1997 no Honda Civic LX. just replaced compressor and dryer. Took to a neighborhood shop to have it vacuumed and recharged. Only to find the condenser fan not coming on. the owner of the shop said i needed to replace the fan.
I did check the relay and fuse and found both to be working. So i replaced the fan. This did not fix
my problem. further sleuthing i discovered i don't have any power to the fan. SO what do i check next? ground is intact, got power to the fan, it works, so does the old one for that matter. Is there a limit switch i can check and how. Thanks for any help on this matter.
Just fyi, jack the care up and pull the fan out from the bottom, its much easier that way.

 

would check relay, fuse, and wiring.

 

Relay is good, fuse is good , wiring appears to be good. What controls the fan? What's telling the fan to kick on when you turn on the a/c in idle and turns it off when your driving?? This I feel is my problem.
thanks again for your input.

 

Does the compressor come on?

The controls are very simple. If the pressure switch is closed, both the fan and the compressor should start when the A/C button is pressed. The condenser fan will run whenever the compressor is on. Unlike some cars, the Civic has no system to turn it off while it isn't really needed because the car is moving.

If you have the compressor on but not the fan it would have to be something bad in the underhood fuse box or wiring. The compressor and the fan are powered from the same fuse.

 

This.

 

Yes the compressor comes on, it's new and appears to be operating correctly. And will stay on/or cycle on/off appropriately without the fan ever coming on. I had to cool the condenser with a water hose, while running the a/c, to prove this.

I have since wired the condenser to the fuse box and installed a switch through the glove box. I drove last night, first with fan on at all times with the AC on. But slowly went from cold to cool to warm air. Rechecked pressures- both within normal operating limits.

Drove the car a second time only this time I would switch off the fan when driving and turn it on at stops. This method kept the air cold throughout my drive, downright chilly.

I don't wish to continue driving this way and would like a permanent fix.

So again, any insight or information is always welcomed and appreciated,
Thank You, Frank

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The wiring runs from the AC switch in cabin, to the relay, to the pressure switch on the dryer, to the connector on the condensor fan, to the compressor clutch.

Send 12volts to the fan to see if it comes on with direct power. Im not sure what happened to ron@ht but if you search on Google these terms in the search box "1996 Civic condensor fan wiring site:honda-tech.com". You will find the diagram.

 

Thanks C-kid,
I found the diagram and discovered I have no power to the condenser relay. I can run 12 volts to the condenser fan, and have done this looped thru a switch I installed in the cabin as mentioned earlier.
When i turn on the a/c the compressor comes on and then I have to bypass the relay to run the condenser fan. Now this has me thinking its the a/c pressure switch on the dryer. What are your thoughts? And how can i test the pressure switch.
always appreciated, Frank

 

No it is not the ac pressure switch, because its kicking on your compressor as it should.

You said this, you'll need to go back and confirm. From the fuse, to the relay, to the fan. If you're getting 12v at the fan then check the ground.

 

I am not getting 12v to the fan, in fact not even getting 12v to the relay. So hunted down the a/c diode under the left drivers side kick panel and identified a four slot connector taped to the large wiring harness (which is where I was directed to find the diode) the slots are empty, no diode.

Am going to try and jump the connector and see if I get power to the relay then fan.

 

Here's a pic of the connector I believe the a/cc diode should be. The connector has a thin wire with a white stripe, a red wire with a green stripe, an 2 white wires going to it.

My plan is to jump 1 set of slots and see if this get me power to the relay in the engine compartment fuse box.

 

last post should have read thin "red" wire with a white stripe.

i jumped each of the slots, still no power to the the condenser fan relay in the fuse box, even jumped both simultaneously..each time with the key in the on II position, still no power to the relay. the relay is good, you can hear the clicking of it opening and closing when jumped with 12v. Any ideas on what to try next? I will hit up some parts stores tomorrow for a diode but what i have read from other threads not even the dealer sales them. So i may make a trip to a junk yard. I posted a pic of the connector where I
think the diode should be in last post. I open for any suggestions at this point. thanks a million, frank

 

When you say "no power to the relay" do you mean the coil side or the contact side.

