Hi so the last 2 mornings my acura rdx 2008 has been dead. I have a new battery from January 1, 2013. So I know its not the battery. It started blowing a sweet smelling smoke or steam from the left or passenger side of the engine if left idle with nothing on. I took it into a shop today and they said your air condition is running. I checked inside the car on the computer system and said no it wasn't. He said "Yes, I'm not asking you if it is running, I am telling you it is running." The air compressor, or the armature connected to the air compressor is constantly pressed inwards and is constantly engaging the air compressor, and the belt, causing it to run even if the ac is off. It turns out even when I turn off, and take the key out of the car the air compressor is still engaged, just not turning, causing electricity from the battery to run it, until the whole battery is drained and dead. Would this problem fall under the "Extended Warranty"? I just got the car last year and it only has 53,000 miles on it. It is a 2008 model. Apparently the steam that was coming out of it was a safety release, from the built up air in the compressor or tubs, that was not allowed to come out of the vents into the car because the ac was not engaged in the car. So again three questions.

1. Would this be covered under the extended warranty that Acura offered to owners of this car?

2. How should it be fixed?

3. Has anyone else ever experienced this?

Any answers would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

By the way the mechanic could not keep my car there because he didn't have time. So he unplugged the air compressor (causing the armature, or compressor to disengage), and said you do not have air conditioning any more, and it will not drain your battery. But still I need to get this fixed.

 

I think it's got a stuck relay. Just had mine replaced at the dealership, mine was a bad one so the compressor wouldn't engage. The relay are located in the fuse box in the engine bay, right behind the brake fluid reservoir. I know very little about cars, this is probably all I can share.

 

To answer your questions, no, it's not covered by the extended warranty. But you can easily replace the relays by yourself, and the part costs like $5 each. At my dealer, they charged $8.xx.

 

I bought a new relay and put it in. Now the ac clutch is not engaging, and when I put pressure on the relay it clicks in, but release pressure it clicks back off. Do you think it is a loose connection?

 

I know very little about cars, but it sounds like that's the case. Try to swap the relays with the same type and reset (which I guess you already did), but other than that, I don't know what else you can do.

 

fixed

 

Was your problem resolved? was the relay inserted completely and straight?