Video notes. Upvote if helpful, so others can see at the top… 2:35 where the clutch is (if clutch engaged (spinning) AC compressor is on) 3:02 where high-pressure switch is (if you unplug it and clutch disengages, switch probably works fine) 3:28 fuse box (under hood) where AC relay is located (it “relays” power to the clutch. If relay removed and clutch disengages, relay is probably working fine) 3:50 begins describing problem (AC system “freezes up”) -AC works intermittently then blows slow, warm air. -probably means the evaporator coil is “freezing up” into a block of ice that takes up space as it grows and restricts air flow across it 4:22 Cause 1) AC freon is low causes “freeze up” 4:30 Cause 2) If sensor on AC control panel (AC buttons) is broken, the clutch will keep spinning when the AC button is pushed to “off”. (This is diagnosed after the AC pressure switch and relay have been tested and shown to still work, so the faulty signal is probably in this AC control panel) Remainder of video: How to disassemble the dash to remove the AC control panel. Also found in the comments (symptoms of a bad clutch): Q: AC fails during hot days but usually works at night… A: [tl;dr: clutch wears down over time, might need a new one] I would check the a/c clutch. When they get old, they work well when they car first starts and fail when they get hot. One way to check is when it quits cooling, pull over and (with the engine still running) open the hood and look at the front of the a/c compressor. If the center clutch section has stopped turning, there’s a good chance that the compressor clutch needs replaced. (Technical explanation: The electrical system powers the electromagnet. This charged magnet magnetically moves the clutch into position to spin with the drive belt and engage the AC compressor. But if the electromagnet is worn down, as it heats up during a drive and then cycles/turns off, the normal applied voltage is no longer enough for it to work again. (Over time, the repeated expansion and contraction of the metal coils of the electromagnet will cause an increase in the electrical resistance, so more voltage is needed to overcome this. The system isn’t designed to supply the extra voltage needed, so the electromagnet doesn’t create enough force to to push the AC clutch back onto the drive belt to start the compressor.))
Thanks for this video. My 2010 Honda Civic has the exact same issues. It freezes up if it runs on long road trips and pressure gets low. It also runs cold for a little bit and then starts blowing hot air. On cold days it doesn’t have that problem but on hot Texas summer days it never blows cold more than a few minutes. I’m going to troubleshoot the relays and the fuse before finding a junk yard with the part to replace the controller like you did. Thanks for posting and sharing. You’ve earned yourself a new subscriber.
I have a 2007 Civic that is doing exactly what you describe. Have taken it to the mechanic twice but he could not duplicate the problem both times. At times a/c works perfectly fine and then it will start doing this. Blower will pulsate and become very weak and air becomes warm. You sound quite resourceful. I'm not so sure I'd trust myself doing this repair. But, will try and share this video with my local mechanic. THANK YOU!!!
THANK YOU!!! THIS FIXED MY MYSTERIOUS PROBLEM!!! I recently went to the junk yard and got the control unit. Paid my mechanic $58 to install it for me. Working perfect! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! AWESOME!!!
So I had noticed for a few years that a few of the lights on my a/c controller had gone out, and for about the last year or so I noticed that my battery light would come on whenever I turned off my a/c. Also noticed some weak a/c. I had the alternator checked and it was fine. I found this video and changed to the updated controller per your instructions and it completely fixed the issue. Thank you so much
our honda civic 2008 LX had this exact problem few years back. ac would turn on, stay cold for a few mins, and then turn on and off whenever it wanted to. i think like in this video, it would even would run when the display for it was off. so we had a sensor problem and the garage we took it to fixed the panel inside the car. i liked how you explained exactly how the problems occur and what's going on, not many other channels do that. nice work
Very interesting. I have a '08 Civic that is experiencing the same problems. When working the a/c blows ice cold air. Now that you mention it, the a/c fails to blow cold after operating for about 20 minutes, especially more frequent on high humidity days. I have replaced the relay, and checked the freon charge. I suspected the clutch on the compressor was getting old/weak, since the car has over 210k miles. So next time the a/c stops blowing cold, I am going to take a look and see if the clutch is still engaged. I appreciate you taking the time to make this video. Thank you
MrMadaket78 I would doubt it's the clutch if the air blowing out the vents feels to be getting weaker then look for it freezing up. Under normal operation the clutch should cycle on and off as needed to maintain the proper pressure. In this case the control panel wasn't allowing the compressor to shut off thus leading to the freeze up.
I am having the same problem on my Civic 2008 done 220k. At first The AC works fine but after some time it stops blowing cold air. After seeing this video I checked the clutch when AC stops blowing cold air and it was not rotating even though the AC button was on. Then AC starts working again when I pressed the pedal hard. worked fine for some time and then stopped again. Its quite irritating I have tried multiple AC mechanics every time paying a decent amount of money for various things they tried on the AC.
You nailed it exactly sir! Thank you very much. My brother in law had gone to hell and back trying to get this fixed, and because of this I had it fixed in 40 minutes once I got the part.
What an awesome explanation of how to trouble shot an AC system. I have two friends with Hondas that have broken AC. With this information I can try and get them working again.
Thank you. I don't know if that's my trouble, but you helped me to identify some things to check on mine. My issue is a bit different, and I'm pretty sure it's not the charge of refrigerant.
I finally found out the issue that was causing my a/c to fail. The pressure switch on the freon line. How did I discover it? I had a check engine light that turned out to be a lazy cat. converter. While replacing the converter I kept bumping that switch. So I unplugged it and moved it aside. When finishing up the converter change out, I plugged the harness back into the switch and Shazam! A/C is running ice cold now, no more problems. I suspect that the contacts had accumulated a bit of corrosion that was causing issues. BTW, I bought the replacement converter from Amazon. It is a Dorman, fits just fine, and best, check engine light went out, and the car passed emission test. Converter is an easy do it yourself project.
Thank you for the great video! So, I've got a 2006 Civic EX that seems to be having similar issues. My evaporator freezes up after driving 30 - 45 min. I'll turn off the "green light" AC button on the control panel, and wait about 2 minutes for it to thaw out, then push the AC button on to green light again, and it'll last about 15 min before freezing up again. I've pulled over twice to confirm that when I turn the AC button on the control panel from green to off, the clutch disengages, and when I punch the AC button back on to "green light", the clutch starts spinning again as expected. So, I've had this in to the shop numerous times, they even replaced the evaporator and confirmed that there are no leaks. I also replaced the relay switch. At the 5 min mark of this video, you state that the "after it got cold, didn't get to that point where it shut down all the way and was able to... thaw out." QUESTION: could the freezing up in my case still be related to a bad control panel because it may not be interacting with the temperature sensor or something? I've also noticed the the "recycle" option (yellow light) to the right of AC button doesn't seem to work anymore either - I can smell diesel fumes coming into the car when highway driving... never did that before. So, wondering if that might be another sign that the control panel is bad?
Lifestreams Media I would first check your cabin air filter if you have one. If it is dirty it can cause the freezing. If you don’t have a cabin air filter make sure there isn’t debris blocking the evaporator. Make sure the condensation drain is clear. You may also need the temperature switch. If you hook up a set of gauges and monitor the a/c pressure on the low side it should shut off the compressor when the pressure drops below 25 psi. If the system doesn’t shut off below 25 psi replace the combination pressure switch.
@@YourCarGuyDR Thanks for responding! So, I replaced the cabin air filter with a new one at the same time I replaced the relay switch. When you say "temperature switch" do you mean the Temperature sensor that's connected to the evaporator? I believe that was replaced when they replaced the evaporator (at least that's what they told me). As for the condensation drain, no musty smell or water leaking inside the cabin - could it still be clogged? As for the pressure switch, the mechanic said he hooked up gauges and checked pressures, stated they "looked good." Could he have missed the low pressure/shut off issue related to the pressure switch?
had similar with my 06, would work for awhile, blow bits of ice out the vents then low volume warm air until it thawed. After dealer replaced expansion valve it worked fine.
Lifestreams Media yes it is possible that they looked at the pressures but didn’t pay attention to if it is shutting down when it should. The control panel could still be the issue as when the pressure switch tells it to shut down the control panel is what turns the compressor off.
Moreno12 what was it then? I got the relays ready to swap as well but going for the panel first... last will be the compressor I steongly doubt the compressor would work intermitently right til proven wrong!
@@suppaman12 yeah i gotta disagree. my 05 jimmy had low freon and it would run the ac clutch for 6 seconds then shut off for 15 seconds and continued to do that. wouldnt blow cold. then i checked the psi levels and filled it to 55 psi with freon and blows ice cold now
You replaced your relay because that was your issue, your issue is different from this issue so changing a relay is not going to fix the issue for the car in this video
Thanks for making this video! I am pretty sure I need to do this kind of part-swap myself, and your video showed me pretty much everything I need. I actually coincidentally have one of these spare parts from a scrapyard pull I did last year (but haven't gotten to) for replacing the emergency button on my dash... so yay for accidental success! hah! Here's hoping the one I pulled is good ;)
Excellent video….I need some advice please. 2009 civic, 79,000 miles. ac works fine on short drives. on long drives in hot weather, the ac eventually blows weak warm air. sounds like freezing evap coil. i've checked the following: - Compressor clutch engages and disengages when the ac button is pressed; cooling fans come on/off as well. With ac on and car at operating temp, the compressor engages for about 10 seconds, then disengages for about 10 seconds. I noticed this at a traffic light when outside temp was 70. It seemed to stay engaged longer when I got home from a 1 hour drive and was parked with everything running (temp 76 degrees). - clutch clearance .65mm (high end, but within tolerance) - disconnected high pressure switch and the relay (separately) and the compressor shut off (note: I tried to check for continuity on the high pressure switch, with the car off, but didn’t get it on any combo of the 3 pins…maybe I did it wrong) - I drove 1 hour this am. Outside temp about 76 degrees. a (cheap low side) pressure gauge read 25psi with the ac on full blast and 42 with the ac off. The drain tube was dripping water as soon as I parked. No water in the passenger footwell. - Just cleaned my k&n washable cabin filter, but it wasn’t very dirty. When the warm weak air last happened (4 hour drive, 90+ degrees) I didn’t know enough to turn off the ac to see if it melts. I don’t believe today’s drive was long enough or hot enough to effectively test a freezing condition, but I hope you have some insight/questions based on the above. Thanks.
You might have a slightly low a/c charge. To really have a good idea you need to see what both the high and the low side are doing at the same time. The low side at 25 psi is fairly low which can be great for making cold air but can also cause freezing. Particularly because when the engine is at higher rpm’s the low side may be getting even lower. Seeing what the high side is doing will help to know if it is too low on refrigerant.
hi, here are the dual gauge readings at 80 degrees and 66% humidity and the car at operating temp (ac had not been turned on today). static pressure 95 high/97 lo. with ac on high 139 high/37 lo initially then settled to 146 high/28.5 lo. ac was blowing cold. hi side a little low?
@@swilson500 if all of that was at idle then the pressure is decent. At rpm’s the low side will likely pull a little lower and the high side will be a little higher. It is also possible that you may have a weak compressor clutch. When they are starting to fail they will work well early and on short trips but may not be able to cycle back on at higher temps once they have disengaged. The way to check would be to pull off when it quits blowing cold and with the engine still running look to see if the clutch is still engaged.
