Honda Accord Ex 2004 AC Problem

My Accord AC stopped working today. After sitting at a light in the FL heat I heard a hissing sound of shooting air and the ac went warm. I tried a can of freon but the gauge read in the red and it wouldn’t take a charge. It doesn’t sound like the compressor is clicking on.

You most likely have a large leak, like a hole in a line. The leak will need to be repaired, system flushed, and evacuated before the refrigerant charge can be put in. This could get pricey.

If the gauge read in the red when trying to recharge the system, then there can’t be a leak. Otherwise the gauge would have read zero PSI.

Watch the front of the compressor, and see if the clutch plate engages the pulley when the AC is turned on. If it does the compressor is engaging.

That hissing sound you heard may have been the expansion valve failing. And now the AC system is at it’s static pressure. And if the expansion valve failed, the compressor can’t produce the high/low side pressures for the AC to function.

And by the way. The only time an AC system needs to be flushed is if the compressor fails internally.

Tester

The compressor is not engaging.

Can the compressor not be running because of the pressure built up on the low side from a bad expansion valve?