2004 Honda element 75k miles 2wd
Condenser fan went bad after ironically blowing cond fan/comp fan fuse (30amp)
air conditioning stopped blowing cold air
I just replaced fan, but it didn't seem to fix the problem.
Radiator and condenser fan spin with AC ON.
Relay for compressor clutch is good under the hood.
Engine idles higher like it's struggling, mildly, when I first kick on the AC!
What does the problem sound like to you??
Working with little money!
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Answers & Comments
Verified answer
I remember your condenser fan problem - you replaced fuse, fan worked for a short time and cold a/c returned until fan failed. You need to provide the low side pressure to determine the new problem. You could get a low-side gauge kit for maybe $20, or ask a friendly mechanic to tell you.
Unfortunately whenever a compressor runs without the condenser fan working, the lack of condensation means gas does not collapse into liquid as intended, putting excessive pressure load on the high side of the compressor. This extra load is beyond the normal design parameters of the compressor and will shorten its life. When the compressor turns you should see the low side drop to between 30-50 psi. If this is not happening, I'm sorry to say the compressor is blown. This is more money to fix because a blown compressor sends a shower of metal particles thru the system that need to be flushed out, and you should change the expansion valve and accumulator/drier with the new compressor.
Usually what happens is someone has a bad condenser fan, asks "why is A/C hot when car idles?"on Yahoo! Answers and 5 people, who know just enough to be dangerous, tell them to "add freon". So they add too much R134a to a system with already too-high high-side pressure and BLAMMO - blown compressor!