Greetings,

I bought my '99 SE about 2 years ago (in the winter) and the AC has never worked. I attempted to get it working for this summer, so I figured it needed a recharge. I bought a gauge and refill kit, and the pressure was pretty much reading as non existant. I emptied the can, but it didn't seem to help any (the pressure improved, but didn't enter the "charged" range).

Now when the AC is on, there is a hissing coming from under the dash. It's fairly loud when in the car, and harder to hear outside. It sounds like its right behind where the hi/lo pressure pipes enter the firewall.

Any thoughts on how to fix it?

Your help is much appreciated!

 

Good question man... I would say take it to the stealership or something, or someone you trust.... As far as fixing it yourself, I cuoldn't tell you because I'm a total when it comes to that kind of stuff. Good luck.

 

I think you found your leak. Leave it a couple of days, and then if it's gone, more than likely you have a leak in your evaporator housing. This is located behind the glovebox and could be the expansion valve or evaporator itself.

 

I have a 96 SE - fully loaded with auto climate control. On hot days, I noticed that my AC wasn't very cold so I just got my AC serviced at jiffy lube for $149 <---- Is that price normal? Anyways, my AC is cool but still isnt cold like all the other cars i've been in. Is there a solution to this? Thanks

 

Thanks Davey, now I have a place to start looking!

 

$149.. yikes... i think i got mine done for $50. mine isnt as cool either. i think its cause our maxima goes only to 65 degree where as other cars can go to 60 degrees or less.

 

Funny thing is, I had the same problem a couple of days ago. Other than the hissing under the dashboard, I also have white smoke coming out of my engine. I couldn't located where the smoke is coming from. If the rubber hoses is burning, than it would be black smoke. What I have is white smoke, and I have no clue how to fix this problem.

When ever I have my AC turn on, the hissing comes and goes. If it continues on hissing, I would see white smoke coming on the passenger side of the engine.

 

Your compressor might be seizing up if you get smoke. One thing I thought is that it might be the drivebelt. Check the condition of the big serpentine belt to make sure it's not slipping and wearing away.

 

^^ yeah seems like the compressor is dying. Does it happen to make a noise when it is not on? sounds similar to a belt noise but isn't at all

 

I'll check on it.


It doesn't make any noise when the AC is off. Each time when I turn ON my Air conditioner, it starter making hissing sound near the glove compartment. I can't exactly pinpoint where the noise, but is from that area. If the problem is the belt, how come there's white smoke brewing out of the engine area?

Anyone know the DIY (The difficulty) of changing the belt or the compressor? I will check ebay for the compressor in the meantime.

 

There's no leak? When I had a 2003 Acura TL, I had a big front end damage. After all the replairs, the AC was blowing hot and hissing noise was comming as well. I took it back to the body shop and they unscrewed something and pressed something and a whole lot of air came out. After about 5 seconds, the air that was comming out became white and that's when he stopped pressing on something and closed it back up. Then my AC blew ice cold and no hissing noise. Hope this somewhat helps....

 

hmmmmm sounds like there was air in the system instead of cfc-12 or whatever, well if you have air instead of refrigerant it wont be cold. definately look for leaks, then purge it and refill with refrigerant.

 

I just went to my car and check out the compressor. I had the AC turn on for a couple of minutes in full blast. The air coming out of the vent is not very cold, just cool. The next thing I know, a static sound coming from the engine and white smoke started coming out. I quickly turn off the AC and the white smoke stopped. I would figure the compressor needs to be replace, but I'm not sure. If the compressor failed, than it wouldn't work when I had my AC ON. I still had air coming out of the vent and the pulley on the compressor was still spinning. While spinning, the compressor gave a electric static sound and white smoke came thereafter.

Any help will be appreciated.

 

Another thing to check. As you look at where the belt wraps around the compressor, that outer pulley will be spinning all the time. The thing to look at is in the centre. When you turn on the a/c, the clutch engages and the central core should also be spinning. If the clutch engages (clicks on, and it sounds like it's doing that) but the central portion is not spinning, then you probably have a seized compressor.

 

When I turn on my AC, the compressor started spinning. The problem is that after I turn on the AC. After a couple of minute of turning on the AC, a electric static sound and white smoke starting coming near the compressor. I don't know what cause it.