I have a 5 spd 1995 Honda Del Sol with about 113,000 Miles on it. Very late last summer I noticed my air conditioner didn’t work all of the time. It kept sounding like it would try to kick on, but it just couldn’t manage unless I was going at least 55mph or if the temp outside was 80 degrees or less. I didn’t get it looked at since it was at the end of the summer months. Unfortunately, now it’s driving me crazy because it’s getting hot outside very quickly.
Of mornings it works like a champ since it’s not very hot outside, but of evenings when I’m on my way home from work and stuck in traffic, I can hear the engine idling high and then dropping as it tries to come on. For instance, if I watch my tachometer, it’ll go from 1,000 rpms up to 2,000, then back to 1,000 and then back up to 2,000 and so on until I just turn the A/C off. If it does manage to kick on, which it sometimes will while I sit in traffic, it’s only on for about 2 minutes then does the idle thing. After I’ve been sitting in traffic for a while, even if I go 55 mph or above, it may not always kick on.
Does anyone have any ideas what could be causing this or what it might be?
check the freon it may be low
I have the same problem with my 97 Del Sol. The car has only 46000 miles on it, yet the A/C blows warm air most of the time. I paid the dealership $170 to evacuate and recharge the A/C but that didn’t help. When the car is idleing, the rmp’s bounce back and forth between 750 and 1000. I may take it back to the shop before the end of summer. If I find out anything I’ll let you know.
It sounds to me like the high pressure switch is tripping. High side pressures are directly related to ambient air temperatures. You may have a bad high side switch, a refrigerant overcharge, a restriction in the high side of the system, a faulty expansion valve, a bad condenser, bent/broken condenser fins, or a bad condenser fan or fan circuit. It could also be a bad relay that has become sensitive to the heat also. In order to determine, the system pressures will need to be known. That requires special gauges and other equipment. The diagnosis proceedure will have to be left to an automotive A/C shop.
Find a reputable shop and let them diagnose the system. Post back with their diagnosis, and ask if they can record the low and high side pressures for you, so you can post those here too.
-Matt