Hi all, wondering if anybody has a fix for my 13 fit- once a month i have to take an hour long freeway drive (each way) and I normally have the a.c. on most of the way back. The a.c. won't stay cold much past the halfway or 3/4 mark on way back, no matter what temperature is outside. It just blows basically luke warmish air at that point until the car sits for a while, then it will work again.
Anybody know what to do? Just new refrigerant?

Thanks!

 

You might want to try to recharge it with one of those single bottle kits you can buy at Walmart or auto parts stores. If that doesn't work then you have more digging to do.

When you say, "50% to 75% of the way back":
1.) Are you implying that it worked 100% on the way to your initial destination?
2.) Are you implying that it always works 100% a month later on your repeating trip but only while going to that distant location and then stops working about 50%-75% back?
3.) Have you ever tried to run the A/C a day or so after the trip where it failed or in other situations and does it work correctly then or not?
4.) Are you implying that when it worked it was in the morning / cooler part of the day heading to your initial destination and returning in the heat of the afternoon?
5.) On the return trip when the A/C seems to be cooling less well are the outside temperatures higher than when it seemed to work or is it independent of outside temperature?
6.) When it doesn't seem to be working very well, have you ever pulled over, opened the hood and looked to see if the A/C clutch is engaging / disengaging as is the case with normal operation?
7.) Do you hear any grinding noises coming from the A/C compressor?

Try to refill it first. Then let us know what happens.

 

Check out my thread if you can find it.

Try new refrigerant from a can. Cheap. Easy. Then you have new piece of info. Best case: It works great at least for 6 mos or so and you repeat.

Like me

 

Also, as already suggested: Can you hear your compressor kicking in? That's the second thing to pursue.

 

Be careful adding refrigerant. It is easy to add too much.

This sounds like evaporator freezing. If this is indeed what is happening, this is an indication of slightly low refrigerant (R-134) levels. So adding a little R-134 could help.

As you reduce the refrigerant charge in the system, the evaporation temperature of th refrigerant reduces. When you reach the evaporation temp below 32 F the accumulated moisture on the evaporator freezes and eventually you end up with no or low cooling.

So what should do? Go to Walmart in the housewares section and buy a digital meat thermometer. They are $10.00. These are a steel rod about 6" long with a digital readout head on one end. Stick the thermometer in the center air vent and check it occasionally while driving with the AC on. The temperature will fluctuate as you drive, which is normal. What you want to see is what temperature is the LOWEST it will ever go. It should never go below 40 F and most vehicles will not go below about 44 F. If it goes below 40 F in the vent you can assume that it is near or below 32F at the evaporator. If you do see this then add a little refrigerant and watch some more. I fine tune mine to 40 F but that is lower than most vehicle manufacturers recommend. So something around 42 to 44 would probably be better for you.

The other thing you can do as a freeze up deterrent is to run the AC in RECIRCULATE. The will reduce the amount of moisture available from the air to accumulate and eventually freeze up on the evaporator.

If you do experience freeze up and loss of air cooling while driving, you can continue driving with the AC off and the fan on. This will allow the accumulated ice to melt and most of the water to run off down the drain. Usually 5 to 10 minutes with the AC off will do the trick. Then run the AC again and stay cool for a while longer until it freezes again.

Good Luck. That was my guess for the day.

 

I had the same issue with my 13'. There was moisture in the system due to small crack in AC hose, the one on the
​​​ right, next to alternator. Next time it happens , check for ice on the metal tube coming out of firewall. What happens is the moisture freezes evaporator and the system will stop cooling untill you let the car rest and thaw.