A/C shuts off after an hour of driving

Tiny
HOUSTON041
  • MEMBER
  • 2005 MITSUBISHI ENDEAVOR
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 130,000 MILES
The A/C stops working if the weather is hot after about an hour or two. This does not happen if I just let the car run in the garage (tried that already so I could take it to the mechanic in my city instead of having to be out of town to get this fixed.) It also doesn't happen if the weather is cooler, it has to be a sunny day.

The blower is still working, I can hear it just fine. But nothing is coming out of the vents. I think from various research the condenser may be icing up. I've seen solutions ranging from A/C pressure switch, drain tube clog, water in the system, blocked coil. Where would you start or do you have a different suggestion altogether?

Also, maybe a separate issue or maybe not; the driver side vent nearest the window will always blow normal (non A/C air) or even hot air as soon as the A/C fails. It works normally up until then. The other vents at least feel like there is cold air barely coming out when the A/C has failed.

So this is perhaps a blend door actuator problem on top of everything? Is this the main issue causing everything? Or just a side effect that will go away once the A/C problem is fixed? Thank you.
Wednesday, October 14th, 2020 AT 10:34 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
Just to be clear, after a little while on warm days the air stops coming out of the vents? If this is the case, then yes I think you are correct that the evaporator is freezing up. The best way to tell is when this happens, lift the hood and look and feel the lines going into the dash from the engine bay. More then likely they will be icy as well. At that point, we need to check the Freon level as it is most likely low. It could also be an air flow issue but the most likely cause is low Freon.

Here are some guides that will get us started:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-air-conditioner-not-working-or-is-weak

Let's get the high and low side pressures and go from there. Thanks

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/re-charge-an-air-conditioner-system
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Thursday, October 15th, 2020 AT 6:34 PM
Tiny
HOUSTON041
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
Yes, that's exactly what's happening. However it is not low Freon. That was the first thing the mechanic in my town tried. He says he cannot put more in because that would be harmful to the system at this point.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Friday, October 16th, 2020 AT 11:57 AM
Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
Okay. We still need to get the high and low side pressures because that is the only way to confirm what is happening. The pressure will tell us if there is a restriction which if there is no leak and it is full then that is the most likely cause of this freezing.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/re-charge-an-air-conditioner-system

You can rent a gauge set that will give you the high and low side at most parts stores and we need to just hook them up to the ports and turn the A/C on and see what the pressure does. If you are going to get this, let us know what the pressure is when you first hook them up with the engine off and then start it and run the A/C to see what they go to.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Friday, October 16th, 2020 AT 6:46 PM

Please login or register to post a reply.

Sponsored links