<FONT COLOR="red"><FONT SIZE="4">*UPDATE*</FONT> </FONT>

Problem was fixed. Turned out to be a bad compressor clutch and compressor clutch coil. So $390 later I finally have A/C. It's not extremely cold like I would prefer but I'm sure not gonna complain about it.


Ok. I did a search but didnt come up with anything pertaining to my problem unless I missed something outta the 152 threads.

Ok I turn on the A/C and the air is nice and cold then after driving a very short distance the air gets hot. I took it (92 civic si) to a friends shop yesterday but he couldnt figure it out. So far this is I know the relays are all in working condition (tested this morning), freon is on par, compressor works and then shuts off and never comes back on. Why does the compressor work but after driving a short distance does it cut off and never come back on? If anyone can help me with this problem I would be very appreciative.




Modified by awdwagon at 7:47 AM 7/9/2004

 

There may be a problem with the ECU in your car. Or something of that sort. I know at WOT or under heavy loads the Compressor will actually turn off. Sorry cant be of any much more help.

 

I have Hondata I wonder if that is the culprit. I called my tuner and they pulled my file and told me it is supposed to cut out at 5,000 rpm I am going to have them turn that off and see if that fixes my problem.

 

Give Hondata a call they will help you out the most.

 

called Hondata they are wortheless. I believe they just know enough to sell a product they make. They cant even tune their own product. Turbo XS can tune their unichip or UTEC Vishnu their programs etc. Hondata they sell a product? Thats my opinion on them.

 

It sounds like you have low pressure (not enough freon). There are pressure switches in the system. If the freon is low, once enough of the freon is pumped through and to the high side there can be a too low pressure on the low side. To protect the compressor from running dry, since the oil goes with the freon, it will shut off. Until pressure equalizes and then you can repeat that cycle.

I say check the pressure switches and recharge the system.

 

hmm. possibly. However today I took it back to my friends shop. He looked at and checked everything over and he seems to think the fan clutch on the compressor is bad. The A/C is nice and cold forever and works good until I put it under load (start driving) then the A/C compressor shuts down and never comes back on. he says that it doesnt have enough pressure to engage under load or something to that effect. However if that were the case the part I dont understand is why doesnt it engage when the car is just idleing again or when i turn it off and back on while idleing. I would assume that its strong enough to egage at least at idle like it has been doing as soon as I turn it on.

 

bump for more help

 

What are the pressures at? High side-130/150psi? Low side-35-45psi? I agree with the pressure switch issue mentioned before. But there was no mention of the high pressure switch in "boostin420" post. The high side pressure switch may be sticking closed causing the clutch not to operate. When the compressor stops working, check to see if you have battery voltage at the clutch coil. How much air gap is there on the clutch? If the gap is too much, the clutch coil may not be strong enough to hold the clutch after the compressor heats up from operating.

 

If the ac is cold at first and then shuts off it sounds like your evaporator is freezing up. ther is a thermo bulb inside the evaporator core and when it gets too cold it shuts off the compressor to keep the evap from freezing up...
Is the fan coming on? if the fan is not working it will cause high pressure and the compresor will also shut off.
And the clutch on the compressor is not for the fan!! that guys a moron...personally i think its freezing up and your thermo bulb is shuting off the system...it shoudl come back on when it heats up

 

Yea, I agree with that. The evap. for sure could be freezing up. I'd stick a thermometer in the center dash vent and see what the temp. is just before the compressor clutch disengages. If the temp is around 32 degrees, check for air flow problems-evaporator could be covered with debris-or the system has the incorect amount of freon.

 

Ok the Fans work everything works and the A/C will work forever UNTIL I start to drive as soon as I get into second gear thats it. The compressor shuts off and willnot restart. I can leave the car idle for 2hrs and it wont shut off but once I start to drive it shuts down the compressor. The temp was around 34 degrees in the center vent and pretty much stayed there. I dont see any frost come out or anything. Everything works Perfect until I drive then for some reason the damn compressor turns off. This has got me stumped. I can even rev the car at like 3k rpm for 15-20 mins and the damn think wont shut off put the car in gear pull out hit 4k rpm shift to second and as i go into 3rd she is done.

 

HVAC circuit operation:
Battery voltage is supplied at all times through fuse 35 to the A/C compressor clutch relay (contacts). When the ignition switch is in the ON position, battery voltage is supplied through fuse 13 to the A/C compressor clutch relay (coil), ECM, condensor fan relay (coil) and the A/C thermostat to open the contacts on the A/C switch.
When you push the a/c switch, and the blower switch is turned to the lo, m1,m2 or high position, the ECM receives an "a/c request" on input. The ECM is grounded through the a/c and blower switches.
The a/c compressor clutch relay is grounded by the ECM. When energized, the a/c compressor clutch relay allows battery voltage to turn on the a/c compressor clutch.
The a/c on indicator light comes on when the a/c system is running.

