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Hey guys, anyone w/ AC please help me. My AC hasn't been working for ****, it's an 01 so i figured i just needed to add freon. Well, it went in yesterday and my buddy added half a pound of freon. The problem isn't the freon, it's the condenser isn't coming on. The fans, etc all go on but the condenser doesn't, or actually does once in awhile, like a loose connection or something? Anyone have any ideas? Thanks guys......

 
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Not to be synical, but how do you know the condenser isn't kicking on?

Soudns to me like a bad ground, but that's just a guess in the dark. Is there any noice or anything like that?

 
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^funny you said that, my buddy who looked at it said the same thing about the ground. My ground wire is pretty shot, we took jumping cables and grounded the engine to from the battery to check the ground issue, and it's not that. He's the head mechanic at land rover, and he can tell the compressor isn't coming on, I don't know the difference?

 
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first off, there is a difference between freon and R-134A. Our cars use R-134A and 95 and older cars use R-12 (which is freon). Now did your friend who works for land rover even hook up a set of manifold gauges to see what the system is doing? Now The condensor isnt an electrical component, so I dont understand when you say the condensor isnt coming on? Do you mean the fan for the condensor isnt coming on? Or the compressor doesnt come on? Because the condensor is like the radiator, except high pressure gas enters the condensor where is changes into high pressure liquid ( why its called a condensor).

Now another thing, if your friend just added refirgerant to the system without checking anything, you might now be overcharged and the system wont blow out cold air. SO you need to check that.

Now if your compressor isnt coming on, then like jrfish007 said, you either have a loose ground, or a problem with the compressor clutch circuit, assuming everything else is fine, just the compressor wont engage.

Now another thing is if your ground wire is shot, why dont you fix it? You then said its not that, but then why would you say its shot? Also if your friend noticed that the compressor wasnt coming on, then why did he add refrigerant? If he thought maybe it was low and thats why it wouldnt kick on, then he should have hooked up a set of gauges to verify that and then checked for leaks.

 
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^ thanks for your imput, you really know about AC's.....I didn't realize the compressor wasn't coming on before, thought it just needed to be charged. He hooked the car up to the machine and it only had .75 and I guess it takes 1.25 pounds. He figured that was the issue, so he added half a pound. I don't think he put the gauges on it, it works intermidently, so that adds to the problem. more times than not it won't go on, the fan goes on but only hot air comes out.

The whole ground thing I just noticed yesterday, It needs to be replaced, it's frayed, etc but when we grounded the unit w/ the battery it still didn't work.

What exactly does the gauges do? could it be high or low pressure switch being faulty? He did check the relays and they were fine.

Thanks

 
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well first off usually dealers have recovery/recharge machines that have a set of gauges in them to check the pressures. Alot of techs though will have a set of manifold gauges incase they need to go check a car sitting in the parking lot or for a quick diagnosis.


Now the car should be fully charged at 19.4 oz (dont know what that is in lbs.), but if you have less then a lb. in the system, then you have a leak somewhere. Thats the only way you would ever be undercharged. The system doesnt use up refrigerant, so it had to go somewhere. SO you need to check for leaks. I am convinced that is why the compressor isnt engaging is because you are low on refrigerant. If the system is below a certain PSI, a pressure switch in the system will prevent the compressor from running to prevent any damage to the compressor. It basically kills the AC circuit under there is a sufficient charge.

I would first start checking for leaks in the system. Because I think that is your problem.

 
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^ Thanks alot, I'll keep this post updated.....is that normal to have a leak within five years? I believe he put the dye in it also, so that should help find the leak

 
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Leaks can happen at any time. Sometimes o-rings give and cause leaks, other times cracks happen in the rubber lines, and other times parts develop leaks. Best bet is use the dye or a leak detector (sniffer).

 
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My friend who also lives in Boston has a 2002 civic LX automatic. This summer his AC has been intermittent. He has taken it in for service but they could not get it to not work. They checked the refrigerant and it was fully charged. I know they have a low and high-pressure sensor switch that will not allow the compressor to come on if the pressure is not correct.

Is there a way we can check the sensors to see if maybe one is defective? I am not familiar with Honda’s, can you tell me where to look for the ground wire so I can check to see if it is in good condition.

I know that when you turn the AC on you can stand in front of the car and hear the clutch kick in to turn on the compressor. This does not happen when we turn on the AC. But like I said it is intermittent.

Can I check the connection on the compressor to see if it is getting the correct voltage or grounding when we turn the AC on? If so do you know what we should have at the connection? I know that some solenoids or switches are a constant voltage and then ground the circuit when it turns on.

Any help in trouble shouting this would be greatly appreciated.

