Allen P

Hey hope everybody's good 👋.
My car's AC isn't working, at least it does for a while and then warm air. So once the car is started, and the AC is turned on, the liquid line, the small pipe starts becoming very, very cold. There is no change in the suction line, the big pipe and it stays normal, room temp. When I tried releasing some gas from the big pipe service valve, it seemed as though the "cold" freon that was in the liquid line moved a bit towards the suction line. When this happens, both pipes are freezing, but only shortly. After the AC is left on for about 5 mins, the big pipe becomes warmer again and the small pipe is very, very cold. The liquid line is hot until where it connects to the condenser, and then the pipe coming out of the condenser is cold. Any ideas why this might be happening? The compressor is running fine from the looks of it.
P. S
There's a guy saying it might be a clogged filter, but i don't know. Just to confirm, the filter is inline with the liquid pipe, where it joins to the expansion valve right?

firemangeorge

Since you had AC problems before and it wasn't fixed correctly then, my guess is it's related to that work being done wrong. Without attaching some AC service gauges and getting some pressure readings, you can't just guess at it.
Could it be a clogged filter ? The HHR doesn't have a specific filter in the AC system but you could have a clogged up system because of that previous wrong repair.
Find a real automotive AC technician. Don't listen to "some guy" just suggesting something.

donbrew

If it was my home AC I would think "low freon".

PulpFriction

You could try adding just a little Freon and see if it helps. Don’t overdo it; too much is bad.

Allen P

I took out the pipes from the expansion valve from the outside and found black, slimy sludge engulfing the filter. Nothing like it in the big pipe though. I took out both pipes (small one from the condenser and the big pipe where there's a big bulge like thing in between the fan and the engine) We blowed compresses air through the pipes to get rid of dirt, we put Em back, filled in freon and its the same problem.
Quick question. Is there anything in this cylindrical object? My mechanic keeps bugging me about a "filter" that's there (even after I showed him the inline filter in the liquid line near the therma expansion valve). He says there's a filter there that's blocked.

Oldblue

Replace the condenser , any moisture or condensation in it will clog it up and render it useless

donbrew

I don't think there is a filter, there is an orifice that looks something like a filter. It can get clogged. Black sludge sounds like the oil that is supposed to be added (correctly).

So you have a mechanic but he operates remotely? Why not just let somebody that knows what they are doing at it?