I have a 93 Civic CX that did "NOT" come with A/C. I have the opportunity to get a good deal on getting the whole A/C unit out of a 95 Civic Coupe. I have a few questions,

"will it have to be the same yr, model, and all components or is it compatible as long as you have all parts from the same yr?"
"A/C wire harness, will it be compatible with my 93 CX harness connector?"

I read up on how to install a A/C into a 94 non-A/C car and it seemed pretty easy to do.
Please let me know what other components that I'll need or am I just wishful thinking here? I'm sure I'll have to replace the Dryer, expansion valve, and vacuum the system out before charging it back up with r134 freon. I just would like to stick with the 95 Civic A/C system since it's already r134 tolerant vs the r12 A/C since it's almost very hard to get and expensive. I like the car and I plan on keeping it for some time so I don't want to give it up just because the hot sun is kicking my a$$ nor even the options of selling it to get a car that already has A/C.
Please, any advise and suggestions would be great from all you Honda Gurus'! Thx in advance!

 

Bump...anyone?

 

you'll be fine with the parts from the 95. just remember to replace every o-ring at every connection. i've done this with my 92vx hatch as well. good luck

 

There is a sensor on the evaporator that is different on the earlier models that would have come with R12 systems versus the later R134A. Look under your dash where the evaporator would be and there should be a plug on the harness running along the duct. If the plug has two wires, you need the earlier sensor, if the plug has 3 wires, you can use the sensor on the evaporator out of the 1995.

1993 is a funny year because that's when the transition took place. Early 1993s had R12, later 1993s had R134A. It's not a big deal if your car was an early model, just get the sensor from a car at the junkyard.

R12 systems can be converted to R134A, just make sure you replace all the oil.

 

Cool, thx for the info!

Hmmm...I see. I do have the 2 wire plug. So if I do take the sensor plug that has the 3 wires, where would I tap the 3rd wire too? Everything seems to be very easy so far, thx for the info guys....any others who can put some more advise?

 

It's not that hard to install everything....the only thing that mine lacks is that during low speed RPM's....the A/C is not that cold....but when you are driving on the freeway it feels o.k.

I don't think these A/C systems are as efficient as the cars now.....I was getting 45 degree readings when testing the system....but with my GF's FIT...she was getting 35 degree readings from the snap on therm.

I even installed it with the GSR Motor....I think the civic compressor has a different pulley which makes it harder for it to kick in when idoling...

good luck.

 

No, I'm sure it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. I just need to know "where" I need to tap the 3rd wire into so I can get the system to run correctly since I have the 2 wire sensor plug and not the 3 wire sensor. Can anyone show me a diagram or pic of "how to?"

 

Where would you tap the wire to? I have no idea, I'd just go to the junkyard and yank the right one off another car, or you could look at where the wires run. Either find a diagram somewhere or go to the junkyard. The only problem is the wires for the plugs are colored different for the R12 and R134A systems, so finding where the 3rd wire goes would be a pain. If you can figure it out, great.
I'm being a lazy **** and got the whole evaporator out of a R12 car to put in my 93 and I'm just putting the rest of the system in from a 1994.

 

Well, I guess I can try and see the setup on the car that I'm taking it out from and kinda take it from...there I guess? Anyone else would know this answer?

So, the evaporator from a 92-93 still would work with 95 civic a/c components? Or can I still use the 2 wire sensor and plug it in the sensor where the 95 thermostat sits at?

 

TTT! Any other ideas? Anyone know if I can use the 2 wire plug on a 95 A/C evaporator? Or can I use the 92-93 evaporator still?

 

Make sure you get the full A/C system, as in the lines and everything from the 95.

It all swaps okay, but you can't use 93 lines with a 95 compressor. The lines have different bolt sizes. So make sure you get all the lines, the condenser and everything from the 95.

I just bought my compressor today and had to deal with that.

