[acekrn]

Good Evening Fellow Acura Owners and Enthusiasts,


I'm a first time poster, long time reader. I've come across a problem today and I'm pretty sure I need to take this over to the mechanic (I'm very non car savvy unfortunately), but I wanted a second opinion.

I just had my car detailed for the first time a some body shop and afterwards on the drive home, I noticed that the heater was not working effectively. I drove my car again for about 30 minutes later this evening (for work) and I noticed there was barely ANY heat coming from the vents.

I opened up my hood to take a look and noticed that some form of frosting happened on one of the pipes. It happens maybe 10 minutes after I start the engine, and it's gone within 5 minutes or so of shutting off the engine.

Unfortunately my Acura Plus warranty expired a month ago (go figure).

My two concerns: one is for liability reasons, would anything from the body shop possibly trigger this? My girlfriend said the area I went to is full of mobsters who commit fraud like this to force ignorant drivers to come back to spend MORE money. The guy did say he will open up the hood to wipe off the grease from engine parts. My other concern is that I'm assuming this is really bad, but can someone else tell me what I can do so I don't further damage my car, on the way to the mechanic?

Here are links to the before and after of what happens when the car is on/off.


TSX 2006 - Imgur

Thank you to anyone that can help me. I have searched around google and forums here but am having troubles finding relating problems because I'm not too familiar with car terms.


2006 Acura TSX (Stock, Automatic)

 

[CG1120]

Had this happen to me too. Let me guess- they detailed under your hood as well? You need to unplug the compressor clutch connector and hang it out of the way of the belt for a few days. When this happened to me, i found that there is a thermal switch in the top of the compressor that is not sealed very well, it may be the same on yours, (EDIT: water around the thermal switch did this) causing the circuit to short and engage the compressor. Are your cooling fans staying on even if the HVAC is off?

I would advise that you AT LEAST unplug the compressor clutch. The car will function without it while things dry up under the hood. This may be a reason for early compressor failure. If people were just driving around unaware that the compressor was not cycling normally, they would burn up in no time.

Just be sure the compressor doesn't kick in instantly when you plug it back in with the HVAC off. Hope this helps