@@YourCarGuyDR ok, it will be plenty hot this week but not sure i can drive far enough to duplicate the problem. since the air barely blows when the problem happens, does that mean its definitely freezing and the clutch must still be engaged? does the clutch gap at.65mm support the possibility that the clutch stops engaging?
II haven’t switch the control panel yet, because I pulled out the cabin filter and noticed how clogged and filthy it is. This can cause the same symptoms correct?
this very much sounds like my problem since getting my 2008 civic-ex in 2016. AC never turns off even when the AC control button is off, and on long drives, I lose cold air after about 20-30 minutes of driving. Got the part from ebay for 40. hoping this fixes my issue. will update as soon as I confirm my problem is fixed. fingers crossed.
I also brought my car to meineke to get the problem fixed. what they did was replace/add freon. it was difficult to confirm if the issue is truly fixed after I picked up my car but when I went for a long drive, the issue was still there. meineke said they couldn't do anything else and I didn't even get any partial refund. never went back to that meineke.
Finding the diagram for the relay block is a pain! The wiring diagrams a little less so. There are three of the relays that are a/c related. I bought a batch... all the same age, and if one is failing maybe all are on the verge. BUT... 3 weeks later the problem is back. In my case it is not a freeze-up issue. No issue of diminishing blower force over time. It just works (Fan speed and temperature control both) or it doesn't. Sometimes the a/c just will not start immediately after starting the car... but go down the road and hit a speed bump, maybe it will come on. Don't let a garage tell you that the intermittent blower issue is because of a bad compressor clutch. They are different circuits. The blower should run whether or not the compressor clutch is engaged. SO... Final takeaway... not a freezeup in my case, but still pointing to this panel! Thanks to Car Guy DR for this video ! ! ! Three thumbs up if YT would let me! :)
The vehicle is a 2008 Honda Civic. It has a new Air Compressor. When it was returned they said system was fine but don't use MAX AIR? This is my granddaughter's car. I found this to be ridiculous. I drove the car and the AC is ice cold and fine on short trips, no problem. I drove the car for approximately 25 miles and the AC began to blow air that was no longer cold. It was fine after I got home and used the car the next few times on short trips. I took the car in and they checked everything. He test drove the car twice. Ran diagnostics, AC blew 40 degrees the whole time. He checked for leaks and exchanged the cooling fluids. The fluids were not low and the system was not overfilled. They gave the car back to me declaring the AC to be perfect and rolled their eyes like I was crazy. Well I drove the car for a few short trips over several days. Yesterday I drove approximately 25 miles. The car was not overheating and was not even to the halfway mark. As soon as I traveled the distance of approximately 25 miles it began blowing hot air. I am in Las Vegas and it was a warm day. I reached my destination and parked the car for some time. When I came out the AC continued to blow warm air. I drove back the 25 miles and stopped to get something to eat. When I came out the AC was now cold and working fine. Today I drove a short distance and everything was fine. I KNOW something is wrong. When I suggested I did not see any fluid under the car when I shut the engine off. Granted the humidity is low here but I would expect to see some fluid? Also I suggested an ECM valve at least that's what I remember reading, and they looked at me and said snottily, which one? I replied well, the one keeping the AC from working properly. Once again they blew me off. I am not your typical grandma and started tearing into engines and fixing cars over 60 years ago when cars did not have a gazillion computers and were easy to fix. I am old, but I am not stupid. Something is wrong, but I can't get them to listen. I have been to two places and really don't want to waste anymore time being ridiculed and crazy. Do you have any ideas since I believe it to be something fairly simple they are missing. I am 75 years old and my vision is not too great anymore and I lack much strength in my hands, but I will give something a try and put on helpless old lady if I have to. Last year I was upside down fixing the ignition in my PT cruiser, began to doubt myself and said what the hell am I doing? I put it back together and it was fixed so I didn't have to call someone. My husband couldn't fix anything but it was helpful to have him stand by when I needed to be handed something or needed a stronger hand. He has since passed and I really resent being treated with an eye roll and disbelief. I am not sure how to get them to listen to a "crazy" old lady.Any advice would be helpful. I don't believe it is the same problem on your video; although' I found it very informative. Thank you in advance for any ideas you might have.
You need to see if yours is freezing up. When it stops working you can pull over and look at the a/c lines. If one is frosted up then you likely have the control panel issue. The other issue that can be possible is a poor connection at the connector for the a/c compressor. Particularly if someone has probed the sockets while diagnosing. This will cause spread pins and a poor electrical connection that will be intermittent.
@@YourCarGuyDR It did it again so I drove it right there and he diagnosed a relay and replaced it. Still doing the same thing. It's not freezing up I checked that. I did shut off MAX air and recirculating fan and it started blowing cold air again. Thanks for your suggestions. I have been reading on the Honda Civic and everything seems to point to only running recirculation for first 15 minutes? I have never heard of this before and not sure if this is something strange with the Honda Civic? Thank you for any suggestions.
@@nancylumbrazo3769 if the system is functioning properly you should be able to run recirculating air any time. I would look at the pins and sockets at the connection nearest the compressor. The socket is likely spread causing poor connection.
my 2008 civic with 275k on it has been having issues after a competent shop replaced the original compressor about 3 yrs ago. (this is the 3rd summer). I was going down the street and the AC sudenlly stopped blowing cold air. Cycling any of the switches didn't help, or the hot/cold temp knob. (the hot/cold knob sometimes has to be put to Hot, then back to Cold for the Cold to work again after running in the cold position for some time. it's like the cold knob slooowly goes to warm even though it hasn't been touched). Then I went over a pretty good bump and it suddenly started working again. Now; about 3 months later, the compressor is cycling on and off very rapidy. I put a cheap set of ac guages on the low side and it was saying 130 while running! I let the car sit for 5 hrs or so and the low side reads 75ish with car not running. I'm pretty sure the panel is going bad because i have other issues with it like not switching from defrost to floor heat, to combination etc. Could a bad panel cause the AC problems too? or do you think I have 2 separate problems going on? Oh yeah, my condensor fan is out. I bought a new one and plugged it in (without actually installing it) and it works so I need to get on that!
Excellent helpful video! I'm having very similar issue if not the same. My 2008 Honda civic’s AC turns on and off. Recently when I was on the freeway which was a very hot day, the AC would cut off so then I would turn the AC to off and roll down the window and wait for about 5 min and then turn AC back on and it would work fine for about 10ish min and then cut off so then I would repeat every 5 min. On the same drive after couple of hours of driving it started to rain so the weather was cooler so the AC kept working fine but once the rain stop and I was out of the storm weather the issue of AC turning off started again. I’m also experiencing the same issue in the city drive but the AC don’t stay on more then 3-4 min. I wanted to see if you could guide me on fix this issue?
@@YourCarGuyDR yes the fan works but blows hot air. I also notice in winter heater don’t work either. Also, the windshield air button don’t work either since I need to defrost in winter time I notice that don’t work either. Making me thing it’s the control panel that’s an issue?
Hey great video by the way. I have intermittent issues with my AC but not as described. Mine will engage and disengage and I think maybe more related to the sensor you mentioned. I know initially it will click in and turn on and stay on and then after a couple of minutes it'll turn off and then click on and then off and I think the interval of on and off becomes shorter and then it just won't turn on. I originally was looking into videos mentioning maybe the clutch needs to be replaced but I'm not sure it would have intermittent issues if it were the clutch. I'm thinking now more there's an issue with the sensor or my freon is low or high. I tried topping it off with a can refill and it said the levels were good but it didn't fix the issue. I'm not sure if those guages can be trusted or if it's missing something considering it's only on the low pressure. The plan is to try to get a mechanic to diagnose it and see if they can dump and refill the AC. If that doesn't work maybe I'll try to replace the sensor. Not sure if you can tell by my description something I should check but I did check the relays and fuses but it wasn't that simple. Any information would help
wahab.omar a fast cycling speed usually indicates the system is overcharged or the a/c fan isn’t working. It will wear the clutch out to cycle to much. Having the system recovered and a good vacuum done then charge to the proper level should help. It is tough to get a true reading on the system without having gauges hooked to both sides.
@@YourCarGuyDR the confusing thing is how can a system overcharge itself? I didn't try to fill it until I started having the problem. I've had the car over 2 years and it's a 2011 Honda Civic with less than 100 thousand miles. This is the first big issue I've run into. I will try to get it evacuated and recharged properly and I would try it myself but I don't have any of the proper equipment so I think it would be cheaper and easier to get it done by a mechanic. But thanks for the feedback. I really did like the video and I find it very shocking how you were able to discover that as I would've never suspected the buttons to be an issue
wahab.omar one other thing to check. I have another video on this same car where it started having an intermittent connection issue at the plug going to the a/c compressor. If as you said this started prior to adding freon you could have the same connection issue. Look it up on my channel. It is a pretty simple fix.
@@YourCarGuyDR I will definitely try that. I'm still thinking you might be right about freon levels because it'll last longer the first time I start the car but then get progressively worse but I did not verify to see if I'm getting voltage signals where it is shutting off and on or if it's just dropping out by itself
My friends Civic has an issue simulator to this. It'll run for a couple of minutes, and then it'll disengage the clutch on the compressor. I replaced not just the relay for the clutch, but the other relay that has the snowflake symbol (From what I figure, it's the relay that kicks on the radiator fan when the a/c button is pushed). The problem still is there with the new relays. I don't believe the clutch is bad, since I could see it running. Any ideas would be helpful
Mine cycles on and off was fine all last year started acting up this year on humid days I changed the cabin air filter and rinses the coil out to see if it was plugged with salt and bugs
Another Point just tohad I finished work this morning it was about 14 degrees outside and the compressor was cycling as it showed it was switching on and off on and off as normal
Great video. My daughter's 07 civic LX is having intermittent AC issues. Ironically it runs fine when it's cool out. I checked the relay out and it appears to be OK. I could not diagnose the pressure sensors since it really needs to be backprobed while it's plugged in. Is there a diagnostic procedure for the control panel?
Hello. Thank you. My front panel is light off then AC intermittent. Relay is ok. But odometer reset control is not working. Do you think I should take my car to dealer to checkup the control panel?
I had to get my compressor replaced on my 2009 Civic about six months ago. I thought that was the end of my problems, but this very issue you describe kept coming up. I changed the resistor and more recently the fan motor blower… and yet the issue still persists. I will conduct a diagnostic review as you have recommended… I just have one question. Will this issue also exist with the heater? In other words, will I get intermittent heater air with this same problem?
Another question. Mine has been doing this for months on end. With the clutch not stopping the air-conditioner, is that putting significant wear and tear on that system?
After months of trying to diagnose and fix the problem, it appears your video properly described my problem and I followed thru with the replacement and my car is fixed! Thank you so much!!
mrbass82 question sir, my 08 Civic will stop blowing air completely no cold or hot!!! And the compressor clutch won’t operate!!! I’ll play with the panel in the car the fan knob and the hot cold knob and Shazam it starts functioning like nothing was ever wrong, my question is did your blower motor also stop blowing air and then start again too??? Thanks for any help!!!
