A/C Condenser freezing up 2006 Civic

[The G-Man]

This has become a recent trend in my '06 Civic on long drives:

Drive for a while with A/C on (I live in fucking Texas man) and the condenser freezes up and basically blocks the airflow from the fan which causes little to no airflow even at the highest fan settings.

I know it is the condenser freezing up because I have inspected pretty much everything else (you can also still hear the fan chugging away fine).

Plus once you turn off the car you get a HUGE puddle of water when it sits for an hour or two.

I've got no clue what is causing the condenser to freeze up.

[Ralphie]

I would check to see if any of the lines are clogged up.

Namely the overflow tube that lets it drain.

Best I've got.

[Raf99]

Same thing happens on the fits, etc.

http://www.fitfreak.net/forums/gener...eezing-up.html

"Here is the story on evaporator freeze ups. It is caused by the evaporator running at 32 F. or below and moving medium or high humidity air through it. There are some normal operating conditions where the evaporator temperature might drop below 32 degrees so Honda installed a temperature sensing device in the evaporator to tell the AC compressor when to shut down to prevent freeze ups. That device can be a thermistor that varies resistance by temperature or in some years a simple temperature switch similar to a non-adjustable furnace thermostat.

So if I was experiencing freeze ups I would look at replacing the thermistor or the thermo-switch........."

"Again the real fix is to replace the thermistor or thermo-switch. Note: An AC system that is low on refrigerant will tend to also run at lower temperatures. So a properly charged system is also advised."

[The G-Man]

Same thing happens on the fits, etc.

http://www.fitfreak.net/forums/gener...eezing-up.html

"Here is the story on evaporator freeze ups. It is caused by the evaporator running at 32 F. or below and moving medium or high humidity air through it. There are some normal operating conditions where the evaporator temperature might drop below 32 degrees so Honda installed a temperature sensing device in the evaporator to tell the AC compressor when to shut down to prevent freeze ups. That device can be a thermistor that varies resistance by temperature or in some years a simple temperature switch similar to a non-adjustable furnace thermostat.

So if I was experiencing freeze ups I would look at replacing the thermistor or the thermo-switch........."

"........ the real fix is to replace the thermistor or thermo-switch."

Haha, I just read that thread too.

[Raf99]

Ya. I'm not expert though when it comes to AC, so I'd get some more opinions. Just trying to help

[The G-Man]

Ya. I'm not expert though when it comes to AC, so I'd get some more opinions. Just trying to help

No problemo. I'm gonna call a few people that know more about refrigeration and then maybe a mechanic or two.

[The G-Man]

Asked someone who is a Honda Master mechanic and without actually looking at the car they think it is the Schrader valves on the AC lines slowly leaking that cause this. I'm going to confirm this later on by checking them with some soap.

[illinois_erik]

Asked someone who is a Honda Master mechanic and without actually looking at the car they think it is the Schrader valves on the AC lines slowly leaking that cause this. I'm going to confirm this later on by checking them with some soap.

Good..I was going to say low freon, thats usually a telltale sign, autos, window units, refrigerator. After you test with soap water make sure you rinse it all away. the soap can make the whole deal start to corrode. they have recharge cans that have dye in them so if it comes back you can inspect with a UV light and see any small leaks.

[The G-Man]

Well, I blew up the compressor.

Used one of the recharge cans with the gauge and followed the instructions and over charged the hell out of the system. Next day drove it and the compressor started doing strange things and the pressure relief blew out.

Took it to a local independent mechanic today and he pulled a vacuum on the system then evac and recharge... he confirmed it was way overcharged and then showed that the compressor was no longer functioning properly.

MORAL OF THE STORY, OR BLUF:

Don't try to use those cans unless you know for sure the system is low. Furthermore, just don't even mess with the system unless you have an AC gauge manifold to properly know the low and high side pressures.