i just purchased a 92 civic lx with a history of a/c leaks. the past owner had the compressor replaced about 3yrs ago by honda and it worked for the season but then it stopped. they drove the car for 2yrs without a/c. I inspected the system and replaced the o-rings on the high and low sides found a couple loose connectors and cleaned out debris that blocked about 1/3 of the evaparator coil. I purged the lines and filled the system with an R-12 susbitute called "enviro-save" based on there r-12 conversion chart which was about 23oz. it works on on warm days but on hot days dosen't cool very well. The compressor does not cycle and the low/high pressures are steady at 50/175 when the ambent temp is 92. The vent temp is about 70 even after running 10-15 minutes with fan on max/recycle and both front doors open.
I read on the web the low side should be about 25-35 and the high side should be between 200-230 when the ambent temp is 92. I am not sure if this is true but i would think the vent temp should be about 30 degrees below the ambent temp. I would be most thankful for any assistance.

 

i thought 92 civics used r-134a not r-12

 

i read 93' was the last year for R-12 in the civic

 

my 93 civic has r-12... so yeah...

 

I also have a 92 civic hatch with R12, NEVER AGIAN will I buy an R12 car, pain in the butt and expensive to fix. In 1994 all cars were required to have 134-A, Hondas or not, some 93's had 134-A and others didn't. Im not much of an ac guy but there can be only 2 reasons your ac does not blow cold air. 1, you have a leak or 2 your compressor is shot. Refrigerant does not loose its "charge" a good system with no leaks can last 30-40 years. They sell die kits where you charge your system with a die and look for leaks with a UV light, may be a condensor, may be in the cab by the evaporator. Your compressor should be kicking on though if your low pressure side is above 25psi, most systems have a pressure switch that shuts the compressor off if pressures fall. Dont know if this info is helpful but hope you get it fixed! I live in Arizona and would die without it!

-Tom

 

I think i got the leak fiexed, i just don't understand why the pressures are where thay are. I am thinking the evaporator valve might be bad, but that is a guess.