AC Question here too
04-01-2004, 11:32 PM
#1
nubsos
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AC Question here too
I have a 96 EX with stock everything. What is involved in getting the A/C recharged? Is it possible to do it myself? I see those little canisters of refridgerant in walmart, do I need to buy one of those?
04-02-2004, 05:33 AM
#2
I'm made of meat!
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Don't DIY this. You'll waste so much money. If the AC system is empty, then there is no other possibility outside of a leak being the cause of that. Something's busted. Since that's the case, you need to find the leak and repair it before dumping $$$$$$$$$ in refrigerants.
If you overcharge the system, you will destroy it. If you use the wrong refrigerant, you will foul the valves in it. If you charge the high pressure fitting instead of the low pressure fitting, the can of refrigerant you're trying to add to it will explode and possibly injure you.
Can you do it yourself? Yes. But you can't charge an empty or self-serviced AC system PROPERLY if you do it yourself because you won't be able to afford the equipment that does it right. Before adding refigerant to an empty AC system, you have to suck all the air out of it or else it won't work right. DIY charge kits don't create any vacuum. In order to correct the problem caused by this, you would have to take it to a garage and have them do an AC service, and still pay the same price for it despite having already filled it. You can repair the AC yourself, but don't charge it. Take it somewhere for an "evacuate and recharge". Most shops will do a R-134a charge for under $90, it works 5x better without air in it, and there are tons of Honda AC systems in junkyards if you need a part.
So why do they sell DIY AC kits? Because there's a sucker born every minute that will pay top dollar to do the job wrong. Either that or there's a few cars that have been in accidents and they didn't leak ALL the refrigerant out... or cars that were manufactured with the AC system barely charged. May mfr's do this because it saves them a shit-ton of money to skimp on a half pound of refrigerant on every car they build. The remaining pound or two will get the job done, right? These DIY kits only work on AC systems that have LOW pressure.
If you overcharge the system, you will destroy it. If you use the wrong refrigerant, you will foul the valves in it. If you charge the high pressure fitting instead of the low pressure fitting, the can of refrigerant you're trying to add to it will explode and possibly injure you.
Can you do it yourself? Yes. But you can't charge an empty or self-serviced AC system PROPERLY if you do it yourself because you won't be able to afford the equipment that does it right. Before adding refigerant to an empty AC system, you have to suck all the air out of it or else it won't work right. DIY charge kits don't create any vacuum. In order to correct the problem caused by this, you would have to take it to a garage and have them do an AC service, and still pay the same price for it despite having already filled it. You can repair the AC yourself, but don't charge it. Take it somewhere for an "evacuate and recharge". Most shops will do a R-134a charge for under $90, it works 5x better without air in it, and there are tons of Honda AC systems in junkyards if you need a part.
So why do they sell DIY AC kits? Because there's a sucker born every minute that will pay top dollar to do the job wrong. Either that or there's a few cars that have been in accidents and they didn't leak ALL the refrigerant out... or cars that were manufactured with the AC system barely charged. May mfr's do this because it saves them a shit-ton of money to skimp on a half pound of refrigerant on every car they build. The remaining pound or two will get the job done, right? These DIY kits only work on AC systems that have LOW pressure.
04-02-2004, 05:49 AM
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Originally Posted by Jafro
Don't DIY this. You'll waste so much money. If the AC system is empty, then there is no other possibility outside of a leak being the cause of that. Something's busted. Since that's the case, you need to find the leak and repair it before dumping $$$$$$$$$ in refrigerants.
If you overcharge the system, you will destroy it. If you use the wrong refrigerant, you will foul the valves in it. If you charge the high pressure fitting instead of the low pressure fitting, the can of refrigerant you're trying to add to it will explode and possibly injure you.
Can you do it yourself? Yes. But you can't charge an empty or self-serviced AC system PROPERLY if you do it yourself because you won't be able to afford the equipment that does it right. Before adding refigerant to an empty AC system, you have to suck all the air out of it or else it won't work right. DIY charge kits don't create any vacuum. In order to correct the problem caused by this, you would have to take it to a garage and have them do an AC service, and still pay the same price for it despite having already filled it. You can service the AC yourself, but don't fill it. Take it somewhere for an "evacuate and recharge". Most shops will do a R-134a charge for under $90, and there are tons of Honda AC systems in junkyards if you need a part.
So why do they sell DIY AC kits? Because there's a sucker born every minute that will pay top dollar to do the job wrong. Either that or there's a few cars that have been in accidents and they didn't leak ALL the refrigerant out. These kits only work on systems that have low pressure, or cars that were manufactured with the AC system barely charged. May mfr's do this because it saves them a shit-ton of money to skimp on a half pound of refrigerant on every car they build. The remaining pound or two would get the job done.
If you overcharge the system, you will destroy it. If you use the wrong refrigerant, you will foul the valves in it. If you charge the high pressure fitting instead of the low pressure fitting, the can of refrigerant you're trying to add to it will explode and possibly injure you.
Can you do it yourself? Yes. But you can't charge an empty or self-serviced AC system PROPERLY if you do it yourself because you won't be able to afford the equipment that does it right. Before adding refigerant to an empty AC system, you have to suck all the air out of it or else it won't work right. DIY charge kits don't create any vacuum. In order to correct the problem caused by this, you would have to take it to a garage and have them do an AC service, and still pay the same price for it despite having already filled it. You can service the AC yourself, but don't fill it. Take it somewhere for an "evacuate and recharge". Most shops will do a R-134a charge for under $90, and there are tons of Honda AC systems in junkyards if you need a part.
So why do they sell DIY AC kits? Because there's a sucker born every minute that will pay top dollar to do the job wrong. Either that or there's a few cars that have been in accidents and they didn't leak ALL the refrigerant out. These kits only work on systems that have low pressure, or cars that were manufactured with the AC system barely charged. May mfr's do this because it saves them a shit-ton of money to skimp on a half pound of refrigerant on every car they build. The remaining pound or two would get the job done.
I agree with this to an extent. You can charge your system DIY style, but Jafro is correct in that you need suffecient vac. to get the best results. If you can find an experienced mechanic that has the equipment, see if they will do it on their time (can cost you less). A friend of ours recharged my wife's 97 Deville and used a small 110v compressor and AC guage set to do it. He had a digital AC thermometer and checked the temperature at the vent at around 38 degrees when he was done and he said he could have gotten it colder if he had a more powerful compressor. Nice to know people like that. She also needed a compressor and he installed all of it including the price of the compressor (we got the gas and oil at AutoZone), O-rings and evaporator for something like $400 (All new parts). If it was just the AC charge he would have charged just $25-$30 labor. Well worth it in my opinion. Good luck, I hope you can find someone cheap that knows what they are doing like I did.
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