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In a nutshell... My Civic will often blow cold air for a few minutes and gradually get warm after just a few minutes.

This started last Summer. Dealer and independent shop said I needed a new compressor. One of the mechanics and fleet mgr at my job did me a favor of looking over my car. One time I was slightly low on coolant, so they added more to bring it to proper level and fix a leak in the system. They let the car run with A/C on in the garage for about 30 min with the A/C feeling nice and cold. Once, I drive the car a few miles, the cold air starts to fade.

At various times when I'm driving, I'll turn on the A/C. Most of the time I get cold A/C for a few mins and as usual, the A/C air will get warm after a few minutes.

I'm trying not to press these guys at work too much as they're doing me a favor. The one constant I see is that when the car is sitting, the A/C seems to work normally, but soon after I start driving, it eventually stops working.

The fleet mgr is not convinced of the compressor being bad. He said that in his experience over the years, a compressor either works or it doesn't and not an intermittent thing.

One reason, I'm also trying to resolve this is because I have to do my timing belt soon and if it was a compressor, I'd want to replace it at that time.

Hope someone can help me nip this problem.

 
Rep Power: 518

I'd have to see what is happening for myself in order to evaluate it, but your fleet manager is right. The compressor itself isn't going to go bad, then be good later on. (Some shops want to replace the entire thing, and you will get reman junk that causes more problems next year.)

I'd want to monitor the system pressures, and watch what the compressor clutch does when it quits cooling, and decide what/how to diagnose from there.

I see the occasional bad control head in the dash.

I see the occasional field coil with intermittent open circuit, that is real intermittent and random. Clutch and coil are available separately from the compressor through Honda.

I see occasional relay issues: wait for it to blow warm, then smack the fusebox with your hand and see if the compressor kicks back on. (This actually sounds like your problem, but again, I'd have to witness it for myself.)
New and improved relay part number is 39794-SDA-A05, retail is $25.25, available through any Honda dealer.

 
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I had the same problem I had bought another compressor but when installed it wasnt it. I took it to a specialist to check the connection and it seemed to have something to do with the ECU. He rigged it somehow and now it works! It was paying either $120 or replacing the ECU and paying for reprogramming so it would work with my car! But if I were you I would check to see if the compressor is even cutting on and the fan that goes with your a/c as well. good luck!

 
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I have the same issue with my 2001 EU1 Civic. I was driving one day with he A/C on and hit a pot-hole, then seconds later, the car is no longer cooling (although both the fan and compressor are on). Sometimes it will work for a few seconds when I park the car for a while, but it goes off again intermittently.

 
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Thanks a bunch for your response. Now that you mention a relay as a possibility, the fleet manager had also mentioned it as a possibility. I showed him this thread and he said they've done the other stuff too. We've decided that on the next warm day, I'll drive my Civic to work and during my lunch break, I'll take the car for a drive to get the cooling to stop working and then take the car to the garage for the fleet manager and technician to see. I'll also try smacking the fusebox next time as well.

Thanks again, and I'll update with any new developments.

 
Rep Power: 518

Just leave it idling in the parking lot with the AC on, probably on low fan speed so the compressor cycles a lot.
Go out and check it every once in a while.
I say that thinking everyone can park near where they work and keep an eye on the car. LOL. I know that isn't the case for all people.


I replaced a clutch relay this morning on an 03 Accord. It had stopped working completely.

Here's a hint, if you get it to quit: (Make sure ahead of time which relay you need to pull for this!) Leave the car running and the AC turned on. When you pull the relay out do it carefully, if it was engaged you should feel the relay click as the terminals break contact...It should click again as you reconnect it too.
The one I did this morning would click every time you removed or reinstalled it. That told me that the PCM had it turned on at that point in time. There was no power at the clutch connector itself. The new relay made everything work again, my diagnosis was confirmed to be correct.

I like to tear the plastic cover off to see what happened.
Todays relay has points burned out.
The one I pulled a couple weeks ago had a resistor that had come loose and jammed into the contacts, preventing it from working.

HTH

 
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Since the weather was warm today, i decided to have a go at this A/C issue again. I started the engine, cut on A/C with low fan speed. I let the car idle in my driveway for about 25 min, checking every 5 min on the A/C. Each time the A/C was still cooling normally. I decided to take a short spin around the neighborhood as motion seems to always make the A/C stop working. After about 3 miles, I noticed that the air was gradually getting warm. Back in my driveway, with the engine running, A/C still on, the compressor clutch appeared to not be moving. I pulled out the compressor clutch relay and put it back in twice, with no effect. The A/C was still warm and the line where you add collant was also warm. I shut off the engine for a few mins and restarted the engine about 10 min. later, turned on A/C and it was once again cooling normally. I let the engine continue to run with A/C on, I listened to what I believe was the compressor clutch engaging and disengaging a few times. After about 10 min the comprssor clutch stopped engaging, and A/C stopped cooling.

