Hey guys so here is the story, its long but I would appreciate it. thanks

I bought a civic 2002 lx with 120k miles. After getting it checked out I found out the A/c needed to get recharged because it was not working properly. Other then that everything checked out. After 2-3days of using the a/c, after using it for like 10mins when ever I released the clutch I got a huge screeching sound, this sound was loudest from gear 1-2 and got quieter going into the higher gears, not sure if that matters because the time i take to release the clutch is faster in the higher gears. Note the A/c still worked at this point, until about day 5 when it completely stopped working but the sound stopped now.

So onto the next problem, now after dropping my brother at the airport I pulled off to the side of the road to set my gps, while the car is still running I turn on the heat to defog my windshield, my heat works despite my a/c not working, after about 2mins I try to pull out, back onto the highway, after hitting about 4-5k rpm my car felt like it was getting constantly downshifted and my engine light came on. I pulled off to the side again and turned my car off and then back on. The check engine light remained on but I could drive it normally until I hit that 4k rpm and it suddenly went into its down shifting phase and I could only hit like 20mph. So I pulled in-front of a school and pop'ed the hood for any unusually sounds, which in this case was none and I contemplated about calling a towing service, I am 1 hour from my house at this point. So I turn my car off for about 5mins and check the oil. It is alittle lower then normal but not low enough to cause problems, and my engine wasn't over heating. So I found a auto zone place nearby on my location on my iphone and figured I can chug it out to there being 5 miles away, so after I turn my car on I turned the defogger for my windshield off. After starting from the school parking lot I was being careful to keep my rpm's under 3k, after about a block the check engine light went off. Still being careful I made it to the autozone and had them check for any error codes, Only one came back as a Top Dead center error, the guy didnt know what it was but said that a check engine light was normal for civics of my year if it had "low" oil. On the way home it drove normally even at the higher rpm's with no problems, so im at a loss here. So now here I am, any clues on this gents?

Do you think my 2 problems are related?

 

I wonder if the noise related to the a/c was the clutch on the compressor going out? Your second problem sounds like it went into limp mode from what I have heard about it. As far as the TDC error could be a failing sensor. Has it ever come back on?

 

no it hasn't come back on yet, and I have been riding it a little bit harder at a time, so I dont know if it was only a one time thing. Or if it will happen unknowingly down the road, I haven't touched my ac or heating since ths incident so IDK im at a loss lol

 

Was the noise consistently screaching, or only when releasing the clutch pedal? Anyhow .. since the noise has stopped when the A/C quit working, it was probably the compressor clutch assembly. You'll need to inspect it. Does the compressor still work, or has it died entirely?

The car not going above 4k or 20mph means it is in Limp Mode, which was triggered by something. From what you've posted about AutoZone's findings, it was likely P1361 or P1362. You should write it down next time.

Anyhow, P1361 is Camshaft Position (CMP) (Top Dead Center (TDC)) Sensor Intermittent Interruption.

P1362 is Camshaft Position (CMP) (Top Dead Center (TDC)) Sensor No signal.

Try resetting the ECU by either disconnecting the battery or removing fuse #6 from the fuse box under the hood. Wait a minute before reinstalling the fuse or reconnecting the battery.

If that doesn't help, or if the MIL (check engine light) comes back on, have it scanned again and post the code(s) here.

 

Thanks for your response. I cant tell if it is completely dead, Im guessing not because after my mechanic recharged my system it worked fine, now its back to blowing air the same temperature as outside the car. As far as the sound it was only when I released the clutch it made the sound. Sorry about not getting the code down the guy at auto zone said that that code was unimportant, yea my fault for listening to him.

 

You probably have a leak in the AC system.

The noise associated with the clutch is likely either the joint where the slave cylinder meets the release fork, or the master cylinder. Click this link for more info.

 

How do I replace the resistor in an 02 civic lx. I looked at pictures posted here, but it's not the same. Are their any diagrams on here?

 

What resistor are you talking about?

No one posted pictures, btw. If you're referring to the link, that's for the clutch, in which case there is no resistor.

 

Actually, I'm good to go now! The problem was my AC stopped, the blower wasn't working, so I had to replace the fan motor resistor. It was easy once I figured out where it was. I couldn't find any pictures, drawings, scematics, anything. Finally, I found one little picture on here... the only problem was it was toward the middle of the car and not next to the door, where the other picture showed. I knew the car year wasn't the same, but since it was the only picture or anything I could find, I had to use that.... And, I was given a free number to call for help. I sure appreciate my AC even more now!!

 

I had a similar problem occur in late '09 and didn't figure it out (well work on it) until last Summer. We figured it was just the resister so we replaced it then within a week blew out again. We ended up replacing the resister and the blower motor (found one on ebay) and i haven't had an issue since.