Originally Posted by Chefboyrd

Having the same issue as well with the dead battery as well. Gonna try and see if the AC relay is working and the compressor is not engaged. Initially the car died yesterday and took it to AutoZone and the girl checked my battery and said it was fine. And she checked for any codes but there was none. So I tried to start the car this morning and it was dead. So I took the battery in and the said it was dead but ok. But I got a new battery, got home, hooked it up and 5 mins in the system purged and the car was rough idling, I turned it off and disconnected the battery. Gonna check the relay now. Thanks for this thread!

Originally Posted by ezone

Good Lord, you found a thread from the time I was going through nicotine withdrawals!

Surely you found the pics of the fusebox pinpointing the location of the clutch relay.
Remove the clutch relay from that fusebox so you can drive the car without burping more freon and without killing the battery overnight.

If possible, obtain an updated relay(MITSUBA BRAND) from a Honda dealer or sources online, and plug it in whenever you get it.

Keep in mind that if it burped out freon, it may not cool as well once you get it working again. It may need a little recharge, and technically it should get a new relief valve, but many are ignored and seem to be ok.

Originally Posted by ezone

Yes, I know what is wrong.

I can at least save you the checkout fee, and that is pretty high. Ours is about 110.



notice that condensation is building up around the AC pipe (ice),
The AC compressor is running...

then I can see the AC compressor release pressure by itself
The radiator fans were NOT running at that time. The valve vented excess pressure because the fans were not on.

and the engine cut out.
The venting happens at almost 500 psi, and it takes quite a bit of engine power to run the compressor at that pressure. Far beyond normal.



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This answer has 2 parts:

1) The AC clutch relay is stuck on...
The relay needs replaced. Honda has an improved part to solve this issue, you will need part number 39794-SDA-A05, retails for $25.25 at this moment.
Looks like Majestic will sell it for $18 http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...VIN+Number+---
2) The high pressure relief valve that burped the freon out needs replaced also. Reason: the valve now cannot be trusted to vent at the proper pressure now that it has been opened, and it may leak the rest of the freon out. The freon that was lost during the event needs replaced also. A system that is undercharged is very inefficient, and won't cool properly. It can also wear out the compressor due to lack of oil circulation.
A professional shop should be used for this.

The stuck relay can run the battery down overnight too, that clutch can be about a 1-2 amp drain on the battery.


You will need a competent shop for the AC work, and you can replace the relay yourself if you can figure out which of the dozen is the one that is bad.



took it to the gas station mechanic
I'm biting my tongue here. "Bad move" is all I'll say right now.

since there is no check engine light on he could not read the code and do the diagnostic
Not all problems give codes.

and also said that since this model the AC compressor switches and Idle setting are controlled by computer,
He got this part right. His little code reader is worthless for all of this.

BUT

Even knowing that, there isn't any part of this particular problem that can be diagnosed by any computer. A working brain is what it takes.
Knowing that this is a common problem also helps.







Ok, I didn't find a good ID of the clutch relay, but this is the underhood fusebox:


This is the lid:


The relay is only labeled with a snowflake symbol in the lid.
Center row, bottom relay, closest to the fuse #5 in the top picture.