Climate control calibration
 

Hi, I've a 9th generation 2012 Civic (I'm in England). Aircon has just been recharged and works fine - on the "Lo" setting it's very effective. The thermostat goes down to 16 degrees Celsius (that's 60.8 degrees Fahrenheit), but even at that setting I usually find the cabin settles at a temperature that's too warm. I've not measured it, but I feel the cabin temperature sensor must be reading too low by several degrees. The climate control is dual zone but the settings are synchronised.

It is possible to re-calibrate the climate control?

Re: Climate control calibration
 

We didn't get dual zone in the USA Civic that year, but

Look around for a tiny grille or series of slots on the dash. On a left hand drive car over here it's usually near the side of the HVAC control panel,, or maybe in the indented area of the dash around the steering column or somewhere near the drivers right knee.
I assume it would be similar but opposite on a right hand drive car.

The interior temp sensor should be attached behind that small grille along with a plastic hose or tube that leads to the hvac box, air movement creates a draw through that hose which is needed for the temp sensor to sample cabin air temperature. If the hose is detached at either end, I suppose the resulting lack of air flow through the sensor could lead to such a complaint.

If you can get a Honda service manual I would hope you can find a climate control self diagnostic mode where the climate control panel could display some data that would include actual temp detected by that sensor. Then you could place a thermometer or thermocouple by that sensor for comparison.

Another though: Aim your center vents upward instead of down, maybe the CC temp sensor is receiving some of the cold air from the dash vents instead of warmer cabin area air?

Re: Climate control calibration
 

Thanks; I've found the grille but, I've no idea how to get at the hose. Couldn't find a service manual online so I've ordered a Haynes manual, which hopefully will give me some guidance.

Re: Climate control calibration
 

if you try the stuff above and it you think the actual sensor is wrong...

this is the process i use to recalibrate the sensor on my arduino. you might remove the sensor from the car and try recalibrating it with the method below.

Step one: Keep the DHT sensor at the condition of Temperature 50~60Celsius, humidity <10%RH for 2 hours;
Step two: Keep the DHT sensor at the condition of Temperature 20~30Celsius, humidity >70%RH for 5 hours.

it may or may not work, but it's free and worth trying. you can ignore the humidity part as your sensor is temperature only. i learned about recalibrating these on accident because i'm building an arduino to control a humidifier for my printer room. the process above did help with my little cheap DHT22 sensor, maybe it'll help you too.

Attachment 112453