1996 honda a/c help.....?>>>>>>>>

Question

i have a 1996 honda civic and i was charging the a/c and i was also making sure that i didnt overfill it with a guage. the guage was reading fine, then i turned the can upside down, the car was running and all the sudden, the compressor started to go on and off really fast, now, anytime the car idles too low, it does it still. and when im driving, and i turn it on, it feels like the breaks are kicking in. any help or suggestions would be appreciated.... thanks

Answer 1

the compressor cycling rapidly is usually the sign of a system that is low on refrigerant.  the capacity on most Honda systems is about 20 ounces of refrigerant.

why where you addidng refrigerant in the first place?  is there a leak in the system?  Was the compressor working before you tried to add refrigerant?  if the compressor was not engaged and you added refrigerant then as there was a charge introduced the compressor would start to cycle until the refrigerant level was at the proper level.

what were the gauge readings when you stopped charging?  can you put the gauges on it now and see what the pressures are?  The gauges would tell you if you are overcharged or undercharged.  if its undercharged and you added near the 20 oz then you have a leak.  if its overcharged then the high pressure switch will cut the comrpressor so that you don't pull liquid into the compressor.

if you added less than the 20 oz the system may still be low

the reason it cycles more rapidly at lower speeds and idle is that your engine speed is lower so the compressor has to engage more frequently to move the refrigerant through the system than it does when the engine speed is higher.

it really sounds like you are still undercharged.

hope that helps

Answer 2

Sounds like your a/c clutch is going out. Have a good a/c shop take a look.