First thing I should mention: I was told when I bought my car that the A/C was actually a dealer installed option... meaning it was an option on that model, and the owner took it back in to have A/C put on later... After nosing around a little, it seems like the whole install was pretty shoddy. especially the way they wired up some of the stuff in the front near the fan (not sure on the exact terminology here, but there are wires hanging down near the A/C radiator in the front that looked out of place.)

Anyway... so I've noticed that the fan on the A/C radiator on my car (95 civic EX) seems to never turn on. If I start the car up and let it idle, then turn the A/C on, that fan just sits there. Nadda. This causes problems because my A/C basically doesn't work at all as soon as I stop moving or slow down. It starts blowing warm air, which is pretty annoying. Also, is this type of behavior indicitive of a need for a "recharge" on the A/C system, or could it just be caused by the fan not being on? When I'm on the freeway, the system blows nice cool air with problems, so I'm thinking I just need to fix that fan.

So, does anyone know what could be causing this? I'm assuming it's a relay somewhere or something, but I'm not altogether sure where to start, and my Chilton's manual I have is pretty much useless. I have hooked the fan up directly to the battery, and it does work, so that portion can be ruled out. Can anyone tell me what I need to look for next? Is there a fuse for that fan somewhere that I'm missing?

Next problem: it seems like the A/C is a huge power robber. As soon as I turn it on, I the car just bogs down under normal driving conditions. If I'm on the highway and moving at a constant speed it's not that big of a problem, but once I need to accelerate at all, even downshifting is hardly helpful. I also notice that the car sort of "lurches" when the A/C is on... almost like the clutch engaging and disengaging on the A/C condensor causes the car to lose power suddenly, then regain it a few seconds later. Is this type of behavior normal, or is something funky going on here?

Anyone got any tips for me?

 

Well... figured out the first problem... fan relay. Tested both the compressor and fan relays, compressor one was good, so I swapped it in where the fan should be and the fan started right up as soon as I turned the A/C on, so I just gotta go to the dealership and get a replacement relay for that fan.

I'm still not sure what to do about the second problem, or if it even is a problem.... Anyone?