
>>>>> be the receiver-drier on my '02 (small cylinder in front of the
>>>>> radiator, has A/C lines going in and out as well as an electrical
>>>>> connection, probably to shut off the compressor if the R-134a
>>>>> pressure is too high or low, but no sight glass found anywhere).
>>>>>
>>>>> Also, are the "stop-leak" compounds offered in some varieties of
>>>>> R-134a really effective at all? In this case I suspect a pinhole
>>>>> leak somewhere since the performance of the A/C has deteriorated
>>>>> gradually over the last 3 months or so (43K miles at present, no
>>>>> visible damage to any of the lines). If so I'm tempted to do a DIY
>>>>> charging job with the gauge set rather than pay $75 or more just
>>>>> for the diagnostic.
>>>>>
>>>>> Any advice appreciated -
>>>>>
>>>>> Mike
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----------------------
>>>>
>>>> Have you changed your cabin filter(s yet? If they're plugged, you'll
>>>> only move about 1/2 as much air thru the system as you should,
>>>> whether on RECIRC or regular.
>>>>
>>>> 'Curly'
>>>>
>>>
>>> Yup, that actually _is_ something I did on my own since I didn't want
>>> to pay the dealer $109 for the labor disassembling virtually
>>> everything on the front-passenger side under the glove compartment.
>>>
>>> Airflow has never been a problem. However, ever since the car was
>>> new the air coming out of the vents (with A/C and RECIRC both off and
>>> with the temperature dial all the way to Cold) always was slightly
>>> warmer than the outside air. I assumed it was unavoidable that any
>>> incoming air would pick up some heat from the heater core - my '92
>>> was the same way. In any case, the difference in A/C performance
>>> when I'm at freeway speeds versus sitting idle at stoplights is much
>>> more obvious lately. That difference was only slight in previous years.
>>
>>
>>
>> Mostly, that sounds like the compressor is going bad. The valve plates
>> leak and otherwise don't perform well, and that effect is minimized
>> when the the engine is turning faster. An '02 sounds awfully new for
>> that, though - usually it takes about 10 years to reach that point.
>>
>> Another possibility is that the condensor fan has quit. The airflow on
>> the road takes over to make the fan unimportant while cruising. The
>> fan is something you can check yourself, while the bad compressor is a
>> conclusion even the experts reach when everything else checks out okay.
>>
>> If the refrigerant is low, the cooling is the same at idle as at
>> speed, but the compressor cycles more often at speed than at idle.
>>
>> Mike
>>
>
> More details: if the compressor is in fact going bad, is it possible
> that visible "vapor" coming out of the inside vents is a symptom of that
> failure? It rarely happens, but at 26K miles I reported this to the
> dealer during a routine maintenance visit (it was documented but they
> couldn't find a problem at the time). So there is a chance I could get
> this fixed under warranty since I reported it early on, even though the
> warranty has since expired. Compressor fan is OK.

Lemme correct that last sentence - condensor fan is OK. Tells you how
much I know about A/C....

Mike Cooper

Mike Cooper wrote:

> Michael Pardee wrote:
>
>> "Mike Cooper" <mcooper73@antispam.yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> news:ntjEe.1164$mU3.145@trnddc02...
>>
>>> motsco_ _ wrote:
>>>
>>>> Mike Cooper wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Does anybody know if the Accords from '98 - '02 have a "sight
>>>>> glass" anywhere in the A/C lines to visually check the R-134a level
>>>>> without gauges? My previous Accord, a '92, had one on the
>>>>> receiver-drier but that was an R-12 system. I found what looks to
>>>>> be the receiver-drier on my '02 (small cylinder in front of the
>>>>> radiator, has A/C lines going in and out as well as an electrical
>>>>> connection, probably to shut off the compressor if the R-134a
>>>>> pressure is too high or low, but no sight glass found anywhere).
>>>>>
>>>>> Also, are the "stop-leak" compounds offered in some varieties of
>>>>> R-134a really effective at all? In this case I suspect a pinhole
>>>>> leak somewhere since the performance of the A/C has deteriorated
>>>>> gradually over the last 3 months or so (43K miles at present, no
>>>>> visible damage to any of the lines). If so I'm tempted to do a DIY
>>>>> charging job with the gauge set rather than pay $75 or more just
>>>>> for the diagnostic.
>>>>>
>>>>> Any advice appreciated -
>>>>>
>>>>> Mike
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----------------------
>>>>
>>>> Have you changed your cabin filter(s yet? If they're plugged, you'll
>>>> only move about 1/2 as much air thru the system as you should,
>>>> whether on RECIRC or regular.
>>>>
>>>> 'Curly'
>>>>
>>>
>>> Yup, that actually _is_ something I did on my own since I didn't want
>>> to pay the dealer $109 for the labor disassembling virtually
>>> everything on the front-passenger side under the glove compartment.
>>>
>>> Airflow has never been a problem. However, ever since the car was
>>> new the air coming out of the vents (with A/C and RECIRC both off and
>>> with the temperature dial all the way to Cold) always was slightly
>>> warmer than the outside air. I assumed it was unavoidable that any
>>> incoming air would pick up some heat from the heater core - my '92
>>> was the same way. In any case, the difference in A/C performance
>>> when I'm at freeway speeds versus sitting idle at stoplights is much
>>> more obvious lately. That difference was only slight in previous years.
>>
>>
>>
>> Mostly, that sounds like the compressor is going bad. The valve plates
>> leak and otherwise don't perform well, and that effect is minimized
>> when the the engine is turning faster. An '02 sounds awfully new for
>> that, though - usually it takes about 10 years to reach that point.
>>
>> Another possibility is that the condensor fan has quit. The airflow on
>> the road takes over to make the fan unimportant while cruising. The
>> fan is something you can check yourself, while the bad compressor is a
>> conclusion even the experts reach when everything else checks out okay.
>>
>> If the refrigerant is low, the cooling is the same at idle as at
>> speed, but the compressor cycles more often at speed than at idle.
>>
>> Mike
>>
>
> More details: if the compressor is in fact going bad, is it possible
> that visible "vapor" coming out of the inside vents is a symptom of that
> failure? It rarely happens, but at 26K miles I reported this to the
> dealer during a routine maintenance visit (it was documented but they
> couldn't find a problem at the time). So there is a chance I could get
> this fixed under warranty since I reported it early on, even though the
> warranty has since expired. Compressor fan is OK.

Lemme correct that last sentence - condensor fan is OK. Tells you how
much I know about A/C....