 
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^^^you said the compressor clutch engages sometimes and other times it doesnt work, do either fans come on when you turn the AC on?

 
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Alot of times the check valve where they fill the freon can be leaking. I think there is an "O" ring there or a new valve instead can be replaced fairly easy.

Mitch

 
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Both fans come on. The inside ac/heater fan comes when you turn on the fan control. The engine coolant fan comes on when the engine warms up.

The ac does work, sometimes, and when it does work it works fine, cools down fast and stays cool.

But when it doesn’t work you can tell right away. I know the compressor is not engaging I’m just trying to find the best way to troubleshoot this.

Thanks

 
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^ I've got the same problem, haven't fixed it yet either???????

same exact issue, sometimes it works fine but most of the time it doesn't kick the clutch on anymore?

 
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I see that you are in Boston. It is interesting that we both have the same problem and in the same location, (Woburn). I’m surprised that there are not more posting with the same problem. I doubt we are the only ones with this problem

 
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first things first, check to see if you have any HVAC DTC's. the heater control panel has a self-diagnosis function. To run it, turn the fan switch off, press the recirculation control switch and rear window defogger switch. While holding the both switches down, turn the ignition switch on (II). then release the both switches. the recirculation indicator and the rear window defogger indicator should come on. the recirculation indicator goes off 2 seconds later and the ac indicator comes on (if so equipped), then the self diagnosis will begin. About 10 seconds later the self diagnosis will finsih and the ac indicator will go off.

If any trouble code is found, the recirculation indicator blinks the diagnostic trouble code (DTC) to indicate a faulty circuit or component.

If the system is ok, the recirculation indicator will sat off. If there is any code, count the number of blinks of the recirculation button. for example, if you have a DTC 7, it will blink 7 times, then pause for a second and a half and blink 7 more times. try this first then let me know what you get. If no trouble codes, then go trouble shoot the compressor circuit.

 
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Streetglower,

Thanks for the information. As soon as my friend shows up I will follow your instructions and let you know what we find.

I know that Ford has a similar startup trouble shooting diagnostic by holding in the tripometer when starting the car. It’s nice to know these little procedure that the dealers won’t tell you.

Thanks again for your help.

 
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I'll try this - thanks alot

 
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Streetglower,

We just ran through the HVAC DTC’s by holding both the recirculation and rear defogger button in. We then turned the ignition to the on (II) position.

After releasing both buttons the re-circulation button went OFF.
The rear defogger light stayed ON.
After ~2 seconds the AC light came ON and it went through a series of test turning on the fans.
After ~10 seconds the AC light went OFF.
The rear defogger light stayed ON.
The recirculation light stayed OFF. No error codes showed up on the recirculation light.

We would like to troubleshoot the compressor. We cannot hear the clutch engage the compressor.
We have located the electrical connection for the compressor and would like to know what we should find at the connection. If we can determine we are getting the correct electrical supply at the connector we can rule out the wiring from the dash switch to the compressor.

Do you know what electrical supply should be at connection?

Thanks for your help!

 
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well first check the no. 1 (20A0 fuse in the under hood dash box and the number 14 (10A) fuse in the under dash relay box. If both are ok, remove the clutch relay from the under hood fuse box and test it. to test it, there should be continuity between number 1 and number 2 terminals when power and ground are supplied to terminal 3 and 4. No continuity between 1 and 2 with power disconnected. If either are incorrect, replace the relay. if it is ok, measure the voltage between the no 2 terminal of the compressor clutch relay socket and body ground. the number 2 terminal should have the blue/black wire going to it. If there isnt battery voltage, replace the under hood fuse box. If there is battery voltage, connect the no. 1 and no. 2 terminals of the relay socket with a jumper wire. Now from that test tell me if the compressor clutch clicks? After these tests let me know and if need be I will continue. the no. 1 terminal of the fuse box should have a blue/red wire attached to it. the socket for it looks like this

1
2
4 3

the relay will look like this, so when looking at the socket, look at it like this. it will look like an upside down T

 
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^ you are one smart bastard..........anyways, i didn't have time to check mine last night, i'll do it tonight and post - you're a great resource!!

 
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I have some knowledge in AC, but most of this is coming straight from the manaul. These are specific test procedures for the compressor clutch circuit.

 
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^which manual do you have? I'm gonna keep this car for a bit, I should invest in one

 
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I have the service manaul that honda uses. got it from www.handaaccessories.com

 
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What if both aren't okay? For instance, my no. 1 fuse keeps going out over n over if I replace it and I have no idea what's wrong with it.

 
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Hi There,
My civic 01 now are same problem. I had pre-check with Honda tech, they said the Compressor clutch loose cause the problem.
It need to adjust. Do you know how to do that?