Hey everyone, I am new here. Have been on .com for a while but this site seems to be a bit more active. My wife drives an 04 TSX with 71K miles and the AC system has been driving me nuts for the last two months. It started with the system blowing warm air one day and then a day later it would be blowing cold again. This went on for a few weeks without me being able to figure out what was going on or why. Eventually I was able to do some research and figured it was the compressor relay that was going bad so I went out and picked one up from a local autoparts store and VOILA, that seemed to work.

The system worked perfectly for about 2 weeks and then it went out again. This time it didn't start working again after a few days. By this time it was the end of June and really starting to heat up here in NY. I made a service appointment at my local stealership (Valley Stream Acura) and brought the car in. They told me that the AC compressor was seized and it needed to be replaced along with the compressor clutch and compressor coil. The estimate was $1311 for parts and labor. I opted to pay the diagnostic fee ($118) and order the parts from Delray Acura in Florida and have my Indy shop do the work. Going this route it cost me $1061 parts and labor ($250 saved!).

The system worked for 2 days and then it stopped working again. Brought the car back to my Indy mechanic and we could see that the compressor was not engaging. We checked the coolant level, electrical connections, everything seemed connected, we were at a loss. The next evening still frustrated I swapped around some relays and VOILA the compressor engaged and we had cold air again. At this point I thought maybe initially the relay was going bad and somehow that caused the compressor to fail. After the new compressor was installed the relay might have just given out (I had put back the original relay since I figured that wasn't the problem). The system ran for almost a week so I was confident that it was finally sorted out.

Yesterday in the 104 degree heat my wife texts me to say that she has no AC. When I got home I swapped the relays but nothing. I tapped the compressor with a wooden stick, but nothing. The fans are coming on, but the compressor is not engaging. So I decide to take the car back to the dealer first thing in the morning. I wake up this morning and of course the AC is working. %*%# They tell me there is nothing they can do since they cannot diagnose a working system. Has anyone else had a similar problem? I really need some help here. We are in the midst of a heatwave and I haev a 1 year old and a 3 year old that are miserable in the heat.

 

A/C Compressor Clutch Circuit Troubleshooting is used for fans operating but clutch not engaging. Obvious checks as the condition, seating, and tightness of both the fuses and their fuse box positions...check Under-hood #9 (20A) and under-dash #30 (7.5A).

Then you check the signal from engine coolant temperature (normal range at idle), throttle position (about 0.5 V), and idle speed (more than 650).

Then test under-hood A/C compressor relay...after that it's all checks for short circuits.

 

Got cha, pm

 

Thanks man! I will have my indy mechanic run these diagnostic checks and see if it sheds any light. Much appreicated.

I sent you another. Sorry I am unable to receive your response at this time. I appreciate your attempt to respond though.

 

I pray that you don't have the trouble I'm having.

The tsx is soon to be traded in if its not fixed.
I find out tomorrow, 2nd compressor, countless relays, countless diagnostics, 4 months with no AC in South Carolina. It has been an absolute nightmare working with Acura/Honda. I think I'm going toyota/lexus/scion on my next buys unless acura can give me some real incentives to stay brand loyal.

good luck, 104 degrees is no joke without ac.

 

You should try to narrow down the real source of the problem.

When the compressor should be running, the blu/red wire going to the compressor should have 12V. The easiest way to test this is to use a back-probe on that wire and connect a 12V test light between that wire and a ground. That way you can keep the compressor plugged in and look to see if the light bulb is on or not. Then you will be able to determine if the compressor is the problem or something electrical is the problem.

I modified a mini-clip jumper wire from radio shack to back-probe. The copper part is shaped like the letter J. I used my needle nose pliers to straighten it out, and removed the plastic cover. That thin strip of copper inserts into the back of the connector pretty easily. Then connect one end of a 12V test light, connect the other end of the test light to a good ground.

If the light is turned on when the compressor is not working, then something is wrong downstream of that plug (like the compressor).

If the light is turned off, then something upstream is not working, and the next step for me would be to test the relay inputs.

 

Wow! Sorry to hear man. I hope they can sort it out for you today. Please report back the findings. My issue might be similar. Good luck!

Sounds logical, thanks. My wife drives the car back and forth to work so it is tough for me to get time to look at it during the week. The hard part is I can't try to diagnose it when it is working so it is a sit and wait game until it acts up again.

 

You can wire up the test light now and check that the light turns on when your a/c is working properly.

You can have your wife open the hood when the a/c stops working to see if that light is turned on or off.