Great video and exclamations, definitely learned something. I had a similar issue recently and just had to replace the control panel. I’m getting the fans kicking on every time I turn on the air-conditioning but compressor start. Am I correct to think the problem lies either in the fuses/relays or the pressure switch?
christopher conlon on many vehicles the fans will come on automatically when you turn on the A/C. On others it will be controlled by the high pressure switch.
Was looking through the comments and didn't see but can you post a link for the correct part please? Also, I did the HVAC system self-diagnostic and the recirculation button flashed 4 times which means "An open or short in the mode control motor circuit". Does this correspond to the failure of the HVAC control unit? Thanks!
Great video thank you, but what if the high pressure valve is working fine, Relay is replaced new and the control panel inside turns off the compressor clutch when switched off ? I’m having the same intermittent problem and will build up Ice on the line but none of these seems to be the problem.
dear mr car guy, I have intermittent ac problem too. My car is 2 years older 2006 civic but the same generation of civic you diagnosed here. The problem seems to occur during the day especially when stuck in the traffic. The fan doesn't change it's air vent air volume as you mention here. there are days that the ac is fine but most of the time it stops blowing cold air. during the first startup of the day the ac never fails blowing cold air but when the temperature increase at the engine it starts to fail blowing cold air mostly during day time, I cannot recall it failed during night driving. I have the ac relay and expansion valve replaced and the compressor oil changed during its preventive maintenance in the honda car dealer. still I have the same problem. what can you recommend sir?
Gabe Maniego I would check the a/c clutch. When they are beginning to wear out the will usually work well until they get hot. So they will engage when the vehicle is first started. But as the temperature increases it causes higher resistance in the electromagnet that pulls the clutch in thus once it cycles off it isn’t able to pull back in due to the increased electrical resistance. One way to check is when it quits cooling to pull over and with the engine still running open the hood and look at the front of the a/c compressor. If the center clutch section has stopped turning it is a good chance that the compressor clutch needs replaced.
*** HELP*** My Problem is when the car is cold AC works fine. At Idle it really drags down the RPM til the compressor disengages and reengages( happens pretty quickly). So.... in slow bumper to bumper traffic ac blows warm, ( good airflow new cabin filters), but at highway speeds the ac constantly kicks in and out in about 5 second intervals But compressor is at a higher rpm. So at speed it compresses enough to provide cold air.
Hook up a set of gauges and see what is happening. If the system is undercharged it could cause this issue. However if it is overcharged it could be causing this as well. This is why it is important to see what both the low and high pressure sides are doing. Also a restriction in the system could cause this. Watching the gauges as it kicks in and out will give you an idea.
I’m having quite a weird problem. It’s a Honda civic from 2007 (not the Si), with I shift!! (Very important) M’y ac stops, then when I change gear (up or down) it works again for about 10sec. Then it slows down until it blows hot air. Weird right? Any idea? I’ll try the relay in a few days.
OOOOH! THought the panel would be pricey but $30 buh not to bad. Did not drive down the BEach today cause the AC went off then it popped back on. I am doing the relay first then try others. I think it has not been going on all the time for a while now as it takes time to blow and not always real great.
My 08 Civic seems to have a similar issue. I'm not sure if it is due to freeze-up, but It blows cold for maybe the first 5 minutes, then goes hot. If I let the car cool down for a little while, I can get the a/c running cold for a short amount of time(maybe 5 more minutes). Replaced the relay, tested and charged the system, still nada. Would the clutch eventually disengage once it "freezes up", or would the clutch stay engaged? Mine disengages after the car staters blowing warm.
@@akathefury I diagnosed everything and figured the AC Compressor was shot. Bought one in Amazon and had my mechanic install it. We checked the terminals and fuses and just found it was the ac compressor. They say the reason for it going bad its due to one of the fuses being old and outdated.
I replaced the A/C Compressor in February and the A/C stopped working again a few days ago, but it appears to be an issue with the nob this time since the air is hotter than usual. I had a similar issue with the nob on a 2017 Chevy Sonic that I had before this car. Any tips?
Damn...I'm having exact same issue with my 2007 Civic. Next step would be paying $$$ at dealership and I'm worried they might not get it fixed. I need to find someone who can do this...
Great video. I have a question though. Have a 2007 Honda Civic LX. My AC works when the car is cold. After the car has been on for about 10 minutes, the AC stops working. I had it looked at by a Honda dealership and they said it was the AC clutch, coil and relay. It had rusted out. And it would cost me $1000 to fix. Does this sound right? I want to fix the AC but don't want to pay $1000. Thanks!
I have the exact same problem with my '07 Honda Civic, took it to a shop and they had to take the whole dashboard apart and it took em like 5 days, got it back and I got the same problem... Replaced the relays, that wasn't the problem either.... I guess I need to get a new control panel, wonder how much a shop would charge me to do it for me. Damn Honda's, I like my car but the most important feature for a car in AZ is the a/c, I shoulda done more research about Civics before I bought it.
As I mentioned above I am having the same problem with my 2007 Civic. Just located a a/c heater control unit at a local junk yard. Going to go see if it looks decent. Called my local mechanic and he tells me that he would only charge me $58 to install it for me. I'm hoping this works. My a/c is now at the point where it doesn't even work when it's first started most of the time. The air is not cold. It's not hot air but barely better than having the windows down. Blower puts out very little if any air at lower speed settings. Blows warm at slow and idle speeds. Problem has gone from operating nearly a year intermittently to being almost constant. Hope I get lucky and this unit is the fix.
BILL E Hopefully that will take care of it. If your panel is bad for long enough it can cause the compressor to wear out. Hopefully that isn’t the case. Also check your cabin air filter and get any debris out of it while you are at it.
Great video I need help . I have a Honda Civic 2011 I change the compressor 2 times the first one failed the second one was cold in the beginning know is only works when I’m driving about like 40 mph when it hot doesn’t even work until 30 min driving . At stop lights it start getting warm again . When I change the nob to hot for a couple second and put it back at cold will start working again . My fans are working relays are working the clutch works on the compressor when I plug off the high pressure turn off . I’m losing patience honestly haven’t change my condenser that’s what most people say might be the issue but it’s not bad honestly
Two things to look at. My first thought would be a blend door issue. The door that shits off the heater core may not be closing completely. Also did the system get a good flush when the compressor was installed?
@@YourCarGuyDR I believe the condenser didn’t get a good flush down the other side of the system actually did get a good flush. I have to check the other part you said let me get into looking and I’ll msg you back thank you
I search up what part you talking about this part is the one I’m having an issue I haven’t fixed .? The core door takes like 20 min to change to window if I put it to window .? Also I did the diagnostic and it blinks 4 times
@@benjaminvazquez323 it sounds like there is an issue with the blend door. It could be a bad blend door actuator, something stuck in the blend door or the blend door itself could be broken.
Hey Car Guys, Thank you for the video. I have HONDA CIVIC 2006. AC works intermittently. For first 15 minutes or so. Not sure if AIR volume reduces but cooling goes off and blows hot air afterwords. This has been going on since last 2 years. Dye test ruled out major leak. Local AUTO guy filled FREEON but he says COMPRESSOR is failing. Not sure if this is true. THoughts?? Thanks. I sort of confused about the steps you mentioned in video - is there any way you can share typed document/with picture so I don't mess it up more?
h d it sounds like you have a lot going on here. Here is what I would do. First I would want to check that the compressor is working or failing. This would be done by hooking up gauges and making sure the compressor builds pressure properly. Next I would want to verify the amount of freon in the system. Normally I wouldn’t need to do this but because your system has been worked on multiple times there may be too much freon in it which can cause the system not to work properly. The only way to get an accurate measure is to recover the system. Put it into a good vacuum and refill it to the correct amount. This requires professional equipment. Then you could start checking the other items. If you feel confident that the freon level is correct then move on to checking if the compressor clutch is engaging. I just posted a new video last night that has a good view of the compressor clutch. Go to that point and let me know what you find.
It should not unless the pressure in the a/c system is too high. However you could have one problem that is causing both the clutch and the fan to not engage.
Hi. I too have a 2007 civic that has issues when the outside temp is high. The air blows but not cold. Originally the clutch would stop. I found a video online where they removed a shim from the clutch and the cold returned for a year. I recently replaced the cabin air filter and now the air is cooler but not cold. I replaced the clutch relay and tested removing the relay and unplugging the high pressure switch and the clutch would stop. One thing I noticed is that normally the clutch would engage and disengage while running. The clutch does not do this now, it just stays running. Is it time for a new ac clutch?
I’m having a similar issue. However mine is not working at all. I have no ground on the control side of the relay. I’m able to bypass it by running a ground wire directly and it causes the compressor to turn on, however, it will not shut off at the control panel. Leading me to believe that the control panel is inoperable. But would that cause the lack of ground at the clutch relay?
Hi Dr, I have a Honda City 2004 Indian model. The AC is intermittently switching off, ie., During drive, suddenly it will stop and blows normal/hot air and during this condition the engine rpm rises up. If switched off the AC for 10 minutes and switched on it will work again. But when AC operates the cooling is very perfect and ice cold. Is this issue because of a weak magnetic coil? or any sensor failure? or the compressor should be changed completely? Please share your suggestion.
kadhir rajasekaran there are a few items that can cause this. The a/c clutch could be your issue. It is also possible that the system is freezing up. Based on your description I would suspect the clutch due to the increased rpms. When the a/c is on the computer will increase rpms to offset the rpm loss to the a/c. If the clutch is bad the computer will expect that the a/c is on but the clutch not engaging will result in the increased rpm.
Car Guy. I had this issue before.All the symptoms were the same. I ended up replacing the clutch fuse and it worked fine again. That was about 2 years ago, now this just happened again. Do you think the AC panel is making the clutch fuse go out? I am going to try and just replace the clutch fuse again and see if if that works. If it goes out again ill look into the ac panel. But what do you think? Is it possible to get a temporary fix with replacing the clutch fuse? Or do you think if replacing the fuse works that that was just an isolated problem with the fuse??
Travis Lumpkins if the clutch fuse keeps going it it is a good chance that the clutch is drawing too many amps. This often happens as they age. You may look at replacing the clutch but if replacing the fuse keeps it going for a year or more you may decide to just keep a spare fuse with you. However if you decide to replace the clutch make sure to check all of the ground cable both at the battery and going to the engine and chassis. A weak ground will cause increased amperage draw and thus could be causing the fuse to blow.
If your fan at the radiator is not coming on it will cause the high pressure side of the a/c system to get too high particularly at very low speed or when stopped. This will cause the pressure switch to shut off the a/c compressor.
So you will want to do some diagnostics. When it starts blowing warm stop and with the engine running check to see if the a/c clutch is still engaged. If so look at the low pressure a/c (the thicker one). If it looks like frost is forming on it you have a freezing up issue. Then it is likely the control panel.
i got 2010 honda civic sport , Ac is working fine but some times its goes off, means not cooling but fans and compressor is working, its happens in most of the hot weather. any idea ?
Dineth Situge there are a few things that can cause this. Low freon charge can cause what you are describing. Also if the evaporator is freezing up or if the blend door is opening and allowing hot air through. I would start by looking for signs of freezing up. When the A/C stops blowing cold air look under the hood to see if you have lines frozen going to the fire wall. You may also want to have the system recovered and pull a good vacuum then charged.
