Air Conditioning blows hot air

[SVX JAZZ]

My AC pulley went bad last year and I pulled the belt off until I could have time to fix it. Once I fixed the pulley my AC stopped working. I converted it to R 134 and it blew cold for a few minutes. Now it just blows ambient air.
• My compressor cuts on and does not cycle
• Cooling fans work
• Fan works on all speeds
• Only code that showed up was 13 – open sun load sensor.
• Any thoughts? Does code 13 mean the sensor is bad?
I looked at the AC Diagnostic document and nothing immediately jumped out.

[SVX JAZZ]

PS... I used the retro-fit kit to change it from R12 to R134.

[immortal_suby]

Sorry, I am no help with code 13 but I want to add that I used a retrofit 12 to 134 kit last year and it's still blowing cold this year.
Have you hooked up the gauges from the kit to see if you still have adequate freon?

[Sir. Nate]

replace all the O-rings and add some oil to the system

[SVX JAZZ]

Yeah, everything checks out. Compressor kicks in like normal. I did notice a white plastic box-like structure under the dash that makes a slight noise when the compressor is on.

It's going to be 95 tomorrow down here in NC...

[SVX JAZZ]

Originally Posted by Sir. Nate

replace all the O-rings and add some oil to the system

I replaced a couple and also the schrader (sp?) valve. I didn't add oil though...

[Sir. Nate]

the oil just lubricates the seals and pump.

[immortal_suby]

Originally Posted by SVX JAZZ

It's going to be 95 tomorrow down here in NC...

Argh! It was still 94 here today when I left work at 7:00.

[Hondasucks]

Did you evacuate the system? What procedure did you use to retrofit the air conditioner? You might have toasted the compressor if you didn't add any oil, the oil used in R-12 systems won't mix with R-134a and will not properly lubricate the system.

[SVX JAZZ]

Originally Posted by Hondasucks

Did you evacuate the system? What procedure did you use to retrofit the air conditioner? You might have toasted the compressor if you didn't add any oil, the oil used in R-12 systems won't mix with R-134a and will not properly lubricate the system.

I checked with my mechanic and the new oil was injected. The system was also evauated. I touched the line going from the compressor to the condensor and it was hot but the other line from the compressor was hot as well. Shouldn't it be cold? Could my compressor not be "compressing"?

[kwren]

Originally Posted by SVX JAZZ

I checked with my mechanic and the new oil was injected. The system was also evauated. I touched the line going from the compressor to the condensor and it was hot but the other line from the compressor was hot as well. Shouldn't it be cold? Could my compressor not be "compressing"?

Put a gage on the lo side at the fitting on the compressor and check find out.

[kwren]

clutch stays engaged, and there is no cold on the suction line almost a sure bet the compressor is not working. Simply check the pressure with a gage.

Hope you get it worked out.

Keith

[SVX JAZZ]

I also noticed a slight "stiring" or "hissing" sound coming from under the dash when the AC is engaged. Not sure if this is significant or not. Thanks for all the advice.

[Hondasucks]

Originally Posted by SVX JAZZ

I checked with my mechanic and the new oil was injected. The system was also evauated. I touched the line going from the compressor to the condensor and it was hot but the other line from the compressor was hot as well. Shouldn't it be cold? Could my compressor not be "compressing"?

Okay, so you had a shop do it. Obviously, something didn't get done right, take it back there and make them fix it. Feel the lines where they go into the firewall, one of them should be COLD, and the other one should be slightly warm. Nothing should really be HOT except the high side line coming out of the compressor.

+1 on putting some gauges on it.

[svxistentialist]

Originally Posted by SVX JAZZ

My AC pulley went bad last year and I pulled the belt off until I could have time to fix it. Once I fixed the pulley my AC stopped working. I converted it to R 134 and it blew cold for a few minutes. Now it just blows ambient air.
• My compressor cuts on and does not cycle
• Cooling fans work
• Fan works on all speeds
• Only code that showed up was 13 – open sun load sensor.
• Any thoughts? Does code 13 mean the sensor is bad?
I looked at the AC Diagnostic document and nothing immediately jumped out.

Code 13 literally means the sunload sensor is shorted out because it appears not to be delivering the expected voltage.

In practice what it really means is you probably ran the diagnostic test in low light, either at night or inside the garage.

Unless the test is done in strong sunlight the result will always give you code 13. You can get around this at night by shining a 100W bulb on the sensor, the sensor interprets this as sunlight. Please note bulb must be incandescent type, the "hot" ones. CFLs won't deliver enough energy.

Joe