I started my 84 Honda Civic with dealer installed air when the car was new. As I pulled out to go home the A/C exploded with a bang, a cloud of vapor and moisture around the edges of the hood and then nothing. Upon inspection the sight glass had blown off. The A/C had been opened up to get the compressor out of the way for maintenance on the engine and the original R-12 Freon was put back in. Any ideas?
A/C went off.
- Thread starter OneEyeJack
- Start date
- Status
Find a local car A/C shop. Part will need replacing. Full vacuum to remove moisture now that it is open along with a new filter/dryer.
There are some R-12 refrigerant replacement options without having the entire system changed out to 134A.
There are some R-12 refrigerant replacement options without having the entire system changed out to 134A.
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
I bet it was rare to get a Civic with AC back in 84....
A friend of mine had a dasher diesel with dealer installed air. The AC could only be turned on while the engine was above idle, else the engine stalled. I pull this off the shelf when people harken back to the good old days of cars....
I bet it was rare to get a Civic with AC back in 84....
A friend of mine had a dasher diesel with dealer installed air. The AC could only be turned on while the engine was above idle, else the engine stalled. I pull this off the shelf when people harken back to the good old days of cars....
Almost every car on the lot had A/C when I bought the car new in 84. The dealership had electric lights and indoor plumbing, too. People actually survived without cell phones, GPS and Blue Tooth. It was tough but then so were the people. They were all pioneers living the frontier life. My Honda has a manual transmission, hand crank windows, no automatic anything, no ABS, no air bags and under the hood I can identify everything there, every hose, wire and device. I've been driving the same car for 29 years and fear that someday I will be investigated for Un-American activities (lol). New cars are nice but looking at a car payment and the possibility of giving up my wagon just does not move me enough to do the deal.
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
I bet it was rare to get a Civic with AC back in 84....
No it wasn't. Very common, even up north.
The LX, EX, and S/Si had AC standard, on the DX it was a dealer installed option, most folks had it installed on that cheaper model as well. Honda used to give the techs a nice single large cardboard box with the AC kit inside, it had all the materials you needed to do the job so that it appeared to be a factory install.
I bet it was rare to get a Civic with AC back in 84....
No it wasn't. Very common, even up north.
The LX, EX, and S/Si had AC standard, on the DX it was a dealer installed option, most folks had it installed on that cheaper model as well. Honda used to give the techs a nice single large cardboard box with the AC kit inside, it had all the materials you needed to do the job so that it appeared to be a factory install.
Your original 1984 A/C compressor was still working up until then?
JHZR2
Staff member
I remember when my parents had AC installed in their '85 dodge colt vista. Wow was that cold!
Interesting that a sight glass was released as the cause of failure. Wonder if the system was overcharged. Propane has a pressure runaway but otherwise works identical to r-12, wonder if that was put in - most shops don't deal with r-12 anymore.
Interesting that a sight glass was released as the cause of failure. Wonder if the system was overcharged. Propane has a pressure runaway but otherwise works identical to r-12, wonder if that was put in - most shops don't deal with r-12 anymore.
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
Almost every car on the lot had A/C when I bought the car new in 84. The dealership had electric lights and indoor plumbing, too.
Nice one, sir, my hat is off to you!
Almost every car on the lot had A/C when I bought the car new in 84. The dealership had electric lights and indoor plumbing, too.
Nice one, sir, my hat is off to you!
- Status