Having this issue in my car. Does the heating control unit tell the AC Compressor to cycle? I thought it would have been one of the pressure switches. Also, I noticed that the unit you installed on the car did not have the heated mirror button, but the original did. My car has heated mirror, so does it matter if we put in one without the heater mirrors?
Sorry for the late reply, but to answer your question yes the control unit does control the cycling of the compressor using input from the sensors. Yes the unit I got did not have the heated mirror switch, but for the price I did not miss it compared to not having a/c
I have a 2008 Civic lx 1.8 sedan. My ac problem is as follows. I start a long trip or any trip. cars getting warm inside so I put on the ac. no problem. when I get near my home town and hit traffic and I am stop/start driving the ac stops working. The light stays on but the clutch on the ac is not engaged. I changed the relay, regassed it, put oil in the compressor but when the under bonnet temp is hot it stops working. is there a thermo protection switch on the compressor that may be faulty or need calibration? in Africa Honda spares are really expensive so is labour. any advice?
Dan Brown two things to check. Make sure your fan for the A/C condenser is coming on. Also make sure that you are getting good airflow across the condenser. The high pressure switch will shut the system down if you are getting enough air flowing through the condenser. You may try blowing through your radiator and condenser to see if you are getting good flow.
Great video. So if the high pressure is unplugged, and the ac clutch keep spinning, does that mean that ac it is working? What if the clutch stops spinning when the switch is unplugged?
@@YourCarGuyDR Thank you for the reply. My AC clutch does turn off with switch unplugged. My clutch relay, pressure switch check out fine. I have a used ac control unit coming soon. Hopefully that fixes the intermittent AC issues.
@@YourCarGuyDR Car Guy. I replaced the AC control unit. Seemed to work for >30 minutes in extreme hot weather yesterday. Today is was very hot, and the AC clutch stopped engaging after about 20 minutes. Will check pressures on the high and low side tomorrow.
240sxwanted you may need the a/c clutch as well. When the a/c pressure gets too high it will cycle off. If the clutch is going bad it won’t be able to cycle back on when hot.
I have a 2006 civic and just recharged the AC, now blows really cold air is it normal that the compressor stays on the whole time?. My 2013 Nissan cuts off once in a while and I was wondering if my civic should do the same
ugalde the compressor will run constantly unless the pressure in the system either becomes too high or too low. As long as the a/c continues to cool properly this is not an issue.
R S truthfully this is what really started my TH-cam channel. Nobody had an answer for this issue at the time and a lot of money was being spent at dealers and other repair shops without an answer. I figured this video could help a few people.
Hi, I tried to read through the comments to see if anyone had the same problem as my 06 Civic. The AC works fine at first start of the day but if I switch off the car or ac after driving for sometime, the ac won't come back on. If the car stays off for about 3 hours, then the ac will start working again till I switch it off. That has been my case for a month now.
Kingsley Asoegwu most likely you have a bad clutch on the a/c compressor. It will work when the engine is cooler and once engaged will stay engaged but when turned off and hot it has higher electrical resistance and thus can’t engage again until the temperature drops and thus the electrical resistance drops.
You really need to hook up a set of gauges and see what is happening. Whether it is shutting down due to higher than normal pressure on the high side of the system or lower than normal pressure on the low side of the system.
Great video thank you i think my coil was freezing up i put my ac on hot for few seconds and it started going full blast again maybe my freon level is low
My a/c clutch burn our keep running was out of town then a/c compressor lock out replaced, compressor expansion valve and air dryer recharge now it's running all the time switch on or off , fuses and relays are ok what could be the problem?
Thank you for the info! I'm having similar issues to what your customer had. In addition to it blowing warm air intermittently, it also shakes pretty bad when stopped and feels like it's slowing the car on take off. Could that still be the control panel? Thank you!
Sarah K when the compressor is on it uses a lot of power. Normally during brisk acceleration the computer will command the compressor off. If the control panel is bad then the compressor won’t turn off thus hurting the acceleration. The shaking could be related or something completely different like a bad motor mount or that the engine needs tuned up.
So my ac is fixed! It wasn't the same issue as in this video, but I want to share because it was an easy fix. I still appreciate your recommendations as I know it's impossible to diagnose without the vehicle in front of you. So the shaking and roughness was caused from too much freon. Somewhere along the way of trying to figure this out it was filled too much. The intermittent cooling was caused by a clogged cabin filter. So new cabin filter, less freon and it's working great now. Thanks!
My 2008 Civic would start warm, cool down, then get warm again when the rpm was low. I replaced the relay last summer, and everything was fine. Now we're back to square one with the air not getting very cool at all, and getting warmer when rpm is low. Should I try replacing the relay again? I checked the low pressure side and it's normal, so no freon needed, unless there is air in there. What do you think it could be?
ashley washington you may have a low freon charge. At low rpm the compressor is at its lowest efficiency. If the freon charge is low it will have trouble building enough pressure for proper cooling. If you know someone with a set of A/C gauges it would be helpful to hook it up and read the pressures. Otherwise find someone to recover the system and put it under vacuum then recharge properly.
First check to see if you have a cabin air filter. If so change it. Also does it blow normally when you first start driving and then later stop blowing strongly?
Hey I have a similar problem except when I shut off the ac on control panel the clutch shuts off as well also the ac fan is not working I ran it directly. And it’s not the fan the fan itself works fine but won’t start by itself
mario macias there are two issue that could be causing your problem. There is a fan relay in the fuse box under the hood. You may need a new one as it supplies power to the fan. Also there is a high pressure switch on the high psi line that turns the fan on. If the fan isn’t running the a/c pressure will get too high and shut off the compressor. Focus on getting the fan working properly and see what your results are.
If I could pick your brain here too. My wife has an 07 civic. I'm thinking there's an electrical bug. A/c clutch and condenser fan will kick on/off randomly sometimes rapidly more so at an idle. When it kicks in it blows cold, usually when driving down the road. I don't believe it's freezing up. What should the pressure readings be? Low side gets down to 45-50, high side can read up to 250 but it will kick off anywhere between 175-250. Would this panel cause this or maybe the high side switch is bad?
73Diesel4ever I have a few thoughts and you can let me know if this is what is happening. With the a/c on the condenser fan should run to reduce the pressure on the high side. If not the pressure will build and the high pressure switch will shut off the compressor. Going down the road you get better airflow and this even if the fan isn’t coming on it may be enough to keep the pressure lower. If the fan is kicking in and out you may have a loose connection. I have seen issues at the connector for the a/c compressor. A loose connection could mean that the plug is in tight but that the actual pins inside aren’t making a good connection. I have a video on the same car where I fixed a loose connection I think about a year later. It could also be an issue with the fan relay. Swapping it out with a know good relay is a quick easy way to check.
@@YourCarGuyDR Yep, the single wire down at the compressor was barley together. I remember now a guys S-10 did that years ago to me. Easy to forget those simple fixes sometimes I guess. Thanks
My clutch shuts off when removing the relay and the high pressure switch. The clutch also shuts off when I turn off the AC. What’s my issue so you think?
@@toucansam8164 sometimes a/c freezing up can be caused by low freon. However you want to be careful as too much Freon can cause the system to not work properly.
This is exactly what is going on with my 2006 Civic and the dealer keeps telling me I have to replace the entire system because of something called "the black death". I don't know that I could do this myself but at least I know what to ask for now.
I have an 08 civic. Turn on AC,clutch engage,but it engages for about a second or two,it disengages. It keeps doing the same thing. Over and over. Is it the clutch plate worn a bit thin,that’s why it doesn’t stay engage ? Or something else ?
Video notes. Upvote if helpful, so others can see at the top…
2:35 where the clutch is (if clutch engaged (spinning) AC compressor is on)
3:02 where high-pressure switch is (if you unplug it and clutch disengages, switch probably works fine)
3:28 fuse box (under hood) where AC relay is located (it “relays” power to the clutch. If relay removed and clutch disengages, relay is probably working fine)
3:50 begins describing problem (AC system “freezes up”)
-AC works intermittently then blows slow, warm air.
-probably means the evaporator coil is “freezing up” into a block of ice that takes up space as it grows and restricts air flow across it
4:22 Cause 1) AC freon is low causes “freeze up”
4:30 Cause 2) If sensor on AC control panel (AC buttons) is broken, the clutch will keep spinning when the AC button is pushed to “off”. (This is diagnosed after the AC pressure switch and relay have been tested and shown to still work, so the faulty signal is probably in this AC control panel)
Remainder of video: How to disassemble the dash to remove the AC control panel.
Also found in the comments (symptoms of a bad clutch):
Q: AC fails during hot days but usually works at night…
A: [tl;dr: clutch wears down over time, might need a new one] I would check the a/c clutch. When they get old, they work well when they car first starts and fail when they get hot.
One way to check is when it quits cooling, pull over and (with the engine still running) open the hood and look at the front of the a/c compressor. If the center clutch section has stopped turning, there’s a good chance that the compressor clutch needs replaced.
(Technical explanation: The electrical system powers the electromagnet. This charged magnet magnetically moves the clutch into position to spin with the drive belt and engage the AC compressor. But if the electromagnet is worn down, as it heats up during a drive and then cycles/turns off, the normal applied voltage is no longer enough for it to work again. (Over time, the repeated expansion and contraction of the metal coils of the electromagnet will cause an increase in the electrical resistance, so more voltage is needed to overcome this. The system isn’t designed to supply the extra voltage needed, so the electromagnet doesn’t create enough force to to push the AC clutch back onto the drive belt to start the compressor.))
Would a bad AC clutch cause a battery to drain?
Thanks for this video. My 2010 Honda Civic has the exact same issues. It freezes up if it runs on long road trips and pressure gets low. It also runs cold for a little bit and then starts blowing hot air. On cold days it doesn’t have that problem but on hot Texas summer days it never blows cold more than a few minutes.
I’m going to troubleshoot the relays and the fuse before finding a junk yard with the part to replace the controller like you did. Thanks for posting and sharing. You’ve earned yourself a new subscriber.
I have a 2007 Civic that is doing exactly what you describe. Have taken it to the mechanic twice but he could not duplicate the problem both times. At times a/c works perfectly fine and then it will start doing this. Blower will pulsate and become very weak and air becomes warm. You sound quite resourceful. I'm not so sure I'd trust myself doing this repair. But, will try and share this video with my local mechanic.
THANK YOU!!!
BILL E the cars never want to act up for the mechanic. This one had been to multiple dealers and mechanics before it came to me. Good luck with yours.
THANK YOU!!! THIS FIXED MY MYSTERIOUS PROBLEM!!! I recently went to the junk yard and got the control unit. Paid my mechanic $58 to install it for me. Working perfect! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! AWESOME!!!
I had the same problem. Very very helpful. Fixed it right away which no one was able to figure out. Thank you.
