04 Civic Hybrid - Noises goes away if I turn on the A/C. Help!
 

Got a 2004 Civic Hybrid. Been running fine until last week. The A/C stopped working for a few minutes, then came back and has been working since.

Then this morning, when I turn the car on, the belt makes that signature screech noise. What's weird though is that if I crank the A/C up, the noise comes completely away. Turn the A/C off, the noise comes right.

Based on my research it looks like this might be a loose (or too tight?) belt? My question is how do I adjust it in this car? The whole area is tough to work around (ie lots of components, tough to get my arm and a wrench down there). I can see all the pulleys but as far as adjusting it, I'm not sure what I'm looking for. If anyone has a picture or diagram it would be much appreciated.

Also, the check engine light came on. I hooked up my scanner and got a P1600. Not very useful. I see some things online that make me think this is a generic code but I'm not sure if its related to the noise.

Re: 04 Civic Hybrid - Noises goes away if I turn on the A/C. Help!
 

P1600 may be a hybrid specific code, and i do not have the hybrid manual to check it. the belt is prolly just loose or needs tightening. if you are serious about doing work on the car, i would recommend a hybrid service manual from honda. the engine bay design and components are different than regular civics.