At some point yesterday the a/c went out in our car. It was working in the morning then at some point mid-afternoon it stopped blowing cold air. I checked for blown fuses, found none. When you press the a/c button I dont hear the compressor click on, but i cant recall ever being able to hear the click of the a/c compressor clutch engage. However, the engine rpms to bump up when you turn on the a/c. I hopped on hear and started searchin around and found numerous threads on condenser damage and the symptoms fit. Today I took a peek through the grill and as you can see, after 6 years, the condenser is beat to hell.



To verify that the condenser was leaking I tried Autozone to see if they had a pressure gauge, they did not. I ended up going to Wal-Mart and buying the refill kit that comes with a gauge. I followed the instructions on the can AS IF i was going to recharge the system. WHen i hooked up the gauge this is the reading i got.



The gauge indicates that the system is overcharged big time so where do i go from here? Am i right in assuming that with such high pressure that there isn't a leak in the condenser? Any ideas on any troubleshooting i can do from here or is it just time to take it to a repair shop?
Thanks in advance for the help, Justin

 

Looking at that condenser, I say its got a leak somewhere. The a/c compressor won't 'click' on if its low on gas. Its to save the compressor running dry.

Hopefully a new condenser and re-gas and you should be good to go.

 

Ya but if there was a leak, wouldn't the gauge have shown a low pressure reading and not over pressure?

 

Why? There's only fin damage in the posted picture. Nothing to suggest a leak.

 

Is the fan blowing? Cold air or no cold air..is the fan blowing? That can prevent the A/C compressor from coming on. Looks like the system is under pressure. The reason the system shows its high is that the system is not running..thus the high side and low side are equal. You attach the charging line to the low side only, when the system is running. I don't think you have a leak..so don't break what's not broken.

Turn on engine...have someone operate the a/c button...validate that the compresson turns on and runs. Compressor may not be coming on....multiple reasons why.

 

Id suggest taking it some where to have it looked at.

 

The fan is blowing air, just not cold. Had somebody sit inside while the engine was on and push the a/c button, I didn't hear a distinct click of the compressor engaging.

 

Since your system seems to be charged (remember, if the system is not running you will get a "high" reading from the low connection...that scale of green, yellow and red is based on a normal low operating reading), then most likely a simple probem. Could be a fuse, bad connection to the compressor clutch, etc. Needs to be looked at by a competent A/C shop. Also, if the condenser is not leaking, its not too late to add a screen to your bumper grill to prevent rocks, ect.

 

Definitely going to add the screen to prevent further damage.
I went through all of the fuses again, this time under the hood I found the #11 30A condenser fan/mg fuse blown.
Replaced it, turned on the a/c and it blew as soon as the clutch engaged. Any ideas? I'm thinking I'm just going to end up taking it to a shop, does anybody know of a reputable shop in SoCal, North Orange County area?

 

The fuse is designed to be the weak part of the electrical wiring...so it might have blown due to age. I would probably just run the system and not worry about it too much. Did anyone work on the A/C recently, like add freon? If not, then the system is probably fine. Glad its working...

 

actually the fuse keeps blowing.

however, i did some more troubleshooting today. narrowed it down to the condenser fan.
i removed the fan and ac relays and turned on the ac, no blown fuse, warm air blowing
installed the fan relay and turned on the ac, blew the fuse, warm air blowing
removed the fan relay and installed the ac relay, turned on the ac, no blown fuse and the ac blew cold
re installed both relays and un plugged the condenser fan, turned on the ac, no blown fuse, ac blew cold air.
am i right then to assume the fan motor is shorted, has gone bad and should replace it?

 

I'm having a similar problem with my condenser on my 2010 Fit with 110k km on it. The little fins are all bent on the lower portion.

My AC work but stops after 20-25 min depending on outside air temp. Compressor is pushing 110-140 psi. I think the condenser can't cool enough the freon and the over temp sensor on the compressor is triggered and stop the compressor.

When I let it cool down it starts again. I still need to check the compressor clutch clearance but I think it is probably ok an dnot starting sue to the overtemp sensor. When it is turning the air blowing inside the cabin is super cool.

Of course, the garage wanted to change the compressor and start relay, stating the compressor is creating more heat because it is probably seizing...