AC Problem 06 Civic

[ourkid2000]

Car: 2006 Honda Civic LX 2 Dr
Issue: Intermittent air conditioner cooling

Hello folks,

My 06 Civic’s AC seems to be misbehaving. When I start the car up in the AM and turn the AC on it seems to work ok, maybe a little slow to start cooling. I’ll drive through town for a few mins and then hit the highway and everything seems to be cooling just fine all the while. Then when I get off the highway and start slowing down, the AC starts blowing uncooled air. So far this is about 15 mins of driving. The AC will stay off for about 4-5 mins and then come on again as normal.

So far I’ve done some basic troubleshooting. When the AC is acting up and not cooling, I noticed that the AC compressor is definitely engaged. I swapped around a few of the fan relays to make sure they were not the problem and it didn’t make any difference.

My next step is to try to catch what the fans are doing when it’s not cooling with the compressor engaged. Anyone have any idea what could be going on here? I don’t seem to be having any engine cooling problems so I don’t think its a relay or wiring issue. Looking at the wiring diagram I’m pretty sure any issue here would also affect my Radiator fan as well…..would probably cause a cooling issue.

I’ve noticed that the problem only occurs at low road speeds. I think that is a very telling symptom. I have never noticed it stop cooling while out on the highway. In the end I know that most AC repairs should be done by a professional but I would like to have a place to start first.

Anyone ever replaced a condenser fan? Can it be done in situ or do I have to remove the radiator?

Cheers!

Topic

[-=Col.Mantras=-]

Your compressor clutch coil has begun to fail. Very common problem on these civics. I was a dealer tech for 4 years and I replaced many of these coils. (usually the clutch too) I recommend an aftermarket compressor. The honda parts will be more money than an aftermarket compressor assembly.

Secondly, I DO NOT recommend those DIY fill kits you can buy. Your AC system was designed for R134A refrigerant ONLY. I recommend if you’d like to try this repair yourself, then have the system discharged by a qualified garage with the proper equipment. You can then replace the parts needed yourself and then return to have the R134a refilled. This way you know that you’ve got the proper stuff in there, AND the proper amount of lubrication.

I wish these fill kits were illegal. Those of us that own the proper equipment are recovering all of these DIY products into our expensive AC machines AND unknowingly combining it with our expensive pure R134a. There is a warning label on most cars equipped with AC stating “System only to be serviced by qualified personnel.”

On your car, with the system discharged, replacing a compressor isn’t that difficult.

Good Luck!

[ourkid2000]

Couldn’t I just replace the clutch and coil?

[Bill]

Yes you can if you have the tools to do it.

[-=Col.Mantras=-]

The fan should be running any time a/c is selected in the car. It runs the fan full time.

You could just do the clutch and coil but as i mentioned its usually more cost effective to get a whole reman compressor. Price it out and you will see what i mean.

A video of the compressor and fan would aid in diagnosis if thats possible

[Tom]

I think we are skipping diagnosis here and jumping straight to the repair . . ..

Before we condemn the compressor, or anything else, have you done the basics . ..

Check fuses, replace as necessary, clean, and straighten if necessary, the fins on the condenser, and verify visually that both cooling fans are indeed working, and working properly (no lazy half running cooling fan) when the AC system is running, but not cooling? Excessive debri, or a dead or dying fan could cause low air flow over the condenser at low speeds, but still allow enough air to flow over it at highway speeds to make the AC function.

I wouldn’t even think about replacing / repairing anything until you have verified that the condenser is clean and doesn’t have a bunch of bent fins, and the fans are working right.

[ourkid2000]

I agree Tomh….however, I have done some basic troubleshooting. I’m ruling out fuses at this point as the problem only occurs every now and then. I’ve done some relay swapping and confirmed that they’re not at fault.

I haven’t done a good inspection of the condenser and I haven’t been able to catch what the fans are doing when the problem is happening. When the car isn’t acting up, the fans are definitely working as advertised. I do, however, know that the compressor is indeed running when the warm air is flowing which I think is the most telling symptom at this point.

I do believe that if I had condenser, condenser fan problems, or expansion valve issues though that my AC pressures would either get too high or too low causing the AC pressure switch to shut off the compressor. The fact that when I have the problem, the compressor isn’t shut down seems to point towards the compressor to me but that’s just my opinion.

[ourkid2000]

Well it looks like I was WAY off in my initial observations…..this should change things significantly.

Previously, it seemed like my AC was shutting off during periods of slow driving. I guess this was just bad luck. Turns out, it’s more of a time thing than anything. As I use my car primarily for going back and forth to work, it kind of tricked me into thinking it would happen in the slow sections of the drive. Over the past couple weeks it has become obvious that it doesn’t matter what speed I’m doing, after about 15 mins of driving the AC cuts out.

Additionally, I have managed to catch what the compressor is doing when the AC cuts out many times now……it is shut off. Previously I had thought it was running yet not cooling. Again, just bad luck. I’ve caught it about 10 times now and every time the compressor is shut off.

A few days ago it gave out after about 15 mins and never came back on at all…..even after about 15 mins.

I checked all the fans….everything working perfect!

[ourkid2000]

I guess my next step is to wack the compressor and see if it pops back on? Should be able to tell me if it’s the clutch coil.

[twiggy]

When your AC appears to stop working, is that AC light in the middle of your AC on/off button still illuminated? This will be an important clue.

[ourkid2000]

Absolutely…..light is on as advertised.

[twiggy]

I have the service manual for the 2006 civic and it turns out there is a self diagnostic routine for the hvac system:

1. Turn ignition key to Lock [0]
2. Press and hold the recirc control and rear window defogger buttons, turn ignition switch to ON [ii]
3. recirc indicator turns on for 2 sec then self diagnostics begins.

4. Blower motor will run at various speeds when in diag mode.

5. If there are any trouble codes, the recirc indicator will blink and repeat the no of blicks every 1.5 sec

Try it and see if any codes come up, there are 9 codes available and it checks some of these aforementioned sensors.

This PDF file won’t let me cut and paste so I will look up the code for you if you get one.

[Author]

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