 

Sorry bro, been real busy. What you read in the other post sounds spot on. I highly doubt that it is a relay/ electrical problem. It would be nice if it was.... Easier fix. Well the problem is kinda electrical but it related to the auto ac function/button and electro-mechanical wear.

What I was trying to pm you was if the click sound is present the field coil is recording power, and typically indicates that the relay and connection is good. With the fact that it runs fine and cold from a cold start I'd say the compressor is fine. The fact that after a while, out of the blue it quits indicates that the ac clutch "field coil" is worn out. $140 fix, and may require the removal of the front lower subframe, and possibly lowering the engine off passenger side motor mount. Intermediate to high mechanical skill, and may not be a driveway fix for your car, without proper tools.

Follow my advice in the RDX thread, don't pay for something that won't need fixing.

My thought on the matter is:
The auto climate control over works the field coil, so it wears out prematurely. After a while the coil requires more current to properly grab the armature plate and won't close the air gap when it gets hot. Which means, AC works good cold then as the engine bay gets hot, the ac if turned off will not have enough dc current or power to re-engage the field coil when the ac is turned back on.

Also, Previous posting are very much worth their value as contributions to the community.

 

Thanks for the reply and also for trying to PM me today (still in my 15 day trial period so can't receive PM's yet). It has actually been working fine for a week now but I will look into this. I kinda feel like an idiot for replacing the compressor now but knowing that these things are imploding and contaminating entire systems maybe it wasn't such a bad thing.

 

I'm having the exact same issue. I also tried swapping relays which worked for a while. It also seemed that having the Ac "ON" instead of auto worked a lot more often to get the ac to be cold. Now it stays hot the whole time regardless if I switch relays or have it on "ON" or Auto.

Did you find an answer to your issue? Mine has been working intermittently for months like this. For some reason it will work like once a week.

 

Still no answers, it has been working for about two weeks now. Can't really troubleshoot when it is working.

 

Still no answers. It has been working for the last two weeks or so. Can't troubleshoot if it is working.

 

I bought an Acura with several known "electrical" issues, but I got a good price on it. Now I'm wondering whether to keep it or not because people keep suggesting that the entire electrical system may be on the brink.

However, everything I've diagnosed/fixed so far was due to an individual failing component. Power mirrors were out; new switch fixed it. HID headlight is out; mechanic says it's a failed ignitor. Power lumbar doesn't work; haven't diagnosed it yet.

And then, I'm having this same problem with the AC that some of you are having. Knowing it's not just my car makes me feel a bit better. Maybe it is not a shot electrical system, but another failed component. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like anyone has found the true root cause yet, so I can't be sure.

I can say that I have one twist with my AC problem that no one has mentioned yet - it only happens on the driver's side.

My problem is the AC starts cold, after a random period of time it goes hot, but then it usually eventually goes cold again. Then later hot, and then cold, etc. But only on the driver's side. The passenger side vents blow cold air all the time.

As a side note, my driver's side vents don't blow air out as hard as my passenger side vents either. The fan can be turned all the way up, but the driver's side vents only blow out minimal air. Probably a related issue, I'd think.

I don't know if the "driver's side only" twist will shed any extra light on this issue, but I will be avidly watching this thread to see if the root cause is identified. I'd sure like to get this fixed, same as the rest of you.

 

The driver's and passenger side A/C vents are fed from a common duct with separate doors/flaps. The motors are known to fail, but thta normally causes one side nothing and one side working...haven't heard the lil'bit issue before.

 

Hi Bake

Have you had any luck? My 2004 AC works intemittently. I took it to the deal when it was off and while it was there it started working even when i did not turn the engine off.

 

Nothing new to report. The AC was working fine since last summer and now my wife is telling me that it is seeming to cut out every now and them for a few minutes. .

 

I think I have finally solved this dilemma! After more intermittent problems I went in to the stealership and was speaking with the guy at the parts department. I explained my entire scenario to him; how the problem started out intermittent, then had a total compessor failure, replaced the compressor, clutch and coil, only to have my AC system start to work again but on an intermittent basis (again). I always suspected a relay, but I had replaced the relay with an aftermarket relay prior to my compressor failure and the problems continued. He pointed out to me that there was a service bulletin on the compressor relay and there was now an upgraded relay with a new part number. This new relay is a fix for the intermittent compressor engagment as well as battery drain, both of which my car was experiencing. It has only been a few days but the problem has not returned so I am cautiously optimistic that this problem is finally resolved.

 

just recently replaced my AC clutch and condenser, cost an arm and leg but working fine now.

was very close to selling instead of fixing the issue. think i still might sell it by years end before the next issue happens...