I'll probably try again tomorrow to see what happens.

 
Rep Power: 518

Well, sounds like you confirmed that the clutch was no longer engaged engaged when it quit cooling.
Since you can duplicate the issue, now you need to do the testing.
(Well, *I* would test since I don't get paid well for wrong answers.)

Were the radiator fans still running?

Was the relay clicking in your fingers when you removed and inserted it into the socket? (And did you pick the correct relay out of the 10 or so in the box?)


When it quits: Is there 12v+ at the wire for the clutch?
What is the resistance of the clutch coil circuit?
Is the relay still being turned on (control side checks)?

 
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This is what happens in my case.
When the A/C is not working though, the compressor and clutch is still ON (and doesn't switch off) so I'd have to look at the relays as well.
What's the best way to actually test a relay?

 
Rep Power: 518

Did the airflow from the dash vents stop?
The evaporator became a huge ice cube.
Turn the engine off, key off.
Determine if the clutch is still being engaged
Relay stuck on. (The usual cause, well known.)
Remove the relay, clutch lets go.
Replace relay.


If the clutch is not engaged when the key is off, there is a different problem.
EDIT: A different problem that is causing the compressor to not cycle off when the evaporator temperature gets near the freeze point. Maybe the evap temp sensor, or wiring, or something else.


HTH

 
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Sorry about the delay and thanks again for your suggestions. Although I'm actively trying to become a better DIY'er, I'm not quite there yet. At this point I don't have the necessary tools to conduct the other tests. I spoke with the fleet manager briefly a few days ago about my actions over last weekend. I plan to bring my car back to them one day next week and at that point either myself or they will get the A/C to stop functioning and then they'll go from there. Again, I'll be sure to report and updates here.

 
Rep Power: 518

Replacing parts is easy.
(AutoZone thrives on it.)

Understanding why isn't as easy for most.
(AutoZone wouldn't prosper if everyone only replaced JUST the actual bad part.)

Maybe it's just because I deal with the high-tech end of the cars, but it seems like the majority of DIYers I see are doomed to waste gobs of cash firing the parts cannon, because they can't understand a system and diagnose it logically and methodically. Or they can't admit that an issue is far beyond their capabilities or tooling.
By the time they give up and come to me, they are out of money.

Also: The cheapest people tend to spend the most.


I have other thoughts and opinions on the subject, but the filter just kicked in. They got erased again.

 
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I definitely agree and understand what you're saying. One thing our fleet mgr was saying all along was that he's simply not a fan of the guessing/throwing parts at the issue game.

My thing is that I'm not an auto technician, but with my limited understanding, I often like to get the opinion of someone who's "in my corner" when possible.

I actually did sort of deal with an issue in the past where I became frustrated because I felt that the dealer wasn't being agressive enough in diagnosing a problem. In that case on my prior car ('02 Honda Accord EX V-6), the SRS light came on and stayed lit. After 3 trips to the service dept, the light came on yet again soon afterward. After the third time with the service writer repeatedly saying that they'll try to find the problem but they would not simply "throw parts at it", my frustration grew. Of course I could've been wrong, but my feeling was that perhaps they weren't being agressive and/or thorough enough. Thankfully, the fourth attempt (all within 10 days) was the charm.

Back on topic... I'll probably get back on my A/C issue toward the end of this week when we're (Wash DC area) expected to have warm temps again.

 
Rep Power: 518

SRS parts aren't cheap, and certainly not something to guess at.
The SRS light coming on might not have anything to do with the SRS system at all (see alternator comment below).

I don't know what really happened, but.....

The SRS idiot light can come on because of real problems, that's a given.
It can come on and leave strange codes because of low battery voltage/weak battery,
and it can come on and leave NO codes if the alternator is overcharging.

Step #1 of any diagnosis is to verify the complaint. If the complaint comes from a non-professional observer, and I need more specific information, then we can't just go by a description to make a guess (if that is even possible).
Some things just have to be caught in the act.

Then we order parts and make you come back to get them installed.
It's all an evil plot to drive you up a wall....LOL