AC only works when engine is cool
04-02-2018
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AC only works when engine is cool
Okay so I’m new to using this website and literally just made an account 20 minutes ago so I’m not even sure if anyone will even a ee this. Please bear with me.
Okay so I have a Honda Civic DX sedan with 150k miles. My AC will only blow cold air when cold starting or if the engine is cool from 60 and below weather... what I mean by this is if it’s a warm/hot day and I first start up my car, the AC will work perfectly all day (no matter the temperature outside) and the compressor will continue to click on and off like normal as long as I don’t turn off and on the car or the AC. The second I turn the heat on or turn off and back on the AC, it will only blow the warm/hot outside temperature. Once I do this, my compressor will not engage until the next day when the engine is cooled again. Although sometimes (but very rarely) when the car is already hot I can floor the RPM’s while driving and it kicks the compressor on and works fine again.
I looked at the AC clutch relay and hit it with the butt of a screw driver (as directed by someone having a similar problem on this forum) in hopes it would just be a bad relay, but nothing happened. My freon is good and the fans turn on just like they should. When I took it into the shop they quoted me near $1000 to either replace the compressor or rebuild the clutch ring or something..? I think that’s outrageously over priced and their has to be another solution.
I was hoping someone on this forum could give me some insight on what the problem is, if I could fix it myself, if I should just deal with the inconsistant AC or just suck it up and fork out a grand. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Okay so I have a Honda Civic DX sedan with 150k miles. My AC will only blow cold air when cold starting or if the engine is cool from 60 and below weather... what I mean by this is if it’s a warm/hot day and I first start up my car, the AC will work perfectly all day (no matter the temperature outside) and the compressor will continue to click on and off like normal as long as I don’t turn off and on the car or the AC. The second I turn the heat on or turn off and back on the AC, it will only blow the warm/hot outside temperature. Once I do this, my compressor will not engage until the next day when the engine is cooled again. Although sometimes (but very rarely) when the car is already hot I can floor the RPM’s while driving and it kicks the compressor on and works fine again.
I looked at the AC clutch relay and hit it with the butt of a screw driver (as directed by someone having a similar problem on this forum) in hopes it would just be a bad relay, but nothing happened. My freon is good and the fans turn on just like they should. When I took it into the shop they quoted me near $1000 to either replace the compressor or rebuild the clutch ring or something..? I think that’s outrageously over priced and their has to be another solution.
I was hoping someone on this forum could give me some insight on what the problem is, if I could fix it myself, if I should just deal with the inconsistant AC or just suck it up and fork out a grand. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
04-02-2018
#2
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
Re: AC only works when engine is cool
Fans turn on, so that means the system IS TRYING to engage the compressor clutch....
Typical causes might be:
*Bad clutch relay? Once the compressor quits, swap the relay with another as a test. If AC then works reliably, replace the relay.
*Clutch gap is too wide? Does the air gap LOOK like it's wider than one millimeter?*
Pull outer plate off, remove shim, assemble. See if it works.
(Right way is to measure and select shims to obtain 0.5mm gap, but that isn't always easy to do.)
*Field coil open circuit or high resistance when hot
Typical causes might be:
*Bad clutch relay? Once the compressor quits, swap the relay with another as a test. If AC then works reliably, replace the relay.
*Clutch gap is too wide? Does the air gap LOOK like it's wider than one millimeter?*
Pull outer plate off, remove shim, assemble. See if it works.
(Right way is to measure and select shims to obtain 0.5mm gap, but that isn't always easy to do.)
*Field coil open circuit or high resistance when hot
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