So I had noticed for a few years that a few of the lights on my a/c controller had gone out, and for about the last year or so I noticed that my battery light would come on whenever I turned off my a/c. Also noticed some weak a/c. I had the alternator checked and it was fine. I found this video and changed to the updated controller per your instructions and it completely fixed the issue. Thank you so much
Shasteon glad to hear it.
our honda civic 2008 LX had this exact problem few years back. ac would turn on, stay cold for a few mins, and then turn on and off whenever it wanted to. i think like in this video, it would even would run when the display for it was off. so we had a sensor problem and the garage we took it to fixed the panel inside the car. i liked how you explained exactly how the problems occur and what's going on, not many other channels do that. nice work
¹ air conditioners are garbage and that's the only thing
Very interesting. I have a '08 Civic that is experiencing the same problems. When working the a/c blows ice cold air. Now that you mention it, the a/c fails to blow cold after operating for about 20 minutes, especially more frequent on high humidity days. I have replaced the relay, and checked the freon charge. I suspected the clutch on the compressor was getting old/weak, since the car has over 210k miles. So next time the a/c stops blowing cold, I am going to take a look and see if the clutch is still engaged. I appreciate you taking the time to make this video. Thank you
MrMadaket78 I would doubt it's the clutch if the air blowing out the vents feels to be getting weaker then look for it freezing up. Under normal operation the clutch should cycle on and off as needed to maintain the proper pressure. In this case the control panel wasn't allowing the compressor to shut off thus leading to the freeze up.
MrMadaket78 e 2z@rt t
I am having the same problem on my Civic 2008 done 220k. At first The AC works fine but after some time it stops blowing cold air. After seeing this video I checked the clutch when AC stops blowing cold air and it was not rotating even though the AC button was on. Then AC starts working again when I pressed the pedal hard. worked fine for some time and then stopped again. Its quite irritating I have tried multiple AC mechanics every time paying a decent amount of money for various things they tried on the AC.
You nailed it exactly sir! Thank you very much. My brother in law had gone to hell and back trying to get this fixed, and because of this I had it fixed in 40 minutes once I got the part.
What an awesome explanation of how to trouble shot an AC system. I have two friends with Hondas that have broken AC. With this information I can try and get them working again.
Thank you.
I don't know if that's my trouble, but you helped me to identify some things to check on mine. My issue is a bit different, and I'm pretty sure it's not the charge of refrigerant.
Mine was fixed when I replaced the compressor clutch.
I know it's an old video but thank you so much! In my case the issue was the AC relay!
I finally found out the issue that was causing my a/c to fail. The pressure switch on the freon line. How did I discover it? I had a check engine light that turned out to be a lazy cat. converter. While replacing the converter I kept bumping that switch. So I unplugged it and moved it aside. When finishing up the converter change out, I plugged the harness back into the switch and Shazam! A/C is running ice cold now, no more problems. I suspect that the contacts had accumulated a bit of corrosion that was causing issues. BTW, I bought the replacement converter from Amazon. It is a Dorman, fits just fine, and best, check engine light went out, and the car passed emission test. Converter is an easy do it yourself project.
Thank you very much. Got my AC panel replaced and the problem is fixed. Now i can enjoy my cold blasting AC back again.
Thank you for the great video! So, I've got a 2006 Civic EX that seems to be having similar issues. My evaporator freezes up after driving 30 - 45 min. I'll turn off the "green light" AC button on the control panel, and wait about 2 minutes for it to thaw out, then push the AC button on to green light again, and it'll last about 15 min before freezing up again. I've pulled over twice to confirm that when I turn the AC button on the control panel from green to off, the clutch disengages, and when I punch the AC button back on to "green light", the clutch starts spinning again as expected. So, I've had this in to the shop numerous times, they even replaced the evaporator and confirmed that there are no leaks. I also replaced the relay switch. At the 5 min mark of this video, you state that the "after it got cold, didn't get to that point where it shut down all the way and was able to... thaw out." QUESTION: could the freezing up in my case still be related to a bad control panel because it may not be interacting with the temperature sensor or something? I've also noticed the the "recycle" option (yellow light) to the right of AC button doesn't seem to work anymore either - I can smell diesel fumes coming into the car when highway driving... never did that before. So, wondering if that might be another sign that the control panel is bad?
Lifestreams Media I would first check your cabin air filter if you have one. If it is dirty it can cause the freezing. If you don’t have a cabin air filter make sure there isn’t debris blocking the evaporator. Make sure the condensation drain is clear. You may also need the temperature switch. If you hook up a set of gauges and monitor the a/c pressure on the low side it should shut off the compressor when the pressure drops below 25 psi. If the system doesn’t shut off below 25 psi replace the combination pressure switch.
@@YourCarGuyDR Thanks for responding! So, I replaced the cabin air filter with a new one at the same time I replaced the relay switch. When you say "temperature switch" do you mean the Temperature sensor that's connected to the evaporator? I believe that was replaced when they replaced the evaporator (at least that's what they told me). As for the condensation drain, no musty smell or water leaking inside the cabin - could it still be clogged? As for the pressure switch, the mechanic said he hooked up gauges and checked pressures, stated they "looked good." Could he have missed the low pressure/shut off issue related to the pressure switch?
had similar with my 06, would work for awhile, blow bits of ice out the vents then low volume warm air until it thawed. After dealer replaced expansion valve it worked fine.
Lifestreams Media yes it is possible that they looked at the pressures but didn’t pay attention to if it is shutting down when it should. The control panel could still be the issue as when the pressure switch tells it to shut down the control panel is what turns the compressor off.
Bravo Dude. I think this is what my problem is. I've run some diagnostics and couldn't figure it out. This, I have not tried. Bravo!
Check the relay first. I replaced mine for $5.99. Fixed the AC.
Kevin Moore was your issue an intermediary issue? Meaning it worked sometimes and sometimes no? I doubt it, if it was a relay
Moreno12 what was it then? I got the relays ready to swap as well but going for the panel first... last will be the compressor I steongly doubt the compressor would work intermitently right til proven wrong!
Mario P a relay will not work intermediary. It’s a fuse pretty much. Either it works or not.
@@suppaman12 yeah i gotta disagree. my 05 jimmy had low freon and it would run the ac clutch for 6 seconds then shut off for 15 seconds and continued to do that. wouldnt blow cold. then i checked the psi levels and filled it to 55 psi with freon and blows ice cold now
You replaced your relay because that was your issue, your issue is different from this issue so changing a relay is not going to fix the issue for the car in this video
Thanks for making this video! I am pretty sure I need to do this kind of part-swap myself, and your video showed me pretty much everything I need. I actually coincidentally have one of these spare parts from a scrapyard pull I did last year (but haven't gotten to) for replacing the emergency button on my dash... so yay for accidental success! hah! Here's hoping the one I pulled is good ;)
Excellent video….I need some advice please. 2009 civic, 79,000 miles. ac works fine on short drives. on long drives in hot weather, the ac eventually blows weak warm air. sounds like freezing evap coil. i've checked the following:
- Compressor clutch engages and disengages when the ac button is pressed; cooling fans come on/off as well. With ac on and car at operating temp, the compressor engages for about 10 seconds, then disengages for about 10 seconds. I noticed this at a traffic light when outside temp was 70. It seemed to stay engaged longer when I got home from a 1 hour drive and was parked with everything running (temp 76 degrees).
- clutch clearance .65mm (high end, but within tolerance)
- disconnected high pressure switch and the relay (separately) and the compressor shut off (note: I tried to check for continuity on the high pressure switch, with the car off, but didn’t get it on any combo of the 3 pins…maybe I did it wrong)
- I drove 1 hour this am. Outside temp about 76 degrees. a (cheap low side) pressure gauge read 25psi with the ac on full blast and 42 with the ac off. The drain tube was dripping water as soon as I parked. No water in the passenger footwell.
- Just cleaned my k&n washable cabin filter, but it wasn’t very dirty.
When the warm weak air last happened (4 hour drive, 90+ degrees) I didn’t know enough to turn off the ac to see if it melts. I don’t believe today’s drive was long enough or hot enough to effectively test a freezing condition, but I hope you have some insight/questions based on the above. Thanks.
You might have a slightly low a/c charge. To really have a good idea you need to see what both the high and the low side are doing at the same time. The low side at 25 psi is fairly low which can be great for making cold air but can also cause freezing. Particularly because when the engine is at higher rpm’s the low side may be getting even lower. Seeing what the high side is doing will help to know if it is too low on refrigerant.
@@YourCarGuyDR Thanks for the quick response.... i'll buy the dual gauges and report back.
hi, here are the dual gauge readings at 80 degrees and 66% humidity and the car at operating temp (ac had not been turned on today). static pressure 95 high/97 lo. with ac on high 139 high/37 lo initially then settled to 146 high/28.5 lo. ac was blowing cold. hi side a little low?
@@swilson500 if all of that was at idle then the pressure is decent. At rpm’s the low side will likely pull a little lower and the high side will be a little higher. It is also possible that you may have a weak compressor clutch. When they are starting to fail they will work well early and on short trips but may not be able to cycle back on at higher temps once they have disengaged. The way to check would be to pull off when it quits blowing cold and with the engine still running look to see if the clutch is still engaged.
@@YourCarGuyDR ok, it will be plenty hot this week but not sure i can drive far enough to duplicate the problem. since the air barely blows when the problem happens, does that mean its definitely freezing and the clutch must still be engaged? does the clutch gap at.65mm support the possibility that the clutch stops engaging?
Thank you so much..I have been trying to figure this out for a few years..bought the part and its fixed.,
That is awesome.
This makes sense - i noticed the lights going out on my panel and my car has the exact same problem you described.
II haven’t switch the control panel yet, because I pulled out the cabin filter and noticed how clogged and filthy it is. This can cause the same symptoms correct?
Update: Air filter didn’t do much. I replaced the ac control panel and fixed it instantly!
Thx the video 100% helped in my situation. $15 for a used heater panel from the scrap yard and no issues.
tailwhipolaf1 awesome glad to help.
this very much sounds like my problem since getting my 2008 civic-ex in 2016. AC never turns off even when the AC control button is off, and on long drives, I lose cold air after about 20-30 minutes of driving. Got the part from ebay for 40. hoping this fixes my issue. will update as soon as I confirm my problem is fixed. fingers crossed.
I also brought my car to meineke to get the problem fixed. what they did was replace/add freon. it was difficult to confirm if the issue is truly fixed after I picked up my car but when I went for a long drive, the issue was still there. meineke said they couldn't do anything else and I didn't even get any partial refund. never went back to that meineke.
it worked!! thank you!! haven't tested on long drives yet but hoping that is resolved as well
Finding the diagram for the relay block is a pain! The wiring diagrams a little less so.
There are three of the relays that are a/c related. I bought a batch... all the same age, and if one is failing maybe all are on the verge. BUT... 3 weeks later the problem is back. In my case it is not a freeze-up issue. No issue of diminishing blower force over time. It just works (Fan speed and temperature control both) or it doesn't. Sometimes the a/c just will not start immediately after starting the car... but go down the road and hit a speed bump, maybe it will come on. Don't let a garage tell you that the intermittent blower issue is because of a bad compressor clutch. They are different circuits. The blower should run whether or not the compressor clutch is engaged. SO... Final takeaway... not a freezeup in my case, but still pointing to this panel!
Thanks to Car Guy DR for this video ! ! ! Three thumbs up if YT would let me! :)
GeezerGeek you are correct definitely not a relay problem. Possibly a loose wiring connection and possibly also a bad panel.
