I have a '92 LX with the 1.5L and auto. If I have the A/C off the car runs fine with no problems. If I turn the A/C on it will bog pretty bad when I try to take off from a stop light or sign or when I pull into traffic. It is bad enough I have to feather the throttle or just turn the A/C off until I'm going again. Once I'm moving I can turn the A/C back on with no problems. I looked into the IACV and the FITV but the symptoms I saw all listed fast/erratic/roaming/etc idle which I don't have. No CEL either. Is there something else that controls the idle or do I need to go ahead and check out those parts?

Thanks,

Derek

 

A friend of mine had a simalair problem. in his case it was the spark plug was bad, ran fine with ac off but when it was on no good.

 

I haven't checked them but my plugs should be fine. The engine is rebuilt (bored with new pistons/rings/bearings and reman head) and when I did that I put in new plugs, wires, cap, rotor, fuel filter, timing belt, coolant hoses, etc. Doesn't use any oil. All of that work is around 16,000 miles old.

 

Does the condenser fan run when the A/C is on? Is the condenser clogged with road debris?

 

i had the same problem with my sol,
i had to change the expansion valve for my car
then it worked fine with the ac on

 

my 94 ex bogged and almost stalled at idle with the ac on.. all i did was let some pressure out the low pressure thing and it fixed it

 

Yes, the fan starts as soon as I turn on the A/C. There are a lot of bugs in the condenser...would that cause higher pressures/loads? I could pull the fan off and power wash through from the engine side?

What kind of pressure readings were you getting with the stuck expansion valve? I bought gauges and a vacuum pump this year so I could redo the Civic's A/C as well as a couple of my other cars but it is a learning process for me.

It idles...just doesn't accelerate.

 

Clean the bugs out of the condenser with a garden hose and soft brush.

 

Ok, I'll try to do that in the next day or two and will report back. Thanks!

 

welcome to the SOHC world lol

 

Ah, I like them...just never had working A/C until this summer. Originally bought a wrecked '94 DX that burnt oil, wrecked again, rebuilt the engine, etc. Just a daily driven beater. Then I found my '92 LX for a good price so I swapped the engine and all of the new or better condition parts over. This is the first problem I've had since I put the engine in 11,000 miles ago. The body just turned over 250K.

 

ohh i meant that our d series barely have the power to run the car and when u turn on the ac going uphill or at freeway speeds you can hella tell the difference. is like something is pulling you back lol

 

is the ac blowing cold? be sure the compressor isn't locked up. but if that is the case you would most likely hear/smell the crank pulley eating the belt

 

I have the same issue and havent checked expansion valve or condenser fan. No debris in the condenser but Im unsure where the valve is? Any help please! Thanks

 

I finally got a chance to work on it last night. Pulled the fan off and pulled the condensor away from the radiator support. Soaked it with a garden hose sprayer on "mist" then sprayed through it with water, used a brush, then blew through it with air. I didn't get a lot out of it but a fair amount of bugs. Just took it for a drive and it seemed to be better. I took today off so I'll see next week if it bogs in the typical spots on the way home from work. I really didn't think it would be that simple! Thanks!

 

Condensor fan is easy to check and will make a big difference. If your expansion valve is messed up your hi/lo side pressures will be way off. Have you had a gauge set hooked up to see what the pressures are? That'll tell you if you need to have it recharged as well.

 

i have a 95 civic with auto and a d15b2 with mpfi and my car dies at idle with the ac on what could cause this

 

That was going to be my answer. My car is really slow with the A/C on, it almost wants to stall when I let the clutch out to get going if I don't get on the gas a good bit. I always figured it was just adding the A/C strain to the 100 hp D16...

 

Does it run good (smooth, correct idle, etc) with the A/C off?

 

yes it is only when the ac is on i try not to use the ac unless im on the highway that fixes my problem

 

Ron has told me that it could be from not properly vacuuming my system when I've recharged. Because mine will bounce from 400 back to idling pressure like every second, much like a bubble of air is running through the system.

 

by the end of the week im goning to be taking my car to my ac class and if i find the problem ill post how to fix

 

ever figure this one out?