stevenpsu

Hey Forum,

I have a 2010 Honda Civic LX sedan without AC. I have been having intermittent issues for the past year where the AC will work for 10-15 mins and then it would blow warm air for a few mins and then back to cold air. I noticed when this was happening the clutch wasn't engaging. Now, the clutch doesn't engage at all and of course no AC. I am trying to figure out if I have a leak, an electrical problem, or a clutch problem. Also, yes I replaced the AC clutch relay with a Honda part.

All fans work (Blower, AC, and radiator fans) engage so I think the HVAC unit is okay. Any help in troubleshooting? I have decent knowledge with Civics but not expert knowledge.

Thanks in advance. I would love AC before the DC summer picks up

Moved from regular forum

mbk5us

Have you checked your refrigerant level? If it is low, then add some dye to help tracking any potential leak.

Wankenstein

With the engine running and compressor set to "on" use a piece of wood to tap on the compressor clutch plate to check if it's an air-gap issue.

If the air gap between the clutch and coil is too great there won't be enough magnetic force to pull the plate towards the coil. It can manifest as either an intermittent or permanent reason of the compressor not engaging.

stevenpsu

I am going to check the refrigerant today, I did have a guy look at it about a week ago and he put some in and it was working fine. I will check it today. I will try to check that today with the air gap. Thanks for the insight.

ezone

Clutch relay, clutch coil resistance, clutch air gap.

If it quit after it gets warm, probably too much air gap.

Simple (AND FREE) to pull clutch hub off and remove a shim, if there's a shim or two to choose from and remove. Hopefully that brings the gap back to something that will make it work again without buying a new clutch and pulley or an entire compressor.





You said it was cold when it did work, therefore the freon was fine. If some was added it could now be overcharged. Small capacity AC system is very easy to overcharge. You'll find out after you get the clutch working again.

stevenpsu

In your experience, is it worth replacing the AC compressor with the new clutch or just replace the clutch and use the OEM compressor. How long do they usually last?

Thanks for the insight.

ezone

For FREE you can just pull the hub off and see if there's a shim that can be removed, it the gap ends up in spec afterwards might last another 50-100k miles before it wears enough to be a problem again. Even if it is a little wider than spec, you still gain a whole bunch more life for FREEEEEEEE




My personal preference is always to keep the original compressor working as long is it doesn't have any internal problems.....and I see many original units with a quarter million miles and more that are otherwise just fine. Sure, there's a worn one or a leaky one here and there, but for the most part they are damn reliable IMO.

Other than the clutch wear and gap and coil issues that is.



Honda sells the clutch/pulley as a set, and and the field coil all separately from the compressor. Simple. I can usually do these without taking the compressor off the car, and without touching the freon at all.



Aftermarket will usually only sell a complete reman compressor, and they always want you to replace more than just the compressor in order for you to have any warranty at all....which adds to the expense.....then the low quality reman either leaks within a couple years, or it ***** the bed completely (internal failure) and contaminates the entire system, leaving you on the hook for thousands in expense to fix it. (I shouldn't have to tell you why I say this)

Aftermarket compressors are a literal crapshoot.
Price be damned, the value just isn't there much of the time.



And factory parts like the clutch and coil usually don't fit on the aftermarket replacement unit at all.
So when the unprotected wiring for the field coil corrodes apart just after the warranty ran out.....guess what. (yes this has happened too)

Colin42

my girlfriend's car has almost 400,000 kms on the original compressor

see if you can pull a shim like ezone said