Hi All, First post here and looking for some help after looking throughout the forums for a bit.

I am working on my moms 2011 Mazda 2 that is having an AC problem. The AC is cold in the morning when it's been in the garage, but blows hot air when it's been sitting out in the sun. I checked the compressor and it is spinning as it should. The freon is full when checked with a guage as well and holds at full. Looking at the system, there is no evident leaks (confirmed with the full pressure as well with the guage).

Has anyone else had this problem and can point me on where to look? The condenser has definitely seen better days from looking at the fins, but otherwise looks okay, but I am wondering if the bent fins could be causing the issue, or there is an issue with the attached AC dryer. I just don't want to throw parts at it. My other thought was possibly the expansion valve, but I'm not really sure how to check that either. Compressor I'm pretty sure is not the issue since it is spinning and the clutch is engaging.

Any ideas on what to check or if there is anything I can test? I am pretty handy and mechanically inclined, but as I mentioned I would prefer not to just throw parts at it versus replacing what could be causing the issue.

Thanks everyone!

 

You would need to do an actual leak test. In the UK, we inject a UV dye with the aircon gas so that we can definitely see if it's leaking, however it the pressure is holding then it could be leaking internally through the seals of the compressor (mine is doing the same), It blowing cold when the car is cold but hot when the car is hot is indicative that the aircon isn't actually blowing, it's just the ambient temperature coming through.