A/c Quit Working, Confused...

[funky]

I have a 94 Honda Accord, and today the A/C just stopped blowing cold air. I have kept complete maintainence records, so below is what has happened. If anyone can tell me what might be the cause, it would really help. Thanks!!

6/27/2002 -- RECHARGE A/C SYSTEM, REPLACE DISH HOSE & SUCTION HOSE (AND ADJUST), REPLACE COMPRESSOR ASSEMBLY, DRIER

5/10/2004 -- REPLACE AC CONDENSER, RECEIVER DRYER PIPE, COOLANT TEMP SENSOR, 20OZ FREON 143A

5/28/2005 -- A/C STOPS BLOWING COLD AIR

[funky]

Some other things I've noticed:

1. Today when I started the A/C, it smelled like manure. I checked this at different locations in town, and the same thing. Only when I first start it, for a minute or so.

2. I can hear a hissing noise when it goes on and off. Seems to be coming from the passenger side door vent.

[funky]

I can't find the sight glass. Does anyone know where it is on a 94 honda accord?

[jeffcoslacker]

Sounds like your evap core drain is blocked, and the core is swimming in doopy water. The hissing sound may be the blower wheel paddling water.

The drain is under the car, near the rear of the engine compartment. Usually looks like a small piece of hose coming out of the body, roughly below your glove box. They usually have a "pinched" end, so water goes out, but bugs and dirt don't get in. sometimes the rubber sticks together, or a spider gets in there, or algea clogs it, etc. You have to open it up so it can drain. Run someting up through it (don't punch a hole in the core, just need to go a couple of inches into it), and be prepared to get wet when it opens!

[funky]

i also noticed today that water was gushing out of the area you just mentioned. i checked it and it looked like dirty water. it wasn't just dripping but really flowing from the underside onto the pavement. it was quite a hot day today here in florida.

[mpumas]

Is the water flowing out of the drain with the airconditioner running? Or is it always running? Water is made when the airconditioner is running properly in humid climates. If you are getting water but not cold air, check the heater valve position. If it is on, you will get dry hot air.

[funky]

i just read somewhere on another site that it said the air blowing out will stink if the evaporator isn't evaporating...because mold grows on the evaporator coil. this could explain the smell i was talking about. but i was seeing lots of water flowing out onto the ground...what gives?

[funky]

Originally Posted by mpumas

Is the water flowing out of the drain with the airconditioner running? Or is it always running? Water is made when the airconditioner is running properly in humid climates. If you are getting water but not cold air, check the heater valve position. If it is on, you will get dry hot air.

i'll have to more throroughly check it tomorrow. but i remember that today i turned it off and it was still flowing. i didn't leave it off long enough to be honest. i will try turning it off longer tomorrow.

where is the heater valve and how do i determine its position. i WAS getting DRY hot air!

[jeffcoslacker]

Hope you aren't seeing rusty coolant going out of the core...

[jeffcoslacker]

See if your A/C clutch stays engaged with the air on, and if the line to the evap are cold and sweating. If so, you got trouble of some kind with the core, or heat control valve, like mpumas said.

the only reason you'd have flow from the core drain like that is

A. the A/c is working fine, and the evaporator core is sweating like crazy because it is cold, or

B. The heater core is leaking (which will smell weird too, especially if the coolant is rusty)

[jeffcoslacker]

The water leaking out of the core should be quite cold. Is it?

[funky]

not sure. i will see tomorrow. should i be touching the water if refrigerant might be in it?

[jeffcoslacker]

If nothing else, I have occaisionally seen one with a partly blocked drain that drips, but when you run something up through it, you get a rush of water and crud that was trapped and just seeping out. You don't have wet carpet under the pass floor mat, do you?

[funky]

no, no leaking inside car. that's why i'm really confused...

[jeffcoslacker]

Refrig isn't water soluable. It's an aerosol, will just evaporate into the air. All you should have coming out is water.

I know when I've been down in FL, when it's real humid they'll sweat water in a steady stream rather than just dripping like they do here. If conditions are like that, and the core can't drain fast enough, it'll fill up quick. That could (possibly) explain why it stinks when you first start it. As it sits, the core drains, and you are left with a wet mass of growing mold that starts becoming more active as the remaining dampness warms up.

Same way a creek stinks after the water goes down.