Rep Power: 0

New owner here, purchased this 2005 Civic hybrid for the step daughter back in January. AC was working, but the AC clutch was making noise, so the shop at her college town solved it by removing the AC relay.The bearings were shot, but the compressor was fine. I ordered the new clutch and installed it today.
Everything came off and went back on ok, but it does not engage the AC clutch. I Hear a click when I engage the AC button in the car, but the clutch does not engage.
I read there might be some diagnostics in the control panel by pressing some buttons. The system was working and i hope it is something simple.
Any help is much appreciated.
Thanks
Kevin

 
Rep Power: 0

Have you tried looking to see what happens when the clutch tries to engage?

 
Rep Power: 132

Is the clutch clearance OK? I had to remove a washer on the shaft to bring the clutch closer to the coil to engage.

 
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I have no idea what the gap is supposed to be. The kit came with 4 thin washers. I wasn't sure how to use them. I used the original washer in the clutch that I took off. I will try removing that washer and inserting the thin ones and see if I can get it to engage.
Thanks
Kevin

 
Rep Power: 517

Clutch plate air gap spec is .35mm-.65mm.

 
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Thanks ezone. I have it set at .40 mm. When I turn on the AC, I get the fan to engage and I hear a click at the relay, but nothing is happening at the compressor. Not the 1st sound of the clutch trying to engage.
So strange, as the AC worked fine before. I am just wondering if they did something additional other than pulling the relay. I am just not getting any indication the clutch is trying to engage.
Thoughts?
Thanks
Kevin

 
Rep Power: 517

You said someone pulled out the relay for the clutch, but did you reinstall the relay?
The correct relay?
Fuses good?
Is that relay any good? (frequent failure item, swap with an identical relay for a quick check)

 
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Relay is replaced and I swapped it with the fan relay, which is the same one. No change in behavior. I don't see in the fuse diagram anything for the AC. I need to find the red power wire so I can put juice to it and confirm the new clutch works.
Kevin

 
Rep Power: 517

Underhood fuse box. Fuse #1, 20A.

You say fan, which fan do you mean??? Interior fan?

Did you replace the field coil along with the clutch and pulley? Is the ground wire bolted down correctly?


When you kick on the AC, do the radiator fans turn on?
If they don't turn on, ignore the rest of this post and check that the harness to the compressor is actually fully plugged in.


I'd just pull the clutch relay out and do my initial check with a test light. If you understand how the relay works it's super quick checks. Testing at that relay splits the compressor controls into 4 sections. With the system trying to run, a simple test light should show 2 powers and 2 grounds. If one of those results is missing, that gives a direction to chase.

 
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When I say fan, I mean the radiator fans. The idle increases and the fans come on.

I did not replace the field coils. I just replaced the clutch because the bearings were shot on the old one.

I just checked the #1 fuse and it was blown. I didn't have another 20 amp so I tried a 15 amp and it blew right away. So I am narrowing down the issue. The question is, what would be causing #1 fuse to blow?
Thanks in advance.
Kevin

 
Rep Power: 517

Was the engine on and the AC turned on when you installed the fuse?


Engine running, AC on.
Remove clutch relay. Install new fuse. Does it blow? (If it blows, this eliminates compressor as a cause) (fuse #1 also powers the condenser fan)

If fuse did not blow, unplug the wire harness from the compressor.
Insert the clutch relay. Does fuse blow?

See where this is going?

 
Rep Power: 517

If #1 fuse was blown, the condenser fan should not be able to run. (passengers side radiator fan)


Fuse blows from excess current draw....so you're probably chasing either the compressor field coil for a short (or if you took it off of the engine, maybe you pinched a wire?) or the condenser fan motor.



Resistance check the clutch field coil circuit, maybe 3-4 ohms

Ammeter check?
Clutch @4ohms would draw around 3 amps, and the condenser fan might draw around 6-8 amps running (wild guess)

 
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ezone, you are great! I changed the fuse with the ignition off. I figure I am chasing a short in the compressor field coil. I will get the VOM out tomorrow and see what values I find.
I did not remove the compressor, just changed the clutch assembly. So my 1st thought is compressor field coil.
Thanks
Kevin

 
Rep Power: 0

Well, I hate to admit it, I am giving up on this one and taking it to a garage. The engine space on this hybrid is too tight for me to navigate, I don't have a snap ring tool to get the field coil off, and I can't see the wires to begin testing.
I unplugged the condenser fan motor, put a new fuse in, turned the key back on and blew the fuse right away. So that is not the issue.
I found the compressor field coil in stock at a dealership, so I will let my shop do the diagnostics and go get them the part if needed. I also have a complete compressor assembly on standby if needed.
Normally I would try all this myself but sometimes it's better to let others handle it. Thanks for your help ezone.
Kevin