Hey everyone, I was hoping I could get some help for my daughters civic. I noticed today the A/C compressor always stays on when the A/C is running. A coworker said the compressor should actually cycle on and off, but mine is always on. Any ideas on what could be the problem? I just realized the compressor is always running, even when the A/C is off. Any ideas?

Also is the compressor supposed to come on only when the A/C button on the controller is pressed?

 

Is the A/C button always lit even after pressing the button?

 

Nope, it turns on and off like it should. The condenser fan turns on and off when I hit the A/C button though, which I think is right.

 

Do you know how to depin a connector?

 

Yeah.

 

Unplug ECU connector A, and then remove pin A17 (Blk/Red wire). Tape the free pin to insulate it from grounding on anything. Plug de-pinned connector A back into the ECU. Check whether the A/C compressor is now off.

If de-pinning A17 turned the compressor off, then re-pin A17 and de-pin C5 (Blu/Red wire) in ECU connector C. Insulate free pin C5 from grounding. Plug de-pinned connector C back into the ECU, and again check whether the A/C compressor is now off.

 

Thanks for the help. I'll try this when I get home from work today.

 

Okay I started to look at this just now and I have to apologize. I gave you the wrong symptoms. The clutch does engage and disengage when I turn the A/C button on and off. The problem is when it's on the clutch is always engaged. It never cycles off and on again while running the A/C. Sorry for wasting your time chasing the wrong issue. I'm also having an overheating issue I was gonna make another post for. Any way they could be related?

 

Probably a low charge.. Could also be the unit on it's way out.

 

Does the A/C blow cold?

Sounds like the A/C thermostat plugged into the evaporator may be bad. It controls the normal cycling on and off of the fan and clutch.

Create a separate thread for the overheating problem. Edit - I see you already did.

 

I would think the A/C should be colder than what it is, but it's not bad. Anyway to test the A/C thermostat before replacing it?

 

My recommendation is that you solve the overheating issue before spending any time on the A/C issue.

 

Tested the A/C thermostat with the test above and that worked. I'm starting to wonder if it's just not getting cold enough and that's why the compressor is always engaged. Any one know what numbers I should be getting for the low and high sides when checking the A/C?

 

What are your temps in the car when driving and when at idle?

 

When I'm moving I get to about 70deg and at idle it warms up to 80deg.

 

Your A/C is NOT working.

 

Well I realize that, lol. I filled it with freon the other day and the low side was at 40psi and high side was 200psi. Is that too low?

 

You might have a leak, condensor got hit by a a rock, condensor fan is not functioning at max speed.