I am not a mechanic, so I am hoping maybe if I explain my issues here some Honda tech could tell me exactly whats going on so I don't have to have my car towed to a mechanic. My car is a 2002 Civic Si and it is having a/c issues. Something has caused my compressor to stop and has torn my serpentine belt.

It started off with just the A/C sometimes going out. Sometimes the blower worked, but no a/c. Sometime it would not even blow. The rest of the time I had cold a/c. Next, my engine light came on. I don't remember the exact code from my scanguage, but it had to do with the throttle position threshold. At the time, I had no idea it could be related to the a/c, and figured that the TPS just needed to be readjusted since it was just replaced a couple months ago. About 3 days ago I started hearing a weird noise from under the hood like something grinding or rubbing. I googled that and one of the first things that came up was some stuff about the compressor clutch. I went out to the car and cranked it up and found that the noise would silence when I turned the a/c ON. So, I opened up my service manual pdf and started reading the compressor clutch circuit troubleshoot section. The first step was to check two fuses, and sure enough fuse no. 1 under the hood was blown. Step number 2 was to check throttle position sensor, which already was setting a DTC as mentioned earlier. I drove up the street to Advance to buy fuses, popped a new one in and came home. Unfortunately, I could smell burning rubber before I even got there. Got home and found that the noise was gone, but when I popped my hood I found my busted serpentine belt.

So, with all the info given maybe one of you sharp mechanics can diagnose the cause of the stopped compressor, blown fuse, and throttle position trouble code. I even read that low refrigerant levels can cause the compressor to shut off. It seems logical that this could have happened, somehow causing amperage to build up on the fuse, blowing it, which set off the DTC for the TPS. Seems even more logical that my relay is just bad, but I am no mechanic so it could be anything. I plan to test it tomorrow, but if its not the relay I could definitely use a professional opinion.

 

Anybody?

I finally got around to testing my relays this morning and they are fine. My new drive belt came in today. I installed it and cranked the car up for about 3 seconds to see what happens. Fuse 1 (a/c fan) blew again. (I read that this is also the fuse for compressor clutch.) My next step is to find a ride to wal-mart to get a can of refrigerant then recharge the system. My question is, would low R-134a levels cause my fuse to pop, or am I looking at some other problem? Also, if the fuse is popping when I crank the car will the system even take the refrigerant?

 

Noal, if you search "A/C compressor" on ephatch.com you'll find several threads dealing with failed compressors and pulleys. You'll be able to compare what you've written here with the failures described there. You'll also find DIY guides, schematics and specific part numbers. You'll probably end up replacing your compressor.