 

Not to kick a dead horse (but I will), many of the 04's do seem to be kind of a ticking time bombs.

 

yeah even though i just fixed the AC, i am looking into selling it.

 

Hey Bake sorry for the long wait. The A/C issue is a acura "global issue"--meaning; any newer vehicles with auto climate cons-- and I'm not sure if there is any recalls for it or TSB's-- MAY expierience this problem.

Anyhow, I was experiencing the same issue. And after fully understanding the problem, I just ran mine on straight on or off for a while, well untill the A/C clutch (field coil) gave out. I drive an RDX for the record. Last week about the same time... I get a PM from Bake..my A/c clutch dies at the begining of a heat wave.

My 4 year old daughter and I drive to a local specialty tool store and pick up a AC pulley tool. All I could think about is a nice little writeup. Well I unbox the tool, get the creeper out, jackstands, 14mm socket, and a pair of snap ring pliers just to find out the ac pulley tool doesnt clear the pass-wheel bulkhead after 30mins of sweating like a pig. Pissed and also throwing a 5 year old little league'r temper tantrum AND throwing tools onto the lawn, I decided to walk away for a little bit.

I said this is a intermediate level mechanical job, and certain of it.

After a 2 day leave, I returned to the AC compressor. This time the weather was in my favor low 90's and the car sat for a while and was a little cooler to work on. I dropped the pass side subframe (loosened if you will, took the bolt out and put the bolt back in and used 1/4 of the thread providing me some slack to lower the engine.) and lowered the pass side engine mount just enough to get the special tool in. Older rubber motor mounts tend to tear if you do this so be careful and use good judgement.

Once the pulley was off the Field coil, old and new, looked identical minus the light dusting from rust. So it is not something that you can "Eyeball" the condition of serviceability. To check for serviceability I used a multi-meter measuring for a resistance between 3.4-3.8 ohms (per the RDX service manual IIRC), above that it needs Remove/Replacing. NEED 2 Re-ITERATE that the LAST STATEMENT is ONLY TRUE FOR RDX OWNERS, I dont have a service manual for "ya'lls" cars. Mine came back 4.2 ohms, mine got replaced.

There's more, driving the car with it limping on "leave the A/c set to on or off, not auto." So the last few times I ran it before it died, it failed to catch the pulley and machined a slight groove onto the Armature plate and inadvertently increased the gap. The shim had to be replaced due to the machined A-Plate and a 1/2 "matchbook thick" shim was used.

I did not have to evacuate the A/C lines as well. Better judgement told me that the compressor worked fine before and the A/C cooling just quits after (xx)mins or if i switch to off or auto mode, that the coil was bad. There is a enough refrigerant oil in the lines if it runs cool before cutting out. R-134a is the A/C refrigerant oil for new model cars.

Put it back together in the reverse order, 46.7*F blows out the vents. Yet I still managed to not take pix, dafuq. Sorry guys. I followed a youtube tutorial anyway. Your SM should state what the specs for torque on the pulley nut, subframe bolts and the motor mounts as well as the resistance required for a serviceable A/C Clutch(Field coil). I highly advise you get a SM if you are planning on DIY auto repair. :Thumbsup:

Any service tech will advise you to get a new compressor, for the sake of simplicity and ease of install. On the other hand the Removal-replacing of an A/c clutch is cheaper, this is a serious pain to do, in home or on a driveway especially with sedans.

 

Do you know the number for the service bulletin on the compressor relay? I've looked for such a service bulletin and found nothing. I've been having this intermittent AC problem for 3 years now on my 05 TSX. Sometimes when I start the car the AC blows hot for 10 or 20 minutes then starts blowing cold. Have not been able to diagnose the problem, it always works fine when it's in the shop . Any help on this would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

I don't know the number of the service bulletin, the guy at the parts department turned his monitor around and let me watch a short video Acura put together addressing the issue. The updated part number for the compressor relay is 39794SDAA05. It cost about $30, so if this issue is bothering you enough, it might just be worth it to pick one up and swap your compressor relay to see if it solves your problem.

 

I had a similar problem with my 2008 Acura TL. The A/C would blow cold air then go warm and back cold again. I tracked it down to a defective A/C Compressor Relay. (Original part number Omron Relay G8HL- H71).
Advanced Auto had an equivalent relay (p/n R6242) for $6.41. I replaced the relay and resolved the problem.
Good luck.

 

Same problem here. Which of the three relays is for the clutch? The original relays in my car the upgraded ones MITUBA 39794-SDA-A05. Wondering if one of the three is going bad want to try swap technique first.