i have a question . where does this red wire with the plug attached go to ? and is this the clutch relay for the compressor? because the clutch on my AC compressor is not spinning and i believe this is the culprit. but i just wanna know everyone else's opinion

 

also, i tried reading the pressure from both high and low side and there are NOOOO pressure readings at all. i turn the A/C to max and hit the A/C button but i hear no clutch engagement. the fan and everything works also. what i noticed is that the red wire that i mentioned above doesn't have the connector and is just wrapped around another wire in the AC relay. every other connection looks fine and is properly hooked up. so heres a question. do u guys think that my car is just low on freon? due to NOO pressure on either hose. i did try and recharge with one can just to see if it'll kick on but nooo luck at all with that. just checked the fuse under the dash and all seems well. also checked under the hood and all seems well. im lost .... help ?

 

NOBODY HAS ANY INPUT?

 

?????????????

 

i think it is to the relay..go to a junk yard and take a look..what kind of car do you have

 

The red lead is the power supply lead for the A/C clutch, [MM&Y of car would help].

Power to the A/C clutch is supplied by the A/C clutch relay, [engine bay fuse box most cars], trigger for the A/C clutch relay can be from the ECU/ECM or directly from the A/C pressure switch, [again, MM&Y of car would help].

No pressure on either the high or low sides is definitely an indication of no refrigrerant, [R12 pre 94 or R134A 94-up, not freon].

Please tell me you did not put RedTec or Duracool or any one of those DIY cans that have the sealers and other junk in them into the system.

If the system is empty it is a good bet you have a leak. 94

 

thanks for the replies guys

i have a 1997 honda civic ex coupe
i have checked the underhood fuse box and nothing seems to be out of place, everything is there and nothing seems corroded or anything. i have not checked the pressure switch because i have no idea where that is and i havent checked the ecu [thanks for pointing that out]

as to the no pressure, i had a feeling i had a leak but was not too sure because due to my research, i have not found anything talking about "no pressure" in the system so i had no clue as to what was the problem. And no, i have a buddy who has a tanker of refrigerant so i had him put in refrigerant for about 7 minutes just to see if pressure would build up and if the compressor would kick on.

 

sounds like you need to take your car to a professional. a "buddy who has a tanker of refrigerant" sounds ghetto and you have no idea what he just put into your system or how much. if that compressor comes on it could cause some serious damage because it could be overcharged.

 

thanks for the thought but my buddy has been working on ac's for more than ten years and he has a shop. but on the other note, only reason i put refrigerant into the system is because the guy i bought my car from said that all it needed was for a recharge so i took his word and thats all i tried. i had no idea that it might be leaking or anything. this is my first car with AC. i've had like 5 hondas all without ac or ps so im new to this and tryna do as much research as possible and im sorry if i am making some stupid mistakes ...

 

If your buddy has a shop he should have nitrogen to do a pressure leak test with, if not he should get some, it is a must for A/C troubleshooting.
Also I am not so sure your buddy knows what he is doing when it comes to A/C, although I am not sure what you mean by, "i had him put in refrigerant for about 7 minutes" but it takes less the 30sec. to put a full refrigerant charge into a full size SUV with a dual system, so 7 min. is an awful long time. 94

BTW a cylinder of nitrogen is cheap, about $30, good for 20-30 tests, we charge $20 for a test, do the math, it is worth it for your buddy.

 

Your buddy should know about DYE for leak checking, charge up the HI side, put in some dye, make the compressor come on by hot wiring the red wire to the battery through a fuse, make damn sure there is always some pressure in the system, if it all leaks out quickly then dont use a hotwire, let it cool off after a couple of minutes and cycle the compressor several times to pump the charge of dye through the system then do a visual scan for the leaking dye, remembering that it may leak where you cant see, so does your friend have a sniffer, if so, forget the dye and start sniffing. A good buddy would hook you up and you would not need to deal with us here.