A/C not cooling; A/C smoking; central console light not lit

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

Hello awesome CarTalk community,

I have a little bit of problem with my 2003 honda accord.

1) about a week ago, while driving home from college, I noticed a light white smoke coming out of my middle AC vents. I should mention that it only happened when AC was on; the smoke did not smell went away when turned the AC off. In addition, for a few days prior to this incidence, I noticed that the AC does not work and only blows air out of the vents.



2) My second problem is related to the lights behind center console. Recently I have noticed that when I adjust the light inside the car, brightness of these lights don’t change and they are very dim; the lights behind dashboard work fine and are adjustable.

2

  1. it sounds like you have an evaporator leak. This needs to be looked at by an automotive ac shop.

  2. you may have a wiring problem in the wire to the console lights. Or, if the car is new to you, it may be that the console lights are not controlled by the dash pot…which is what I suspect. The owner’s manual should address this.

3

Thanks a lot. Am I able to fix these things myself (by looking them up online) or is it better to take it to automotive shop? Is there anything else I need to do?

4

I able to fix these things myself (by looking them up online) or is it better to take it to automotive shop?

No, it takes some equipment and to do it really right, it should be done by a pro. I suggest you find a LOCAL INDEPENDENT A/C guy. That will save you money and they likely will be better at it.

5

I agree. AC needs a pro with the proper knowledge and tools.

You might want to check the owner’s manual to see if those console lights are suppose dto be controlled by the dash dimmer pot…or not.