My 07 Civic is having some AC issues, which is a problem in the 100 degree weather where I am... I'm hoping someone knowledgeable will recognize the symptoms. I am able to work on the car myself, but not experienced enough to know where to start...

So here is the problem: the AC works intermittently, switching between cooled and not cooled air every few seconds. Every time this cycles I hear a sort of hissing or blowing noise, and I feel an additional load on the engine (that is, the car sort of slows down). If I'm at a stop light, I also see the RPM dip down to 500 and almost cut off. And this happens every five seconds or so. I'm afraid to use the AC in case I mess it up even more.

The day before yesterday a friend of mine who works on his car said we should recharge the freon first, which he did with a store kit; prior to this the problems were still there but it would only start happening after maybe 20 minutes of using the AC. And it actually seemed fine after he charged it up, during a test drive around the neighborhood, but the next day (yesterday) I couldn't use the AC at all without the issues - it's the worst it's ever been.

Can anyone help?? I really can't afford to go to a mechanic right now and need some advice! Thanks!

 

Welcome in,its obvious that you have a freon leak,the compressor keeps trying to cycle,find the leak and repair it,then recharge it.

 

Bucwheat, thanks, I'll start there!