A/C THERMOSTAT;
the a/c thermostat, located in the evaporator housing, turns off the compressor clutch if the temp. at the evaporator falls below 35 degrees. This prevents condensation from freezing on the evaporator fins and blocking air flow into the passenger compartment. The blower will continue running.

A/C PRESSURE SWITCH;
The pressure switch is located in the condensor outlet line whe refrigerant is in a high temp./pressure state. The switch senses abnormally high or low pressures in the refrigerant line and opens the circuit. This removes ground and turns off the compressor.

THERMAL PROTECTOR;
The thermal protector, located in the a/c compressor, opens and turns off the compressor if it senses high temperature. Once the compressor cools, the switch will close and the compressor will run again.

So needless to say, get out your multimeter and check where you are losing power or ground. I hope this helps you get this thing figured out.



Modified by jfastman at 10:02 AM 5/14/2004

 

Thanks for all the help. I will try to accomplish this this weekend However now I have another problem with this fricken Hooptie. I posted it in the EG forums if anyone wants to look at it and lend a hand with that problem too.

Fuel pump doesnt turn on sometimes when I start the car but there is more info in that thread.

 

i'm having the opposite of you, when i drive, my a/c stays cold. BUT at idle is when i get problems with the a/c staying on. i hooked up gauges to both sides, and things were a lil high, but we let some pressure out. ne ways, the thing is, that after a while at idle, i'll see the HP side start rising, it'll max the gauge out, then the compressor clutch shuts off. after a minute or so, it'll come back on, then u'll see the pressures will equalize, then after awhile again. the pressure will shoot up on the high side and shut it off again. sometimes at idle it wont get hot, and thats cuz the clutch isn't engaging. at times i can hear the clutch flicker, and sometimes it'll do a slowmo then catch up and fully engage.

BUT when driving, i have no issues with a/c getting warm or cycling off.

any ideas?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by b_ron007 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i'm having the opposite of you, when i drive, my a/c stays cold. BUT at idle is when i get problems with the a/c staying on. i hooked up gauges to both sides, and things were a lil high, but we let some pressure out. ne ways, the thing is, that after a while at idle, i'll see the HP side start rising, it'll max the gauge out, then the compressor clutch shuts off. after a minute or so, it'll come back on, then u'll see the pressures will equalize, then after awhile again. the pressure will shoot up on the high side and shut it off again. sometimes at idle it wont get hot, and thats cuz the clutch isn't engaging. at times i can hear the clutch flicker, and sometimes it'll do a slowmo then catch up and fully engage.

BUT when driving, i have no issues with a/c getting warm or cycling off.

any ideas?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Thats a condensor fan problem..when you drive air blows across the condensor it cools the charge and brings the pressures down.....

 

Tried another thread with no luck but this looks like A/C brain trust, so...

'90 Honda Accord - Ole' Reliable with 156K miles - When I let car sit overnight or for a few hours and then start I have nice cold A/C. This lasts for about 20 minutes or so and then I start losing my cold air. I've recharged with 2 cans freon recently and since it starts with cold air, I don;t think I'm down freon. I checked the compressor when the air starts losing cooling and it's running - hasn't cut off. What the *&^*?? Car was working great until about a month ago. NOW, at that time I also developed a small crack in top of radiator. The radiator will be replaced this weekend - could that have anything to do with it? I've read all the threads and their problems seem to be compressor stopping or not engaging - I don't seem to have that prob but no A/C for very long. Gets very toasty in Texas in the Summer - help?

 

I still have no ******* a/c. Interesting factoid though. If it is raining heavily outside my ac stays cold really cold. I have only had it cut out 1 time when its been raining so far. But 90% of the time as long as its a nice heavy rain my a/c will seem to work with no problems the way it should. If its hot forget about it 5-10-20 mins later the a/c is off and wont come back on. So what is the consensus on this before I just replace the damn compressor. I want a/c bad.

Chris

 

My situation is similiar but the rain doesn't matter. If the car warms up, the A/C loses cooling power. When you say your A/C "goes off", is the compressor still running? My compressor will continue to run but no cold air. Freon levels seem fine - no bubbles or froth in sight glass of dryer - belts seem fine - don't believe I'm getting excess heat in heater core from coolant but I haven't pinched off line as I don;t want to stop the flow of coolant through block. Help, please. I think I've discovered a new weight loss plan - dehydration.

 

my compressor seems to shut down and then not start up again no matter what I do. If i let it cool down for a couple/few hours it will turn back on but then once i drive its off again. I might just take this damn thing to the stealership. I want a/c or a new car with a/c damnit!

 

bump before i go to the dealership

 

<FONT COLOR="red"><FONT SIZE="4">*UPDATE*</FONT> </FONT>

Problem was fixed. Turned out to be a bad compressor clutch and compressor clutch coil. So $390 later I finally have A/C.:banana: . It's not extremely cold like I would prefer but I'm sure not gonna complain about it.