a/c intermittent

having a problem with my '03 GS, the ac has been cutting in and out for the last 3 months. I've ruled out 'low/no coolant' because it was filled last year and as far as I can figure, it should have run out by now if that was the case, as I said, it's been cutting in and out for 3 monthes, roughly 3500 miles. It seems that when I accelerate hard I have the best chance of losing the a/c, any ideas on what this could be? the car has already been to my mechanic and he can't find anything wrong with it, and can't recreate the problem for some reason.

[808drifter]

can you turn the heat on and off?

Originally Posted by 808drifter

can you turn the heat on and off?

Heat works. Just tested.

[RahX]

Hard acceleration will cut out the a/c to give the engine more power which is normal. There are no rules that govern how fast/slow an a/c system will leak refrigerant other than the most obvious, the bigger the hole the faster the leak. If it is not acting normal and you aren't sure if there is any refrigerant in there, have someone suck it down and see how much is actually recovered. When you charge an a/c system after it has been low, you aren't helping the situation 90% of the time. When you have a leak there is a good chance that air has entered the system. Air will not work anywhere near as good as r-134 and will cause abnormal pressures within the system which will cause it to operate improperly. Have someone suck it down, vac it and recharge it with leak tracing dye and see if that helps any.

Originally Posted by RahX

Hard acceleration will cut out the a/c to give the engine more power which is normal. There are no rules that govern how fast/slow an a/c system will leak refrigerant other than the most obvious, the bigger the hole the faster the leak. If it is not acting normal and you aren't sure if there is any refrigerant in there, have someone suck it down and see how much is actually recovered. When you charge an a/c system after it has been low, you aren't helping the situation 90% of the time. When you have a leak there is a good chance that air has entered the system. Air will not work anywhere near as good as r-134 and will cause abnormal pressures within the system which will cause it to operate improperly. Have someone suck it down, vac it and recharge it with leak tracing dye and see if that helps any.

Thanks for the idea, i'll set up an appointment with my shop and post the results. If that doesn't seem to help, further tips would be greatly appreciated! though it does sound like a really good point, and i'm hoping it solves the problem, as i'm taking a 9 hour road trip next week, and I really don't want to do that mid-summer with no a/c lol.

So my mechanic got acquainted with the eclipse today. Determined it's most likely the expansion valve, and said it would have to be ordered. Approximate price ~$300, since i'm not working it looks like this will have to wait till next summer. lol, sorry everybody, no closure here, but thank you all for your help.

[SUPERDAVE22]

does that price include labor parts and a recharge? i hope it does

Originally Posted by SUPERDAVE22

does that price include labor parts and a recharge? i hope it does

Typically he quotes me around the total price. Have you ever had this valve replaced? I've never heard of it so I wouldn't know what to expect as far as cost.

[808drifter]

The valve costs 42$ from Napa so including labor and recharge 300 sounds about right.