kevbone

Does anybody know the location of the ac clutch relay for a 97 Accord v6? For the life of me I can't find this thing. I know where its at on the 4cyl model but having a hell of time locating it on a v6 ?

tech8

It is below the under-hood fuse box. It is next to the condenser fan relay and an intermittent wiper relay. It is the relay on the outer corner, with a Wht wire, Blk/Yel wire, Red/Blu wire, and a Red wire.

kevbone

Thanks Tech8 I found it. I'm trying to figure out why my ac clutch won't engage. I swapped the relay with a known good one and it still won't engage. I can turn the clutch with my finger and it spins freely. Is there any way I can wire the compressor straight to power and see if it engages to rule out if the compressor needs to be replaced or if its an electrical issue?

rockycat

Low freon will cause the clutch to not engage.

tech8

As a brief test, unplug the harness connector to the A/C compressor clutch relay; then use a jumper wire (or small paper clip) on the White wire terminal cavity to the Red wire terminal cavity.

Under-hood Fuse No. 34 (15A) would need to be okay and power has to be coming through the White wire.

kevbone

Thanks tech 8, I bridged that connection and I can hear an audible click from the compressor which is the magnet engaging the clutch right? Accept the clutch doesn't spin? What could be the issue here?

Lost Again

If you jump power to the ac clutch and it is not spinning with the pulley.

The "gap" could be too large. Some of the older ones have/had shims that could be adjusted.

The coil could be bad and not "pulling" hard enough. You can test the resistance and see if it is in spec.

holmesnmanny

Try tapping the clutch with a mallet and see if it turns on. If it does then the clutch needs to be adjusted.

aaronGR

What's the best way to access it? I need to replace the clutch relay but am not totally sure how to get beneath the under-hood fuse box.

tech8

If you cannot easily access the relay, you may have to remove the mounting bolt for the under-hood fuse/relay box to move the box a little to access the relay.

kevbone

After verifying that the AC clutch relay was not the problem and that the refrigerant levels were good I determined that the gap between the clutch and the flywheel was to large for the compressor to engage. I was actually able to engage the clutch by pressing lightly on the clutch with a broom stick {very carefully} while the car was running to verify this. Ended up replacing the clutch only that I bought off Ebay and now the ac system is up and running again. I was also able to do this by not disconnecting the high and low pressure lines to keep all of my refrigerant.

99stockcivic

Nice job and detection work (who doesn't love it when a broom is used as a tool?)!