 

Yeah, I'll be sure to take all the parts that I need. The only problem that I will have to face is that when it is all said and done, how do I tap the 3rd wire into the 2 wire plug that I now have since my car is a older model vs where the earlier models come with 3 wire plug? It's the thermostat sensor. I was thinking that I could go to the wreck yard an pull off a r12 92-93 evaporator and plug it right up to my 2 wire plug and call it a day BUT, I know that the fittings for the A/C lines would not fit that yr for the evaporator. The r12 components are different from the r134. Does anyone know how this would work? I'm sure someone out there has done this so how would you go about this? Thx in advance guys.

 

ttt!!

 

Ok.....so upon doing some more research, I stumbled upon some more possible answers.

The 1st one is to take off the sub harness from the 95 A/C unit along with the 3 wire plug that goes into the A/C thermostat.

The 2nd one is to go to a wreck yard or purchase a new r12 92-93 A/C thermostat and replace the 94-95 A/C thermostat.

I'm going to try this out and see what the outcome is....I'll give results as soon as I can.

 

This works, as a matter of fact Honda released a bulletin for their service techs about this way back in the day, for installing a '94 - '95 A/C kit in a '92 - '93 civic. The harness is only about 3' long and its not hard to replace, just grab one off any '94 - '95 civic, doesn't even have to have A/C the plug you need is still there.

 

Thanks for finding that out, I did not know that. The two look the same to me, but I've never compared them side by side.

 

Cool, I'm trying this route first before I make any other attempts for the 2nd option. It should work with no problems. It should be finished by this coming Mon or Tues. Thx a bunch for the confirmation!

 

Ok, so here's the update guys. Replaced the receiver/dryer, drained out old pag oil from compressor and added 6 oz of new pag oil to compressor and I had everything installed with the sub harness from a 95 civic and it worked out perfectly. I haven't yet taken the car or tried myself to vacuum the system out yet. I just did a test run to see if everything was in working order: condenser Fan kicked on when climate control was turned on, A/C light button worked when engaged BUT, Compressor clutch was not engaging when A/C was turned on....?? I don't know what's going on there but, I'm taking it to a Professional A/C shop 1st thing tomorrow to see if maybe, the compressor clutch is not engaging due to no pressure in the system.
Anyone with any possible ideas? I really hope it is not the compressor!

 

TTT!!! Anyone with a logical answer or suggestion before I take this to a mechanic? Should I vacuum the system out first and hope that the compressor clutch will engage or should I opt out to prepare and spend more money on a new or rebuilt compressor?

 

there is a pressure sensor on the compressor that would cause the clutch to not kick in if there is no pressure in the system, if im not mistaken.

 

I see. So would evacuating the system help that and turn back on the clutch? I hope this would be it! Thx for the info!

 

Ok, so I came back from the shop and turns out that my compressor IS working after we jumped it but, was not getting any charge to power the clutch, then for some reason, my High side has so much pressure he measured it at 400 psi!!! Normally it should be around 100-250psi at most. My low side was good and average around 35-45psi.
My shop guy said that he can diagnose it and find out what the problem was but, will charge me $68 an hr! I was like, ummm...can I think about it then get back to you?? He mentioned that it could be one or two things: Dryer or expansion valve which is causing the real high pressure to the High side.
Everything I bought is used except for the expansion valve and dryer. Could there be something else that is causing this? I would like some definite answers from you guys before I go ahead and spend lots of money...PLEASE HELPPPP!!!!!

 

i heard the the ac stuff form a coupe dont fit the hatch but i could be wrong

 

I'm sure that it fits regardless of sedans to coupes to hatchs'.

 

A little late to the game here for me to help you with your current problem (post #22), but there is an A/C guru on this board, check his post here: https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/%5Bfaq%5D-how-charge-your-c-air-conditioner-conditioning-system-home-1665946/ . He will probably be able to help you.

As for your thermostat problem, perhaps you have resolved it, perhaps not. The tricky thing might be not knowing the wiring circuit diagrams. I have attached below the A/C wiring diagrams for a 92 Civic (R-12) and a 95 Civic (R-134a). Comparing one to the other, you should be able to figure out which wires to tap into to adapt your old 2-wire thermostat connector to the new 3-wire one.

My question for you is where and when did you add your refrigerant oil and how much did you put in? Did you do a flush of the system first? I can't seem to find any information on this. Or, does the A/C tech add the refrigerant oil after he vacuums out the system?