texcon

I have a 2000 Civic EX. The A/C parts are all original. Late last summer the A/C started acting inconsistently. In the morning and/or while driving at high RPMs (such as highway driving), the A/C would work fairly well. But if I was in stop & go traffic or it got really hot (which it does in Houston), the A/C would not really blow cold air. It might be cool or at best warm air.

So now that the temp is heating up again, the same issue is happening. It's to the point that the AC will only blow warm air if I am in stop & go and/or it's hot outside. I took the car to a shop I have been using for a while and they said the compressor (including the clutch and coil) and the receiver drier need to be replaced. All other system components checked out.

I wanted to ask the resident experts what their take was. My take is this - it's either the clutch going bad and/or the compressor is showing its age (12+ years and 130k miles). The system has NO leaks and is fully charged, that has been verified.

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Former User

Did you pay for the A/C diagnosis from the shop? Did they measure refrigerant pressures on both the high and low sides to make their diagnosis? If so, what were the numbers? Did the numbers support their conclusion? Or were they just guessing?

My recommendation is that you start by checking whether:

1) The condenser fan fails to run when A/C is on.

2) The compressor clutch fails to engage when the A/C blows warm.

motegicivic

I am willing to bet compressor clutches, but too much work to replace them, I would get an aftermarket compressor with clutches installed about 275 to 300 plus install and charge. If you do it get a dryer it is about a 25 dollar part.

First hook some gauges to get an idea of what is wrong.

I did mine about 3 years ago is it working better than new including when I got the car, the original never seemed to work right.

texcon

Thank you both for the replies. The clutches are starting to fail and at this point in the vehicle's life it makes more sense to replace the entire compressor than just the clutches as well as the receiver drier since it's a cheap part. It's been getting noticeably worse. Last summer the AC worked very well while driving at high RPMs, but now that does not even guarantee it will work right. I am fortunate to have gotten this much life out of the compressor and clutches.

Re: the fan, that checks out fortunately.

Former User

You provided no real troubleshooting information, so nobody here could possibly tell you with certainty what the actual problem is. We'd just be guessing, which has little value.

If you believe that the shop is telling you the truth and are unwilling or unable to confirm the diagnosis yourself, then simply pay for the work to be done.

If on the other hand, you want help learning how to figure out and fix the problem yourself, then you've come to the right place.

And I completely disagree that replacing the compressor coil and clutch is too much work. That part of the job is not very difficult.

motegicivic

With a compressor that is 13 years old already rebuilding the clutches and coil can be about $150 plus labor if you don't do it yourself, buying an aftermarket new compressor I think is the better way to go.

Former User

I disagree. The compressor has the potential to outlast the clutch and coil by many years, assuming diagnostic tests indicate the compressor is fine.

You really have no idea what the problem is, yet you recommend the entire compressor be replaced. Why give such advice when you have no hard evidence indicating a faulty compressor?

But let's assume the problem is that the compressor clutch intermittently fails to engage. If so, the first step would be to measure the gap between the armature plate and pulley. If too wide, the fix could be as simple as replacing the shim. And regarding the coil, there's a simple resistance test for it.

This is a tech forum where most members prefer to fix things themselves. If you instead prefer a shop to do your car work, then this highly technical forum has little or no purpose for you.