The vehicle is a 2008 Honda Civic. It has a new Air Compressor. When it was returned they said system was fine but don't use MAX AIR? This is my granddaughter's car. I found this to be ridiculous. I drove the car and the AC is ice cold and fine on short trips, no problem. I drove the car for approximately 25 miles and the AC began to blow air that was no longer cold. It was fine after I got home and used the car the next few times on short trips. I took the car in and they checked everything. He test drove the car twice. Ran diagnostics, AC blew 40 degrees the whole time. He checked for leaks and exchanged the cooling fluids. The fluids were not low and the system was not overfilled. They gave the car back to me declaring the AC to be perfect and rolled their eyes like I was crazy. Well I drove the car for a few short trips over several days. Yesterday I drove approximately 25 miles. The car was not overheating and was not even to the halfway mark. As soon as I traveled the distance of approximately 25 miles it began blowing hot air. I am in Las Vegas and it was a warm day. I reached my destination and parked the car for some time. When I came out the AC continued to blow warm air. I drove back the 25 miles and stopped to get something to eat. When I came out the AC was now cold and working fine. Today I drove a short distance and everything was fine. I KNOW something is wrong. When I suggested I did not see any fluid under the car when I shut the engine off. Granted the humidity is low here but I would expect to see some fluid? Also I suggested an ECM valve at least that's what I remember reading, and they looked at me and said snottily, which one? I replied well, the one keeping the AC from working properly. Once again they blew me off. I am not your typical grandma and started tearing into engines and fixing cars over 60 years ago when cars did not have a gazillion computers and were easy to fix. I am old, but I am not stupid. Something is wrong, but I can't get them to listen. I have been to two places and really don't want to waste anymore time being ridiculed and crazy. Do you have any ideas since I believe it to be something fairly simple they are missing. I am 75 years old and my vision is not too great anymore and I lack much strength in my hands, but I will give something a try and put on helpless old lady if I have to. Last year I was upside down fixing the ignition in my PT cruiser, began to doubt myself and said what the hell am I doing? I put it back together and it was fixed so I didn't have to call someone. My husband couldn't fix anything but it was helpful to have him stand by when I needed to be handed something or needed a stronger hand. He has since passed and I really resent being treated with an eye roll and disbelief. I am not sure how to get them to listen to a "crazy" old lady.Any advice would be helpful. I don't believe it is the same problem on your video; although' I found it very informative. Thank you in advance for any ideas you might have.
You need to see if yours is freezing up. When it stops working you can pull over and look at the a/c lines. If one is frosted up then you likely have the control panel issue. The other issue that can be possible is a poor connection at the connector for the a/c compressor. Particularly if someone has probed the sockets while diagnosing. This will cause spread pins and a poor electrical connection that will be intermittent.
@@YourCarGuyDR It did it again so I drove it right there and he diagnosed a relay and replaced it. Still doing the same thing. It's not freezing up I checked that. I did shut off MAX air and recirculating fan and it started blowing cold air again. Thanks for your suggestions. I have been reading on the Honda Civic and everything seems to point to only running recirculation for first 15 minutes? I have never heard of this before and not sure if this is something strange with the Honda Civic? Thank you for any suggestions.
@@nancylumbrazo3769 if the system is functioning properly you should be able to run recirculating air any time. I would look at the pins and sockets at the connection nearest the compressor. The socket is likely spread causing poor connection.
my 2008 civic with 275k on it has been having issues after a competent shop replaced the original compressor about 3 yrs ago. (this is the 3rd summer). I was going down the street and the AC sudenlly stopped blowing cold air. Cycling any of the switches didn't help, or the hot/cold temp knob. (the hot/cold knob sometimes has to be put to Hot, then back to Cold for the Cold to work again after running in the cold position for some time. it's like the cold knob slooowly goes to warm even though it hasn't been touched). Then I went over a pretty good bump and it suddenly started working again. Now; about 3 months later, the compressor is cycling on and off very rapidy. I put a cheap set of ac guages on the low side and it was saying 130 while running! I let the car sit for 5 hrs or so and the low side reads 75ish with car not running. I'm pretty sure the panel is going bad because i have other issues with it like not switching from defrost to floor heat, to combination etc. Could a bad panel cause the AC problems too? or do you think I have 2 separate problems going on? Oh yeah, my condensor fan is out. I bought a new one and plugged it in (without actually installing it) and it works so I need to get on that!
Excellent helpful video!
I'm having very similar issue if not the same. My 2008 Honda civic’s AC turns on and off. Recently when I was on the freeway which was a very hot day, the AC would cut off so then I would turn the AC to off and roll down the window and wait for about 5 min and then turn AC back on and it would work fine for about 10ish min and then cut off so then I would repeat every 5 min. On the same drive after couple of hours of driving it started to rain so the weather was cooler so the AC kept working fine but once the rain stop and I was out of the storm weather the issue of AC turning off started again. I’m also experiencing the same issue in the city drive but the AC don’t stay on more then 3-4 min.
I wanted to see if you could guide me on fix this issue?
Have you ever had someone add Freon to your system?
Also is your A/C Condenser fan working?
@@YourCarGuyDR yes I’ve added Freon about 2-3 years ago.
@@YourCarGuyDR yes the fan works but blows hot air. I also notice in winter heater don’t work either. Also, the windshield air button don’t work either since I need to defrost in winter time I notice that don’t work either. Making me thing it’s the control panel that’s an issue?
@@architpatel9524 that does sound like a control panel issue.
It sounds like my problem exactly. I'm going to share this with my mechanic. Thanks!
Thank you for your diagnostic video it was so much help
You are welcome. I am glad you found it helpful.
Hey great video by the way. I have intermittent issues with my AC but not as described. Mine will engage and disengage and I think maybe more related to the sensor you mentioned. I know initially it will click in and turn on and stay on and then after a couple of minutes it'll turn off and then click on and then off and I think the interval of on and off becomes shorter and then it just won't turn on. I originally was looking into videos mentioning maybe the clutch needs to be replaced but I'm not sure it would have intermittent issues if it were the clutch. I'm thinking now more there's an issue with the sensor or my freon is low or high. I tried topping it off with a can refill and it said the levels were good but it didn't fix the issue. I'm not sure if those guages can be trusted or if it's missing something considering it's only on the low pressure. The plan is to try to get a mechanic to diagnose it and see if they can dump and refill the AC. If that doesn't work maybe I'll try to replace the sensor. Not sure if you can tell by my description something I should check but I did check the relays and fuses but it wasn't that simple. Any information would help
wahab.omar a fast cycling speed usually indicates the system is overcharged or the a/c fan isn’t working. It will wear the clutch out to cycle to much. Having the system recovered and a good vacuum done then charge to the proper level should help. It is tough to get a true reading on the system without having gauges hooked to both sides.
@@YourCarGuyDR the confusing thing is how can a system overcharge itself? I didn't try to fill it until I started having the problem. I've had the car over 2 years and it's a 2011 Honda Civic with less than 100 thousand miles. This is the first big issue I've run into. I will try to get it evacuated and recharged properly and I would try it myself but I don't have any of the proper equipment so I think it would be cheaper and easier to get it done by a mechanic. But thanks for the feedback. I really did like the video and I find it very shocking how you were able to discover that as I would've never suspected the buttons to be an issue
wahab.omar one other thing to check. I have another video on this same car where it started having an intermittent connection issue at the plug going to the a/c compressor. If as you said this started prior to adding freon you could have the same connection issue. Look it up on my channel. It is a pretty simple fix.
@@YourCarGuyDR I will definitely try that. I'm still thinking you might be right about freon levels because it'll last longer the first time I start the car but then get progressively worse but I did not verify to see if I'm getting voltage signals where it is shutting off and on or if it's just dropping out by itself
My friends Civic has an issue simulator to this. It'll run for a couple of minutes, and then it'll disengage the clutch on the compressor. I replaced not just the relay for the clutch, but the other relay that has the snowflake symbol (From what I figure, it's the relay that kicks on the radiator fan when the a/c button is pushed). The problem still is there with the new relays. I don't believe the clutch is bad, since I could see it running. Any ideas would be helpful
Thanks, fixed my daughters car!
I am having the same exact issue as that civic with my 07 Civic. Makes perfect sense on the issue but nervous on trying to fix it myself.
Victor Mattera it really isn’t very difficult to do.
I have the same civic but my clutch kept disengaging.
Thanks for the video. Very helpful!!
Nice feedback
my 2011 civic does this. i get this issue every summer! hmm gonna check it out. thanks in advance
Hey did this fix your problem
K Weston no, nothing changed. Still blowing out hot air.
Also, AC compressor is still not running
Mine cycles on and off was fine all last year started acting up this year on humid days I changed the cabin air filter and rinses the coil out to see if it was plugged with salt and bugs
It was really weird it was fine I was doing about 3000rpm and it started blowing hot then hit a bump and it started blowing cold again
Another Point just tohad I finished work this morning it was about 14 degrees outside and the compressor was cycling as it showed it was switching on and off on and off as normal
Muchas gracias!!!! Voy hacerlo este fin de semana.Saludos
Great video. My daughter's 07 civic LX is having intermittent AC issues. Ironically it runs fine when it's cool out. I checked the relay out and it appears to be OK. I could not diagnose the pressure sensors since it really needs to be backprobed while it's plugged in. Is there a diagnostic procedure for the control panel?
Without Honda software it is difficult. But if the compressor continues to run with the a/c turned off then it is most likely the panel.
Hello. Thank you. My front panel is light off then AC intermittent. Relay is ok. But odometer reset control is not working. Do you think I should take my car to dealer to checkup the control panel?
I had to get my compressor replaced on my 2009 Civic about six months ago. I thought that was the end of my problems, but this very issue you describe kept coming up. I changed the resistor and more recently the fan motor blower… and yet the issue still persists. I will conduct a diagnostic review as you have recommended… I just have one question. Will this issue also exist with the heater? In other words, will I get intermittent heater air with this same problem?
Another question. Mine has been doing this for months on end. With the clutch not stopping the air-conditioner, is that putting significant wear and tear on that system?
After months of trying to diagnose and fix the problem, it appears your video properly described my problem and I followed thru with the replacement and my car is fixed! Thank you so much!!
mrbass82 question sir, my 08 Civic will stop blowing air completely no cold or hot!!! And the compressor clutch won’t operate!!! I’ll play with the panel in the car the fan knob and the hot cold knob and Shazam it starts functioning like nothing was ever wrong, my question is did your blower motor also stop blowing air and then start again too??? Thanks for any help!!!
Great video and exclamations, definitely learned something. I had a similar issue recently and just had to replace the control panel. I’m getting the fans kicking on every time I turn on the air-conditioning but compressor start. Am I correct to think the problem lies either in the fuses/relays or the pressure switch?
christopher conlon on many vehicles the fans will come on automatically when you turn on the A/C. On others it will be controlled by the high pressure switch.
christopher conlon fuse and relay is where u start luckily for hondas the problem almost always lies there...
Nice job. Well done.
Was looking through the comments and didn't see but can you post a link for the correct part please? Also, I did the HVAC system self-diagnostic and the recirculation button flashed 4 times which means "An open or short in the mode control motor circuit". Does this correspond to the failure of the HVAC control unit? Thanks!
Great video thank you, but what if the high pressure valve is working fine, Relay is replaced new and the control panel inside turns off the compressor clutch when switched off ?