One end of the coil has power whenever the key is on from the same circuit that runs the other A/C controls. The other end of the coil is grounded when A/C is turned on. There may be a diode involved in that path.

One side of the contacts has power all the time from the nearby fuse that also runs the compressor. The other contact, of course, goes to the fan.

If you remove the relay and jump across the sockets that are the contacts, fan should start even with the key off.

Stuff taped up to the harness with that thin blue tape is generally from the factory, likely nothing was ever plugged in there.

 

Thanks for replying. There is no power to either side of the relay, nada. The wiring schematic does show a diode in line before the condenser relay. Which is why (and I theorize) the compressor comes on and not the fan.

The pic in the earlier post is where I was directed to look for the diode but not what I expected to find, although the colored wires match the schematic.

I will try to jump the contacts later this morning but don't feel confident it will work as I have no power to start with.

Thanks for the input, keep it coming,
Won't stop still I figure it out Frank

 

If there's no power to the contact side, but the compressor works (thus the compressor relay has power), the fuse box itself must be bad.

 

Mk, I apologize for tester error yesterday. I tested the coil side to ground on both sides with key in II position and both sides recorded 12v. Tested contact side and have 12v to one side - key on or off. Still no fan when I jumped the contact side.

Hope this helps you to help me narrow my search down. Thanks again. Frank

 

Summary, I do have power at the fan condenser relay (both legs of the coil side with in II position) and power to 1 leg of the contact side. No power to the fan. Compressor comes on.

​​​​​So a break in the line from the relay to the fan?? What's the best approach to tracking this down??

Sounds like a tedious job.

 

If you jump the contact side, does the fan run?

 

1. Place the AC condenser fan relay back in the fuse/relay box.
2. At the AC thermostat (located behind the glove box), unplug the connector. Insert one end of a spare piece of wire into the cavity terminal with the Blu/Wht wire (Blue wire with white stripe) and ground the other end of the spare wire to chassis ground (bare metal).
3. Turn the ignition to the ON (II) position.
4. Does the AC condenser fan run?

 

Jumped a wire from a/c thermostat behind glove box (blue wire w/white stripe) to ground, key position to II, condenser fan did not turn on.

 

Try to find a different area for ground. Where you are touching may not be a ground source.

 

Will try tomorrow, the misses is wanting to go out tonight. I'll rig up a proper jump and go to designated ground.

Thanks again for all your support., Frank

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Tech/mk,
Cut a longer jump, grounded to the battery ground. Other end to blue wire w/white stripe on a/c thermostat. Key in II position... condenser fan did not come on.

Started the engine, blower in the off position (a/c off), the compressor did kick on, still no condenser fan.

Hope this helps yall to help me, Frank

 

I know you already did some tests for power at the under-hood fuse/relay box; but, do the following to confirm.

1. Remove the condenser fan relay.
2. Measure the voltage at relay cavity terminal no. 2. Is there battery voltage?
3. If there is battery voltage at cavity terminal no. 2, use a wire or small paper clip and jump cavity terminal no. 2 to cavity terminal no. 1. Does the condenser fan run?

 

Pulled fan relay, have 12+v to the #2 pin.
jumped relay contact #1 & #2, fan did not come on.

​​​​​​Continued following the alogryhthm: Checked continuity from the #1pin (white) from the 4P condenser relay to the #1 pin (white) 2P connector going to the fan......NO continuity!!

Lastly checked continuity from the #2 pin on the 2P fan connector to ground and DID have continuity.

What is your best guess where I look for a break in the #1 to #1 relay to fan connector. Or what's the best approach to tracking it down.

And one other thing, I keep bringing up this diode that shows to be between the condenser fan and relay, however it hasn't received much attention in this thread. Should I forget the theory that this diode is my problem?

Gentlemen, as always. Your time, attention, and knowledge is greatly appreciated. Frank.