It's the summer, it's hot, and my ac only works at night time. I guess it don't work because of the 90 degree temp. Anybody out there had the same prob, if so how you fixed it. Because i don't wanna shell out 400 bucks for a new compressor. Thank you.

 

It's been hitting high 90s and even 100+ here in TX the past few days and the A/C cools fine. There are several components in the a/c system that could be at fault. First find out if the Condensor fan is working, this is the one in the engine compartment. I am assuming your compressor kicks in at least since you said it does cool in the nighttime. From there on you probably have to get the a/c checked to find out where the problem may be. Before pointing a finger at the compressor, several other things maybe possible culprits: Low on Freon (possible leak?), Clogged receiver/dryer. Bad Expansion Valve in the Evaporator etc.

My Mazda was giving the same symptoms for a while and I spent the past two days getting it fixed. Turned out to be a bad expansion valve. Also replaced a partially clogged Dryer and converted the system to R-134 freon. The entire cost (parts + labor) was just $280.00.

Good Luck with your Diagnosis.

 

Strange that it would only work at night. Is it really blowing ice cold air at night??? Or is it just cool enough to cool you off when the sun is down??

During the day do you hear the compressor and cooling fans come on? Does it blow sort of cool, but not cool enough? That could be just a simple as adding refrigerent. You can pick up booster cans with compressor oils and other additives that are said to help restore your system to like new performance.

I believe the one I used on an I30 was called Maxiboost. Small can had 3oz of R134a and a few other goodies in it for the compressor. It restored my buddies I30 A/C perfectly, it blows ice cold now. Cost = 6 bucks! Got it at K-Mart.

 

i have the same problem

though i am not 100% sure, here is what i know and what i am going to do:

my low side pressure is too high
my high side pressure is a bit low, but acceptable
(get your pressures checked and post on aircondition.com forums for help with this)

my compressor is not cycling, all the fans work, it cools at night fine.

the issue seems that the compressor is not sucking the colant well which indicates a bad reed valve in the compressor

i am going to buy a new compressor, dryer, O ring seals and all the sealant and lubricants and install it myself (still kinda expensive).

this will probably be done in the next 2-3 weeks, so I will let you know what happens.

but, for you, i would check your pressures first and get the guys at aircondition.com to help you

good luck

 

Miasma - I posted a reply to your post on aircondition.com and didn't know if you would see it so I'll post it here also.

In you post there, you said you found a place to get a new compressor for $230. I'm wondering if mind sharing you're supplier? I'm in need of a new compressor for my 95' Maxima SE and the cheapest I've found is $325 for a rebuilt compressor at Courtesy Nissan.

 

tell courtesy that you are a member of maxima.org and want .org pricing, they told me that mine was the last one in stock, but if you can wait, then they could probably get another in stock for you.

 

All I Have to Say is... Nissan's Are Great!! But there A/C System Really Sucks ..theres been quite a bit of posts on here regarding a/c problems... i have to replace and compressor and some when i get $$$, luckly i live in So.California where it doesnt get that hot.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by MaximaVQ97
[B]All I Have to Say is... Nissan's Are Great!! But there A/C System Really Sucks ..theres been quite a bit of posts on here regarding a/c problems... QUOTE]

I have to disagree - it's summer time and people are starting to use their A/C again so that's why the frequency of A/C posts are increasing. Not many people are going to post that their A/C is not working in December.

Not many people do this: you're supposed to run your A/C even during winter to lubricate the seals so they don't dry up ... once the seals dry up, they don't seal as well and refrigerant leaks out. When summer hits, you notice it doesn't blow cold anymore and of course, we all wail and moan

If you have a compressor problem, you have a compressor problem. End of story. If you have low refrigerant, get a recharge / service. End of story. All is well and everything blows cool.