Something really odd happened, should I still get my AC evacuated and recharged?

[Hemispheres]

Ok here's whats going on.

Back in March 2023 my mother and step dad gave me a 2012 Honda Civic. It had no working AC and I'm pretty sure when I did try to run it in hot temps I heard a clicking noise from the compressor. It also didn't blow very hard.

Fastfoward to a couple of weeks ago and I watched my uncle put freon into his Subie (unsuccessfully, compressor took a crap on him) and decided it was best to have a shop recharge my AC. I made an appointment for a state inspection and added an ac recharge service. Out of curiosity a few hours later I decided to check the compressor fuse, so I located it, removed it and put it back in.

Voila - AC is blowing full blast now. I noticed the more I drove it around, the colder the air would get. So last night I changed my cabin air filter and now I've got cold air again. The filter was filled with bits and pieces of leaves and dust.

Any idea what happened? Should I still get my ac serviced? Someone is telling me I was overcharged and the ac will cut back out when it gets hotter.

Thank you in advance.

[JohnHere]

"Wiping" the contacts on the fuse by removing and reinstalling it probably cleaned off some oxidation so that it's making good contact again.

If the refrigeration system is working and cooling well now, I suggest leaving it alone.

[Hemispheres]

Ok so here's what happened. Me and the shop suspected the condenser but after pulling vacuum on the ac system, there was only .4 lbs of freon in a system that held 1 lb of freon. They recharged it, added dye and told me if it started blowing warm again to bring it back without an appointment and they would look for leaks.

AC is ice cold now though so I'm very happy.

[Cusser]

... after pulling vacuum on the ac system, there was only .4 lbs of freon in a system that held 1 lb of freon. They recharged it, added dye and told me if it started blowing warm again to bring it back without an appointment and they would look for leaks.

That is the correct path to follow.

[Tim]

You can always visually inspect all the connections yourself. While the dye will take some time to show the leak. If you have had a leak for a while, oil/grime will be present at the location.

[Cusser]

And don't overlook kids' soap bubbles either !

Soap bubbles is how I confirmed a leak right in the center of my 1988 B2200 evaporator back in 2000. I drove cross-town, picked up a new evaporator at Tim's shop on W. Clarendon, and my 9-year-old daughter installed it. It's still there operating to this day, still R-12. Tim ordered me a brand-new SD-708 compressor for that in 2014, that's still operational too.

One time I purchased a vacuum pump for my workplace, and they asked if I was going to pick it up; I told them no, to ship, my employer was paying. Our lab "house" vacuum was shut down on weekends, so we needed an electrical backup in case we had some manufacturing crisis.

Unfortunately, when Dial Corporation went through its Marie Kondo "throw out anything that hasn't been used in the last year, that was not included, so I didn't get that. But I did sell about $5K in "discarded" but usable equipment. Myself - I use a large lab vacuum pump left over from Armour Foods departing Scottsdale in 1989.

[JohnHere]

June 19 ... I made an appointment for a state inspection and added an ac recharge service. Out of curiosity a few hours later I decided to check the compressor fuse, so I located it, removed it and put it back in. Voila - AC is blowing full blast now. I noticed the more I drove it around, the colder the air would get.

June 22 ... Ok so here's what happened. Me and the shop suspected the condenser but after pulling vacuum on the ac system, there was only .4 lbs of freon in a system that held 1 lb of freon. They recharged it, added dye and told me if it started blowing warm again to bring it back without an appointment and they would look for leaks. AC is ice cold now though so I'm very happy.

Back on June 19, you had the system recharged. Then on June 22, three days later, you took it to a shop, they recovered the refrigerant, and found that only .4 of a pound (6.4 ounces) remained out of the 1 pound (16 ounces) of refrigerant a shop put in the first time (unclear whether both shops are the same).

I'd say the system has a sizable leak that should be fairly easy to find and that the cool air you're now enjoying won't last very long.

Also want to add that the A/C specifications I have for your car are as follows: 15 ounces net weight of R-134a, and 4.0 fluid ounces of PAG-46. If you have an under-hood decal with specs that differ, then the decal takes precedence.

[Hemispheres]

No on the 19th there was no recharge. Just the checking of the fuse and the ac blowing hard afterwards. The recharge was done on June 21st. AC is so cold it's fogging up my driver side window. Hoping it stays that way.

[JohnHere]

No on the 19th there was no recharge. Just the checking of the fuse and the ac blowing hard afterwards. The recharge was done on June 21st. AC is so cold it's fogging up my driver side window. Hoping it stays that way.

Not to worry...I misunderstood.

I hope it stays that way, too, and that you can enjoy the summer driving in cool comfort