Car Air Conditioning Went Out

Factual Questions
1

2006 Hyundai Accent, never any prior AC problems.

One day I turned on my car and the air conditioning was not blowing cold air. I turned the AC off and did some random things to various switches and dials involving the AC, and when I turned it back on, it was working.

The next morning, however, it was once again not working, and hasn’t been working since. (This has been going on for three or four days now.)

There was no slow drop-off of cool air levels or anything like that. It was just, cool one day, and not cool the next. Indeed, on that first day, it was cool, then not cool, then cool again, in three immediately consecutive instances.

What do you think are the chances that this will be either:

A. Easy for me to fix myself
B. Cheap to get fixed somewhere?

2

I would be impossible to guess at the problem because of all the switches and parts nvolved. You might try what is known as a wiggle test where you wiggle the connectors at all the switches to see if it comes on. Do a visual test on all the moving parts and hoses for oil residue. Chance are you will need to take it to a pro or at least a very knowledgeable amatuer.

3

I doubt either A or B are likely.

4

Very easy fix to refill it. Unless you have a bad leak, a recharge will last you a season +. Auto parts stores sell freon recharge kits for much less than the service will cost you. It’s a canister and a hose with a gauge. Keep this hose! You can use it for future recharges and just purchase canisters of freon. Follow the kit instructions. Use this link to locate the lowside port:

Home - A/C recharge kits

5

Possibly an electonic problem? My Buick is certainly a different breed, but my AC issue turned out to be some little black box.

6

If it didn’t work, then worked, then didn’t work, it’s unlikely to be a leak. More likely a short or problem with the switch or the computer.

7

I have a problem with a sensor on my A/C system. When it’s extremely humid, it sometimes refuses to turn on the compressor. It notifies me of this by the extremely obvious sign of slowly flashing a the light on the control knob between green and orange. After the first time it happened, I checked the manual and found that it can usually be ‘reset’ by turning the car off and back on.

This happened yesterday again, and did, in fact, clear up when I stopped and started the car.

So…maybe something like that? Not sure if it’s fixable by the average consumer.

-D/a

8

Answers:
A. Of course it is easy. Just replace every part in the system one at a time until it works again. At this point stop replacing parts. (you said easy, not simple or cheap)
B. Yes, quite likely cheaper than option A

I am NOT a fan of DIY refill kits for a number of reasons
[ul]
[li]As a professional I have to be certified and take a test to buy R134, but any swinging dick can go into an auto parts store and buy a recharge kit. WTF? [/li][li]The symptoms described in the OP are NOT those of a system low on gas.[/li][li]If the OP were to add R134 to the system, it could (probably will?) result in an over charge condition. An overcharge makes the system act just like it is low on charge.[/li][li]If at that point the owner adds even more R134, it could cause a burst hose or other component failure resulting in big $ or possibly severe personal injury.[/li][/ul]
In no particular order the things that could cause the symptoms listed in the OP:
[ul]
[li]Bad fuse[/li][li]Bad pressure switch[/li][li]Bad AC clutch[/li][li]loose connector in the Clutch wiring[/li][li]bad relay[/li][li]bad ground in the system[/li][li]bad circuit board in the AC control head[/li][li]Bad AC switch[/li][/ul]