I’m having the same intermittent problem and will build up Ice on the line but none of these seems to be the problem.
daniel your low pressure or freeze switch isn’t working. It is supposed to shut off the compressor when it starts to freeze up.
dear mr car guy, I have intermittent ac problem too. My car is 2 years older 2006 civic but the same generation of civic you diagnosed here. The problem seems to occur during the day especially when stuck in the traffic. The fan doesn't change it's air vent air volume as you mention here. there are days that the ac is fine but most of the time it stops blowing cold air. during the first startup of the day the ac never fails blowing cold air but when the temperature increase at the engine it starts to fail blowing cold air mostly during day time, I cannot recall it failed during night driving. I have the ac relay and expansion valve replaced and the compressor oil changed during its preventive maintenance in the honda car dealer. still I have the same problem. what can you recommend sir?
Gabe Maniego I would check the a/c clutch. When they are beginning to wear out the will usually work well until they get hot. So they will engage when the vehicle is first started. But as the temperature increases it causes higher resistance in the electromagnet that pulls the clutch in thus once it cycles off it isn’t able to pull back in due to the increased electrical resistance. One way to check is when it quits cooling to pull over and with the engine still running open the hood and look at the front of the a/c compressor. If the center clutch section has stopped turning it is a good chance that the compressor clutch needs replaced.
thanks for the advice. when it happens I will check that part.
Mine wasa the ac relay....it would click, but not work internally
very very helpful
*** HELP*** My Problem is when the car is cold AC works fine. At Idle it really drags down the RPM til the compressor disengages and reengages( happens pretty quickly). So.... in slow bumper to bumper traffic ac blows warm, ( good airflow new cabin filters), but at highway speeds the ac constantly kicks in and out in about 5 second intervals But compressor is at a higher rpm. So at speed it compresses enough to provide cold air.
Hook up a set of gauges and see what is happening. If the system is undercharged it could cause this issue. However if it is overcharged it could be causing this as well. This is why it is important to see what both the low and high pressure sides are doing. Also a restriction in the system could cause this. Watching the gauges as it kicks in and out will give you an idea.
I’m having quite a weird problem. It’s a Honda civic from 2007 (not the Si), with I shift!! (Very important)
M’y ac stops, then when I change gear (up or down) it works again for about 10sec.
Then it slows down until it blows hot air.
Weird right?
Any idea?
I’ll try the relay in a few days.
Thank you so much for
This video!
OOOOH! THought the panel would be pricey but $30 buh not to bad. Did not drive down the BEach today cause the AC went off then it popped back on. I am doing the relay first then try others. I think it has not been going on all the time for a while now as it takes time to blow and not always real great.
Good luck let me know if you have any questions.
My 08 Civic seems to have a similar issue. I'm not sure if it is due to freeze-up, but It blows cold for maybe the first 5 minutes, then goes hot. If I let the car cool down for a little while, I can get the a/c running cold for a short amount of time(maybe 5 more minutes). Replaced the relay, tested and charged the system, still nada. Would the clutch eventually disengage once it "freezes up", or would the clutch stay engaged? Mine disengages after the car staters blowing warm.
Did you figure out what it was? I have the same year civic and it does same thing you described.
@@fnbuy I have the same problem. Did you figure the problem out?
@@akathefury I diagnosed everything and figured the AC Compressor was shot. Bought one in Amazon and had my mechanic install it. We checked the terminals and fuses and just found it was the ac compressor. They say the reason for it going bad its due to one of the fuses being old and outdated.
I replaced the A/C Compressor in February and the A/C stopped working again a few days ago, but it appears to be an issue with the nob this time since the air is hotter than usual.
I had a similar issue with the nob on a 2017 Chevy Sonic that I had before this car.
Any tips?
You dont need to remove the panel on the left to get to the ac control panel.
Damn...I'm having exact same issue with my 2007 Civic. Next step would be paying $$$ at dealership and I'm worried they might not get it fixed. I need to find someone who can do this...
It’s an easy job. Hopefully it will fix it for you.
You are very gooooooood
How did you know the one at the junk yard was good? This issue seems fairly common with Civics in the 2006-2009 time frame.
That is a good question and the answer is that I didn’t know but it was worth taking a risk for the low price of the junkyard unit.
Great video. I have a question though. Have a 2007 Honda Civic LX. My AC works when the car is cold. After the car has been on for about 10 minutes, the AC stops working. I had it looked at by a Honda dealership and they said it was the AC clutch, coil and relay. It had rusted out. And it would cost me $1000 to fix. Does this sound right? I want to fix the AC but don't want to pay $1000. Thanks!
Richard Yamashita if you do the repair yourself you can do it for about $100-$150. An independent garage should be able to beet the dealer price.
Thanks man!
I have the exact same problem with my '07 Honda Civic, took it to a shop and they had to take the whole dashboard apart and it took em like 5 days, got it back and I got the same problem... Replaced the relays, that wasn't the problem either.... I guess I need to get a new control panel, wonder how much a shop would charge me to do it for me. Damn Honda's, I like my car but the most important feature for a car in AZ is the a/c, I shoulda done more research about Civics before I bought it.
Replacing the panel is a quick easy job. No competent shop should charge more than 1 hr labor to do it.
As I mentioned above I am having the same problem with my 2007 Civic. Just located a a/c heater control unit at a local junk yard. Going to go see if it looks decent. Called my local mechanic and he tells me that he would only charge me $58 to install it for me. I'm hoping this works. My a/c is now at the point where it doesn't even work when it's first started most of the time. The air is not cold. It's not hot air but barely better than having the windows down. Blower puts out very little if any air at lower speed settings. Blows warm at slow and idle speeds. Problem has gone from operating nearly a year intermittently to being almost constant. Hope I get lucky and this unit is the fix.
BILL E Hopefully that will take care of it. If your panel is bad for long enough it can cause the compressor to wear out. Hopefully that isn’t the case. Also check your cabin air filter and get any debris out of it while you are at it.
"THANK YOU" very much!
What it means when it take about 5 mins to become cold?
Great video I need help . I have a Honda Civic 2011 I change the compressor 2 times the first one failed the second one was cold in the beginning know is only works when I’m driving about like 40 mph when it hot doesn’t even work until 30 min driving . At stop lights it start getting warm again . When I change the nob to hot for a couple second and put it back at cold will start working again . My fans are working relays are working the clutch works on the compressor when I plug off the high pressure turn off . I’m losing patience honestly haven’t change my condenser that’s what most people say might be the issue but it’s not bad honestly
Two things to look at. My first thought would be a blend door issue. The door that shits off the heater core may not be closing completely. Also did the system get a good flush when the compressor was installed?
@@YourCarGuyDR I believe the condenser didn’t get a good flush down the other side of the system actually did get a good flush. I have to check the other part you said let me get into looking and I’ll msg you back thank you
I search up what part you talking about this part is the one I’m having an issue I haven’t fixed .? The core door takes like 20 min to change to window if I put it to window .? Also I did the diagnostic and it blinks 4 times
@@benjaminvazquez323 it sounds like there is an issue with the blend door. It could be a bad blend door actuator, something stuck in the blend door or the blend door itself could be broken.
@@YourCarGuyDR I think you meant "shifts"
2007 Honda Civic SI, it would work for 5 min and die ... replaced compressor and issue went away.
Great video... thanx
My Honda Civic 2017 is doing the exact same thing. I am wondering if this is a Honda Civic thing.
The 2017 is a different controller. However the same diagnostics will apply.
Hey Car Guys, Thank you for the video. I have HONDA CIVIC 2006. AC works intermittently. For first 15 minutes or so. Not sure if AIR volume reduces but cooling goes off and blows hot air afterwords. This has been going on since last 2 years. Dye test ruled out major leak. Local AUTO guy filled FREEON but he says COMPRESSOR is failing. Not sure if this is true.
THoughts?? Thanks. I sort of confused about the steps you mentioned in video - is there any way you can share typed document/with picture so I don't mess it up more?
h d it sounds like you have a lot going on here. Here is what I would do. First I would want to check that the compressor is working or failing. This would be done by hooking up gauges and making sure the compressor builds pressure properly. Next I would want to verify the amount of freon in the system. Normally I wouldn’t need to do this but because your system has been worked on multiple times there may be too much freon in it which can cause the system not to work properly. The only way to get an accurate measure is to recover the system. Put it into a good vacuum and refill it to the correct amount. This requires professional equipment. Then you could start checking the other items. If you feel confident that the freon level is correct then move on to checking if the compressor clutch is engaging. I just posted a new video last night that has a good view of the compressor clutch. Go to that point and let me know what you find.
If your ac cooling fan is not working, does that stop your ac clutch from engaging
It should not unless the pressure in the a/c system is too high. However you could have one problem that is causing both the clutch and the fan to not engage.
great work....
Hi. I too have a 2007 civic that has issues when the outside temp is high. The air blows but not cold. Originally the clutch would stop. I found a video online where they removed a shim from the clutch and the cold returned for a year. I recently replaced the cabin air filter and now the air is cooler but not cold. I replaced the clutch relay and tested removing the relay and unplugging the high pressure switch and the clutch would stop. One thing I noticed is that normally the clutch would engage and disengage while running. The clutch does not do this now, it just stays running. Is it time for a new ac clutch?
If the clutch stays running replace the control panel. A bad clutch will usually work at first then when it cycles off it won’t engage again.
I’m having a similar issue. However mine is not working at all. I have no ground on the control side of the relay. I’m able to bypass it by running a ground wire directly and it causes the compressor to turn on, however, it will not shut off at the control panel. Leading me to believe that the control panel is inoperable. But would that cause the lack of ground at the clutch relay?
I also unplugged the control panel and still had power on the control side of the relay
Shawn Keller yes the control panel provides the ground signal.
Hi Dr, I have a Honda City 2004 Indian model. The AC is intermittently switching off, ie., During drive, suddenly it will stop and blows normal/hot air and during this condition the engine rpm rises up. If switched off the AC for 10 minutes and switched on it will work again. But when AC operates the cooling is very perfect and ice cold. Is this issue because of a weak magnetic coil? or any sensor failure? or the compressor should be changed completely? Please share your suggestion.
kadhir rajasekaran there are a few items that can cause this. The a/c clutch could be your issue. It is also possible that the system is freezing up. Based on your description I would suspect the clutch due to the increased rpms. When the a/c is on the computer will increase rpms to offset the rpm loss to the a/c. If the clutch is bad the computer will expect that the a/c is on but the clutch not engaging will result in the increased rpm.
Car Guy. I had this issue before.All the symptoms were the same. I ended up replacing the clutch fuse and it worked fine again. That was about 2 years ago, now this just happened again. Do you think the AC panel is making the clutch fuse go out? I am going to try and just replace the clutch fuse again and see if if that works. If it goes out again ill look into the ac panel. But what do you think? Is it possible to get a temporary fix with replacing the clutch fuse? Or do you think if replacing the fuse works that that was just an isolated problem with the fuse??
Travis Lumpkins if the clutch fuse keeps going it it is a good chance that the clutch is drawing too many amps. This often happens as they age. You may look at replacing the clutch but if replacing the fuse keeps it going for a year or more you may decide to just keep a spare fuse with you. However if you decide to replace the clutch make sure to check all of the ground cable both at the battery and going to the engine and chassis. A weak ground will cause increased amperage draw and thus could be causing the fuse to blow.
