My car is an '05 S Cabrio, sadly one year out of warranty but only 17k miles on the clock. Took it and the wife for a long weekend at Zion National Park (beautiful!) and was surprised to get no cold air after turning on the A/C. Nothing seems to be happening at all. No typical drop in RPM/obvious load on the engine, no subtle *thump* as the compressor starts up, nothing. The only indication I get that I've turned the A/C on at all is the light on the A/C button.

I'm hoping and praying it's something simple like a switch and not a major component. Is this a somewhat common malady with these cars? Something I should look for before hauling it to the mechanic? And is this the part of the story where I regret not buying another Honda? (like my wife's '04 Pilot with 80k miles and no repairs needed yet...) I'm going to be furious if this turns into an expensive repair with so few miles on the car.

Sad monkey...

 

Check your relays. Mine did the same thing and it turned out to be the relays had come unseated. After I seated them (most of them were unseated including the A/C relay) the A/C came back.

Good Luck,
Mike

 

It is very likely that on a very lightly used 05' that it needs a recharge...lack of use with an AC can actually result in a higher leakage rate around the seals....so hopefully it is a simple cheap fix, and not a " leak", but meerly normal leakage of the 134a.

 

Thanks Mike. I have no idea where (or what) the relays are nor how to reseat them. Is there a how-to for this somewhere on this site?

Zippy, this would have been my first suspicion as well if not for the fact that I get no indication the AC equipment is actually kicking in at all (a la the dreaded loss of power - which I've noticed is a real issue with this car (flicking off that AC button can be like a nitrous boost sometimes)). I assume this would still happen even if the coolant were depleted.

 

The relays are under the hood on the drivers side. There are a couple of covers that they are under. Your owners manual may say something about them. They are marked well. All you have to do is push on them and make sure they are all the way plugged in.

Good Luck,
Mike

 

Bummer, I hoped your diagnosis was correct, but everything seems snug.

 

Yea, that is a bummer. Hope you find the issue and it doesn't cost a lot to fix. But at 17K shouldn't it still be under warranty?

 

I wish. My 4 years of warranty coverage ended last spring. It will be sad indeed if I need to spend $$$ to fix a problem on a car with only 17k miles.

 

LagunaSol, Any update on your issue? I have a '05 S cabrio with the exact same symptom.

 

Sorry, I should have posted an update. Bad Netiquette on my part.

My problem was resolved with an $80 recharge. Good news for me for sure. Hope you fare as well.

 

On cars where the A/C is not used very often the o-rings will get dried out over time and start leaking.
Most cars will require a recharge after 4 years.
When they recharged it did they add dye and check for leaks?

 

Thanks - will try adding R134a. I measured the pressure already and it showed 60+ lbs (in the red-overfull zone) on with the cheap gauge that comes with the charging kit. So I didn't add more at the time.

 

The guage reads the can pressure until the compressor starts to suck some in. As soon as the AC takes some in you will get a better reading. Best reading will be as the can gets closer to empty, then the pressure is equalized.

 

I did not have the can punctured when I took the system pressure reading...

 

Results of adding R134a here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post3079703