QuestionI have a 2002 Civic Sedan, about 140000KM on it and suddenly last weekend the AC stopped working. The light on the button lights up and the air blows, but it is not being cooled at all. We tend to drive 2-4 hours every weekend and it is on the majority of the ride.
I may take the car into be service but don't want to go in blind (or to be taken for). Is there anything a novice can do to investigate the issue before going into a shop? Is there anything I may be able to check or replace relatively easily?
Thank you for your help.
~Sandra
AnswerSandra,
And I am glad you are wary of the shops claiming a/c service. There are some very good ones out there, but there are just as many that will take advantage of the "novice" as you said it, in a heartbeat.
The first thing I want you to do is find out if your compressor clutch is engaging. You can generally do this by looking at the front of the compressor. You should see the front plate spinning if it is. (NOT just the pulley) Or you could turn the key on in the car(not the engine) and listen as you turn on the A/C... you should hear a "snap" as it engages.
I am guessing that it is not engaging. In which case I want you to check your fuses. Find the one labeled A/C clutch and check it. If it is bad, naturally replace it, but keep in mind that something had to happen to cause it to blow.
If your fuses are good... next I want you to locate your low pressure switch. This will be somewhere on your low side line (line has the smaller in diameter charging port) It will either be on a hard portion of the line somewhere, or on you accumulator. (Accumulator looks like an aluminum canister roughly the girth of a soda can with two lines protruding from the top of it) Yypically this is on the passenger side of the vehicle near the strut tower. Once you locate your low pressure switch... (it will have a plug with two wires in it, if you find one with 4 wires, that is your high pressure switch, we don't need that yet)
With the key on... engine off... and the A/C on, take a small insulated wire, unplug the switch and jump the terminals inthe plug itself. You should hear your clutch engage. If it does... that tells me that you have a leak somewhere that caused a low charge. You just need to have it charged back up. If jumping this switch doesn't cause your clutch to engage... then something else is going on, and I can either try to walk you through the wiring, you will need a multimeter to do the checks, or you can take it in to a shop. But I recommend to avoid getting taken... get a quote from more than one shop, or ask around and find one that has a reputation for doing the right thing. I hate to say it... but many shops out there claim to service A/C systems but they know little more than how to charge a system and change a compressor. Sad, but true.
I hope that I was of a little help, and if I can do anything more, do not hesitate to ask. Thank you for the question and good luck in everything.