Hello Sir, how important the radiator fan control unit? Because I bought new and I fixed without the control unit. Thanks
If your fan at the radiator is not coming on it will cause the high pressure side of the a/c system to get too high particularly at very low speed or when stopped. This will cause the pressure switch to shut off the a/c compressor.
My a.c. blows warm when the outside temp is over about 80 degrees.. under 80..works perfectly..suggestions?
So you will want to do some diagnostics. When it starts blowing warm stop and with the engine running check to see if the a/c clutch is still engaged. If so look at the low pressure a/c (the thicker one). If it looks like frost is forming on it you have a freezing up issue. Then it is likely the control panel.
i got 2010 honda civic sport , Ac is working fine but some times its goes off, means not cooling but fans and compressor is working, its happens in most of the hot weather.
any idea ?
Dineth Situge there are a few things that can cause this. Low freon charge can cause what you are describing. Also if the evaporator is freezing up or if the blend door is opening and allowing hot air through. I would start by looking for signs of freezing up. When the A/C stops blowing cold air look under the hood to see if you have lines frozen going to the fire wall. You may also want to have the system recovered and pull a good vacuum then charged.
Having this issue in my car. Does the heating control unit tell the AC Compressor to cycle? I thought it would have been one of the pressure switches.
Also, I noticed that the unit you installed on the car did not have the heated mirror button, but the original did. My car has heated mirror, so does it matter if we put in one without the heater mirrors?
Sorry for the late reply, but to answer your question yes the control unit does control the cycling of the compressor using input from the sensors. Yes the unit I got did not have the heated mirror switch, but for the price I did not miss it compared to not having a/c
I have a 2008 Civic lx 1.8 sedan. My ac problem is as follows. I start a long trip or any trip. cars getting warm inside so I put on the ac. no problem. when I get near my home town and hit traffic and I am stop/start driving the ac stops working. The light stays on but the clutch on the ac is not engaged. I changed the relay, regassed it, put oil in the compressor but when the under bonnet temp is hot it stops working. is there a thermo protection switch on the compressor that may be faulty or need calibration? in Africa Honda spares are really expensive so is labour. any advice?
Dan Brown two things to check. Make sure your fan for the A/C condenser is coming on. Also make sure that you are getting good airflow across the condenser. The high pressure switch will shut the system down if you are getting enough air flowing through the condenser. You may try blowing through your radiator and condenser to see if you are getting good flow.
Your Car Guy DR My Fans Arnt Coming On When I Hit The Ac Or Clutch . Help
Is the old panel fixable?
Great video. So if the high pressure is unplugged, and the ac clutch keep spinning, does that mean that ac it is working? What if the clutch stops spinning when the switch is unplugged?
240sxwanted the clutch should stop spinning with the high pressure switch unplugged.
@@YourCarGuyDR
Thank you for the reply. My AC clutch does turn off with switch unplugged. My clutch relay, pressure switch check out fine. I have a used ac control unit coming soon. Hopefully that fixes the intermittent AC issues.
240sxwanted I expect it will. Let me know how it works out.
@@YourCarGuyDR Car Guy. I replaced the AC control unit. Seemed to work for >30 minutes in extreme hot weather yesterday. Today is was very hot, and the AC clutch stopped engaging after about 20 minutes. Will check pressures on the high and low side tomorrow.
240sxwanted you may need the a/c clutch as well. When the a/c pressure gets too high it will cycle off. If the clutch is going bad it won’t be able to cycle back on when hot.
I have a 2006 civic and just recharged the AC, now blows really cold air is it normal that the compressor stays on the whole time?.
My 2013 Nissan cuts off once in a while and I was wondering if my civic should do the same
ugalde the compressor will run constantly unless the pressure in the system either becomes too high or too low. As long as the a/c continues to cool properly this is not an issue.
Exact problem with mine costing $$$ with 2 service centers and still not solved.
Should be a part recall.
R S truthfully this is what really started my TH-cam channel. Nobody had an answer for this issue at the time and a lot of money was being spent at dealers and other repair shops without an answer. I figured this video could help a few people.
Hi, I tried to read through the comments to see if anyone had the same problem as my 06 Civic. The AC works fine at first start of the day but if I switch off the car or ac after driving for sometime, the ac won't come back on. If the car stays off for about 3 hours, then the ac will start working again till I switch it off. That has been my case for a month now.
Kingsley Asoegwu most likely you have a bad clutch on the a/c compressor. It will work when the engine is cooler and once engaged will stay engaged but when turned off and hot it has higher electrical resistance and thus can’t engage again until the temperature drops and thus the electrical resistance drops.
Th cabin blower fan was bad and got replaced but, now the pressure switch is shutting down.
You really need to hook up a set of gauges and see what is happening. Whether it is shutting down due to higher than normal pressure on the high side of the system or lower than normal pressure on the low side of the system.
Great video thank you i think my coil was freezing up i put my ac on hot for few seconds and it started going full blast again maybe my freon level is low
XVXK_ putting the heat on helps defrost the evaporator when it freezes up. Low freon level can also cause freezing up.
Could be slightly low
My a/c clutch burn our keep running was out of town then a/c compressor lock out replaced, compressor expansion valve and air dryer recharge now it's running all the time switch on or off , fuses and relays are ok what could be the problem?
Yes this is likely the problem.
Question - is there a low pressure switch to bypass test if AC clutch and compressor are not working. If so, where is it located? Thanks
You can test the compressor and clutch by bypassing the A/C relay in the under hood fuse panel.
Thank you for the info! I'm having similar issues to what your customer had. In addition to it blowing warm air intermittently, it also shakes pretty bad when stopped and feels like it's slowing the car on take off. Could that still be the control panel? Thank you!
Sarah K when the compressor is on it uses a lot of power. Normally during brisk acceleration the computer will command the compressor off. If the control panel is bad then the compressor won’t turn off thus hurting the acceleration. The shaking could be related or something completely different like a bad motor mount or that the engine needs tuned up.
@@YourCarGuyDRThank you so much! Now I know where to start! I'll post an update once it's fixed.
So my ac is fixed! It wasn't the same issue as in this video, but I want to share because it was an easy fix. I still appreciate your recommendations as I know it's impossible to diagnose without the vehicle in front of you. So the shaking and roughness was caused from too much freon. Somewhere along the way of trying to figure this out it was filled too much. The intermittent cooling was caused by a clogged cabin filter. So new cabin filter, less freon and it's working great now. Thanks!
Sarah K great to heat it.
Sarah K I cannot your post what was your issue and fix thanks
My 2008 Civic would start warm, cool down, then get warm again when the rpm was low. I replaced the relay last summer, and everything was fine. Now we're back to square one with the air not getting very cool at all, and getting warmer when rpm is low. Should I try replacing the relay again? I checked the low pressure side and it's normal, so no freon needed, unless there is air in there. What do you think it could be?
ashley washington you may have a low freon charge. At low rpm the compressor is at its lowest efficiency. If the freon charge is low it will have trouble building enough pressure for proper cooling. If you know someone with a set of A/C gauges it would be helpful to hook it up and read the pressures. Otherwise find someone to recover the system and put it under vacuum then recharge properly.
So my ac panel doesn't turn on. It doesn't show any of the lights or turn on the ac. Could it be a fuse or is my ac panel no good
I would check fuses first.
Would this also make it were the compressor won't kick on
Angel of War 115 it is possible, however it is more likely a bad relay, bad a/c clutch, low charge or poor connection.
So my problem is probably freeze up? My ac blows cold air but very very lightly even with Max AC on.
What should I change? Pop the panel?
First check to see if you have a cabin air filter. If so change it. Also does it blow normally when you first start driving and then later stop blowing strongly?
How many miles did civic have when you did this job? Many civic owners at different mileage readings could have the same or not problem
A R. This particular civic had about 150,000 miles when I repaired it. The owner started having the problem at 80,000 miles.
Good man. Thanks for your insight🤔
Hey I have a similar problem except when I shut off the ac on control panel the clutch shuts off as well also the ac fan is not working I ran it directly. And it’s not the fan the fan itself works fine but won’t start by itself
mario macias there are two issue that could be causing your problem. There is a fan relay in the fuse box under the hood. You may need a new one as it supplies power to the fan. Also there is a high pressure switch on the high psi line that turns the fan on. If the fan isn’t running the a/c pressure will get too high and shut off the compressor. Focus on getting the fan working properly and see what your results are.
What if the AC blows cold for 20 minutes and then goes warm on you? This is happening consistently with our Honda 2008 civic.
Rohan Sask I would suspect a bad a/c clutch. It could also be freezing up.
If I could pick your brain here too. My wife has an 07 civic. I'm thinking there's an electrical bug. A/c clutch and condenser fan will kick on/off randomly sometimes rapidly more so at an idle. When it kicks in it blows cold, usually when driving down the road. I don't believe it's freezing up. What should the pressure readings be? Low side gets down to 45-50, high side can read up to 250 but it will kick off anywhere between 175-250. Would this panel cause this or maybe the high side switch is bad?
73Diesel4ever I have a few thoughts and you can let me know if this is what is happening. With the a/c on the condenser fan should run to reduce the pressure on the high side. If not the pressure will build and the high pressure switch will shut off the compressor. Going down the road you get better airflow and this even if the fan isn’t coming on it may be enough to keep the pressure lower. If the fan is kicking in and out you may have a loose connection. I have seen issues at the connector for the a/c compressor. A loose connection could mean that the plug is in tight but that the actual pins inside aren’t making a good connection. I have a video on the same car where I fixed a loose connection I think about a year later. It could also be an issue with the fan relay. Swapping it out with a know good relay is a quick easy way to check.
@@YourCarGuyDR Yep, the single wire down at the compressor was barley together. I remember now a guys S-10 did that years ago to me. Easy to forget those simple fixes sometimes I guess. Thanks
73Diesel4ever glad to help.
Mine has issues changing modes from defrost to floor to face. Did you ever find that issue with the defective one you removed?
I did not end up doing anything with the one I removed. In your case it could be a bad blend door actuator.
Very informative, thanks
My clutch shuts off when removing the relay and the high pressure switch. The clutch also shuts off when I turn off the AC. What’s my issue so you think?
Is your system freezing up or just not blowing cold?
@@YourCarGuyDR just doesn't blow cold. i got some freon I'm gonna put in it
@@toucansam8164 sometimes a/c freezing up can be caused by low freon. However you want to be careful as too much Freon can cause the system to not work properly.
This is exactly what is going on with my 2006 Civic and the dealer keeps telling me I have to replace the entire system because of something called "the black death". I don't know that I could do this myself but at least I know what to ask for now.
Marti Kilroy get a second opinion. The dealership is lying and should be ashamed of themselves. Please do not buy into their shananagins. God bless
I have an 08 civic. Turn on AC,clutch engage,but it engages for about a second or two,it disengages. It keeps doing the same thing. Over and over. Is it the clutch plate worn a bit thin,that’s why it doesn’t stay engage ? Or something else ?
mckoy lach normally if it kicks on and off rapidly the system is overcharged or you have a blockage.
Your Car Guy DR thank you