Hi all, so my 98 Type R is slowly working its way to the Type R graveyard, I swear. lol. Every year something on it is failing. This year its the A/C. Removing it is not an option here in VA, summers are a beast here. Granted my R has become a drive it whenever car, since getting my Passat TDI, my R just sits in the garage now. So I took it out a few weeks ago, and it was raining, windows were fogging, so I went to turn on the A/C and no cold air. Thought first it needed refrigerant, although it has never need refridgerant EVER for its 16 yrs of existence. Long story short, theres no power going to the compressor. My friend put power directly to the compressor and boom it kicks in and blows cold as a ****.

My issue is, electrical troubleshooting is not my thing. So I need enlightenment on where to start, and where the issue could lie, or if this a common thing with DC2's. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

EDIT: I remember my friend (technician) saying the pressure switch is good.

 

Was refrigerant evacuated and drawn to a vacuum?
How many ounces of refrigerant were drawn out of system?

Compressor clutch will not engage unless a minimum amount of refrigerant is in system. It may be below that threshold.
16 years with no a/c problems is dang good. May be low on refrigerant or other issue.

RR

 

Check your a/c compressor relay (should be in the fuse box) first. If it's not that then check the pressure switch and work your way back to the control panel.
If you get all the way back to the controls, ground the a/c wire and see if it comes on..

 

Refrigerant was added, not sure how much, my buddy was doing it. I think he said it was a bit low. That's the first time ever that refrigerant was added. Nothing was drawn out at all, meaning we didn't attempt to draw anything out, just added to the system. Thanks for the reply!

The 7.5A fuse is good, I'll have to check the relay you mention, I thought my buddy checked it, but I'll check again. So here is where my knowledge gets shakey, if the condenser fan comes on when the a/c is turned on, does that mean the pressure switch is good? My buddy ran power directly to the compressor from the battery and it kicked on and the a/c blew pretty damn cold. I have a feeling its going to be something in the controls, but what could possibly go bad if it is the control unit? I'm not knowledgeable enough to know, lol. Thanks for your help my friend!

 

if the fans are coming on when you turn the a/c button on then the control side is good (ecu is commanding it on) along with the pressure (at least to run). No voltage at the compressor def check that relay and work your way back...

 

I don't want to assume, but is it the "heater motor relay"? And I did find one leak so far. The low side Schrader valve is leaking, I can see the oil or die slowly bubbling.

EDIT: I think its the MG. CLUTCH RELAY that I should be checking, correct?

Thanks a lot TODAwhore, much appreciated!

 

yeah the mg clutch one...

 

Great, Thanks again!

 

Got to finally checking on that relay, the relay is good. There is a small leak from the low side schrader valve. I also tried following the troubleshoot procedure in the service manual, but I don't think I knew enough to do the procedure correctly.

 

I had a issue with my a/c on my 98 years back. It turned out to be a plug that was not connected completely under the dash. Because a/c was dealer installed in 97-98, iirc there is a extra connection under the dash.

check the plug under the dash on the passenger side where it connects in the ecu area.

 

I'm not sure what the connection would look like but I'll take a look. Did your a/c not work from the get go? Or was it working and suddenly stopped working? Mine was working last year, then this year when I went to use it again, was not working. Just seems odd that a connection would come undone, but you never know I guess. Thanks for the suggestion! I'll look under there.

 

my a/c doesnt work in mine either..



although im pretty sure that i had something to do with that lol..

 

When I first purchased the caR it worked fine. A couple years later it stopped all of a sudden. Checked for leaks etc.
My friend who is a tech at Acura started checking all the wiring connections. He found one that had worked its way loose. Probably not 100% connected to begin with. I remember him saying that there was a extra plug under the dash b/c our cars a/c was dealer installed and not factory, so it was for ease of installation.

 

I'll check around under there as well, although I have no clue what to look for, lol. Hopefully it will just be obvious to me, if something is disconnected.

 

just take it out.. mine never came with

 

No way dude, VA summers are painful! lol!

 

yeah, theyre nothing compared to summer in florida..



and i have no ac...lol..

 

I don't know how some people can do DD without AC in florida, went without ac for a couple of years, but i was parking under a tree and my commute was less than 30 minutes so it was tolerable.

 

i dont think ill DD the R again..




as much fun as it would be...i dont need help losing weight.

 

THIS!!!

Alabama is no better. The air here won't move, it just feels like it sticks to you! I could easily stand 100 degrees but the humidity here can make 75 miserable in July and August. Even worse when it rains with no A/C and all the windows fog up making it very dangerous. Only way to stop that is pushing the defroster to full heat and sweat it out.

 

I hear that dude, FL summers are way worse than VA summers! lol! Luckily my commute that I do with my R is on 6 miles one way. I only drive it to work typically. I'll drive my Tahoe or my Grand Cherokee all other times. lol

 

if it isnt summer, its actually a really fun car to drive..



my commute is less than 5 miles probably.

 

A/C works in my R and Ive never turned it on aside from testing that it works, man up! :p

 

So just an update....there was one leak in the system and it was at the low side Schrader valve. Went ahead and replaced both Schrader valves. Then there were two issues electrically. The first was an open at the fuse box, a loose connection. I possibly blame it on my hard race engine mounts shaking it loose. And the 2nd issue was a shady condenser fan relay. I'll have to find out more from my technician buddy, about which connection came loose, so I can monitor it and if this happens again, that'll be the first thing to check I guess. Thanks to all that provided suggestions for troubleshooting!

UPDATE: Confirmed with my buddy that the 2 electrical issues were possibly just due to one. At first the loose was thought to be in the fuse box at the connections for the condenser fan relay, so my friend made the connections tighter, but as he went away from the car the a/c cut off. So he changed the relay to a new one and the a/c came on and stayed on. So its possible that the entire issue was just a bad condenser fan relay, but he can't be totally sure.

 

so i am dd'ing the R this week just to see, and yeah, no a/c in florida in the middle of summer = no fun...im sweating my *** off and im only in the damn car 15 minutes..