Ive been wanting to get the ac running on my civic. I had the lines vacuumed out and when we tried to fill it up it took only about 9oz or so. The clutch will not engage or anything. That was about 6 months ago, all the freon has since leaked out so I changed all the o-rings and tired to fill it up again. It does not leak since I changed the rings but still will only take about 9oz and the clutch will not engage. Last night I tried to jump the relay and make it engage but nothing happens. The 7.5 fuse under the dash is good and as far as I can tell the relays under the hood are too. I am going to pick up a voltmeter but I need to know how to test the relays and anything else. I dont want to go out and blow money on a compressor untill I have tried everything. Any help is appreciated.

 

Does the condenser fan run?

Check 20A hood fuse 56 and 7.5A dash fuse 17.

Describe in detail how you jumped the two hood relays.

 

i dont remember if the condenser fan kicked on or not but ill check tonight. The 20A fuse is good and the 7.5A under the dash is good. As far as jumping the relay my buddys dad (jack of all trades, master of none) pulled out the relay, took a jumper wire and made a straight connection to the pins in the fuse box. nothing ever happened when he did it tho. We did the same thing to my buddys passport so the clutch would engage and it would take more freon, and his works great now.

 

This is important to know.

What makes you certain?

There's 4 terminal sockets. What did he jump to what? Post pictures.

 

There just a reg fuse, clear where you can see the wire inside. There not broke.


he jumped each spot one at a time.

Im going to get some pics up in a few hours so it should make some more sense

 

Blown fuses are not always visible.

With key in ON(II), use a test light or multimeter to check whether 20A hood fuse 56 and 7.5A dash fuse 17 have battery voltage on both top test tabs. Click fuses link in my signature.

 

Ok got home and got some pics and tested the fuses. Both fuses are good, and the condenser fan kicks on when I turn the switch on.



The socket thats empty is the compressor clutch relay and my buddys dad was just putting a jump wire form one to another and trying all of them

 

If you switcth the fan and clutch relays, does the fan still run? Does the clutch now engage?

 

switched, fan still engages clutch dose not

 

Both relays are good.

Use a paperclip or piece of wire to jump terminal 1 to terminal 2 in the clutch relay socket. Turn the key to ON(II). Now use a multimeter to measure voltage to body ground at the red wire attached to the compressor. What is the reading?

 

Ill do that tonight and let you know

 

Ok I got the volt meter but when I went to test it I for a piece or the wire was wrapped in tape . Took it off and the wire was cut, I put a butt connector on it and the compressor kicked right on. The only problem now is I put a small can of freon in that i had and its still not getting cold but when I hit the gas a little the clutch will lock up make a knocking sound, unlock and continue to spin as the rpm come back to normal. I am assuming this means the compressor is still bad?

 

Any ideas?

 

Why did you add refrigerant without knowing whether or not it was low?

 

Have the system evacuated, pull a deep vacuum and put in the exact amount of refrigerant required by the system. There may be a sticker under the hood with the amount required.

All the civics I've dealt with took either 500-550 or 600-650 grams depending on the system. I put 530 grams in my 95 and it blows ice cold.

Also the condition of your receiver/dryer, compressor and condenser will affect the system performance. While the system is empty consider replacing those. Its a bitch but way worth it on hot days.

 

The system was empty from when i got it vaccumed out b4 i started troubleshooting it and i changed all the o rings. As far as adding it i read the directions on the bottle and turned the gauge to the correct temp but after about half the can it read over full. Everywhere i ask (advance, autozone, local ac mechanics) it takes right at 23oz of freon.


Im going to get it re vaccumed all the way out tomorrow. The cars been through some hell and i doubt the 2 previous owners cared much about regular maintenance. If I do need a compressor I will go ahead and get the dryer at least, is there any way to really tell if u need a condenser or is it just a good idea to do it while u have it all out?

 

usually when ac system only takes a small amount of freon it needs to be vacuumed down some more. atleast 30 mins..but id rec one hr since it was empty for so long