Hi all -

Anyone know/can point me to the chip which handles the a/c circuit?
Several years ago I was told the chip that handled the a/c was bad but the a/c worked if you 'jumped' it (so power was always flowing). Never bothered to replace because hey, small car with windows, but may need to sell it now so would like to get this working.

Any help/pointers greatly appreciated.

 

You need to give more information. The voltage from the compressor clutch relay grounds on the ECU to signal the ECU to raise the idle speed when the A/C is on. Is the ECU the chip you are referring to?

 

Honestly don't know, the papers don't say much so I am casting from memory. The ECU does quite a bit, doesn't it? My memory is that the techs (not Honda guys) told me it was a chip that was fried, and if the ECU was fried I'd have bigger problems, correct? I had the impression it was a secondary unit, and they offhandedly mentioned that it would cost about $1000 to replace.

Thanks much Ron, you've already given me something to investigate.

 

The ECU is multifunctional and individual functions can fail while others continue to work fine.

Edited: As you are not sure what's wrong, start with the basics. Is 20A hood fuse 56 or 7.5A dash fuse 17 blown? When the A/C button is pushed with the vent fan on, does the button light turn on? Does the condenser fan run? Does the compressor clutch engage?

 

It will probably take me about a week to have time to check these, my many & sincere thanks in the interim.

 

The fuses are good, the light comes on at the button, the fan does not start, and I am unsure of how to tell if the compressor clutch engages -- still looking for that info.

However I see no difference when the ac button is on or off (visible/audible change at the compressor/speed of the belts) so my assumption would be that it is not engaging.

 

I posted the wrong circuit diagram. See edited post #4. Check hood fuse 56 and dash fuse 17.

If you swap the condenser fan relay and the compressor clutch relay in the hood fuse box, does the condenser fan now run?

If you unplug the A/C thermostat in the evaporator and jump the Blu/Wht wire to the Blu/Red wire in the plug, does the A/C now work?

 

1996 Del Sol fuse diagrams, I can't find a #56 in under hood fuse panel?

 

Below is for the Civic. Not sure if Del Sol is different.

 

Here's what I have for the 93-97 Del Sol's under hood panel (at least according to https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/civic-del-sol-fuse-panel-printable-copies-fuse-diagrams-here-1966666/ ) - 35 was for the condenser fan.



Currently looking to identify the location of the relays to swap them...

 

Oh okay. Go with your fuse box diagrams. It's more like a 5th gen Civic.

Check here for the relays:

 

I was not able to easily disconnect the one on the left (when facing the car) but I temporarily replaced the one on the right with the rear defogger relay, no change. I may need to continue this tomorrow, child care calls.... thank you immensely, again, for your help here.

 

Easy today with light ;-) but no appreciable change after swapping the two relays (I will say that the area / wires around them are somewhat oily/greasy for some reason, but I don't believe the relays themselves are impacted).

Anything else I can check, or should I be looking for either a replacement ECU or to get mine remanufactured?