91 CRX Si with no AC. Took apart the suspension to replace boots along with rebuilding my 5 speed and now that those are done I'm moving on to the AC. AC has never worked in the 2 years I have had the car. System is fully charged and has no leaks, and the AC fan turns on when in press the AC button, but the compressor never engages. Compressor relay is fine, so I'm kinda stumped as to why the compressor would not turn on. Is it the electric clutch on the compressor thats letting me down? If thats true, is there a way to just replace the clutch or am I barking up the wrong tree and I should just replace the whole compressor? (Matushita compressor for more specific information).

Thanks!

 

bump?

 

You can replace the clutch, but it might not be just the compressor, check to see if the compressor is froze up. take the belt off and see if the pulley will spin freely

 

Took off the belt and turned the compressor by hand. Spins well with no hesitation. Any ideas where i could just get a clutch? Its a matsushita.

 

Are all AC related fuses okay? If fuses are bad, start looking for shorts.

Unplug the 1-pin connector going to the compressor. Carefully run a wire from the battery + to the connector on the compressor. When you touch it, you should hear the clutch click on. When you let go, you should hear it click off. If this IS the case, you have an open in the clutch control wire somewhere. On the other hand, if you get a big spark, the open is in the wire on the compressor itself (I had this).

If you hear nothing at all, that is a good sign the clutch is toast. replace it. Problem is, these are expensive parts from Honda. $60 for the clutch coil, and $130 for clutch itself: http://www.hondapartsnow.com/Page_Pr...%20(Matsushita)

Could be easier to replace the entire compressor.

 

Thanks 94eg! Ill be sure to try that. Put my volt meter to the top of the clutch and it wasn't getting any power. So if there is a short it could be in the control wire.

 

The compressor relay is grounded directly by the ECU. You need to follow the flow chart on pages 15-30 thru 15-32 in the shop manual to figure out the exact problem. Here is the wiring diagram: