My husbands 2003 Lancer's A/C seems to work when it wants to, Literally. When he gets in the car he never knows whether it is going to work or not. For instance, it could start out working and then it just turns into hot air. Another thing he has noticed is that it seems to stop working on him when it's the hottest part of the day. Works the best in the mornings and at nights.....also when he's driving on the freeway. Also been times when it will work, then cut out on him to hot air....a while later work again. He's got an hour and a half commute each way to work. Does the a/c have some sort of sensor? Don't know if that helps with diagnosing at all. It's not the freon levels because we have a gadget that measures if its needed or not and it says we are full. Any and all suggestions would be appreciated!! Please, any ideas of what to look at????

Please....someone has to have some suggestion on where to start with this. We live in Arizona and you just can't live without A/C here....it's torture!!!

If anyone knows how to troubleshoot this problem I also would like to know!!! My son's 2003 Lancer ES is going through the very same problem here in Florida. I thought it was the Freon but when I tried to fill it, I noticed the can was still full and would not work, the actual compresser was shut off while it was running. I waited till it started cold air again and attempted the fill again, this time I was successful, but the problem continued. Someone out there has to know how to fix this or at least can point us in the right direction....Thanks

i was about to suggest the freyon when i read the title... then i read about your gauge... only thing i can think of is that the gauge is broke? maybe? take it to the dealer asap.

We've had it at the dealership for this problem. They've taken all the freon out and put all new in...thinking maybe there was air in there. They also had us replace some pipe that goes with the A/C system that with labor ended up costing us in the $300.00 price range. We've even had them tell us it "might" be the air compressor but they weren't sure. That's alot of money to "hope" its going to work when they replace it.

The gauge isn't broken because it works on my car as well just fine. We really don't know what to do. I've researched this online extensively and it seems that there are no real answers. Other people with the same exact problems, not necessarily the same car maker, have practically replaced their whole a/c systems and STILL have the same problems. I'm at a real loss here. :unsure: In the meantime, my poor husband who drives 1hr 1/2 each way to work is being cooked alive. :(

That sounds like a bad blower motor to me, Its confusing the refrigerant at hot temperatures so its stops working and it goes back to normal. My 02 A4 audi had that problem.
First of all i'd like to know how many miles does you car have!. check the thermostat and then check for a faulty blower motor. If in fact thats the case, replace it. Its not very challenging, but not piece of cake either. You are gona have to release preassure on the refrigerant and reload it once you have replaced the blower motor.
Lancers seem to looser high pressure from the a/c compressor causing to damage the blower motor, lines, and of course give false readings.
I sure hope you can fix it, i wish i could see the car, to give a better diagnosis.

Thanks, I started looking up problems with the blower motor and found two Tech bulletins (TSB # 93 and TSB # 09012002) on the internet. anyone know if this could be related to our A/C problem?????

Still having the same trouble with the a/c as previously posted in this thread but we've tested something out....not sure if these details will help to figure this out. We ran the a/c which was blowing nice, cold air and as usual, because it was really hot outside, it started to blow out hot air instead. We turned the car off, popped the hood and poured very cold water directly onto the a/c compressor. After a minute or so of doing this we started the car and it instantly started to blow cold air again. Is there some kind of regulator or temperature sensor that would do this to the compressor and cause it to not blow out cold air?????

on the a/c compressor there is a freon temp switch. it will cost about 65$ from the dealer. you will have to emty the A/C before changing this switch. Do this test before you go this route. take a volt meter and check that 12v are going to the compressor. Disconect the power cable to the compressor start the car with A/C on touch the positive probe to the a/c power and touch the neg probe to the engin block for gound. if volt meter reads 12v then replace sensor if not you have a different issue.

Hi,

I dont know if it may help, but I had a similar issue,

This is sometimes due to a worn out compressor that stops when it is overheated ! I almost thought I would need to replace the entire compressor, but my mechanic took off the compressor - Opened it up and Removed a washer! Yes a washer at the head of the compressor ! This actually reduces the space between the magnetic coil and the compressor motor and now my AC has been working fine without failures.. Of course I had to refill the Cooling gas since it is impossible to dismount the compressor without dismantling the Cooling lines! total cost was 50$ and 4 hours !