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I found that it looked like my field coil in the compressor was bad. The A/C worked just fine when the car was cold, but as it warmed up, it started cutting out and wouldn't come back until the car was cool again. The compressor sounds fine the whole time, which led me to believe that it was ok, it just wasn't being engaged.
So, I found a field coil here on azine for a good price and got one. I also found them online for as little as $75 shipped!
Ok, here we go!
Start by removing the passenger front wheel. Most of the work will be done from here. You'll be left with this:
Next remove all of the clips that hold the front half of the wheel liner out and pull it back. You can tuck it behind the disc brake for the time being. Or you can pull it completely if you want. It will look like this:
Next, remove the line that feeds the wiper squirters from the fluid tank, (plug it with your finger while you cap it, fluid will fountain out!) There should be three bolts holding it in on the tank it self, and one more up top under the hood by the filler. (my car was missing the top bolt and the rear-most bolt, strangely). After that you can snake out the entire fluid tank and set it aside (remember the top is not watertight!)
After that you should be able to see the compressor. it is the lowest belt-driven accessory on the car, and is right in front of the main crank pulley.
Pull off the shroud that covers up the crank pulley (one extra clip up underneath it) and you will be left with this:
Next, go up under the hood and remove the belt. you only need to take it loose from the power steering pulley (the biggest pulley up top) and you will have enough slack on the a/c. No need to pull it all the way out.
When done, it looks like this:
Now, go back under the hood, and you should be able to remove the center bolt on the compressor. Before you do this, you should check clearance between the pressure plate and pulley. the acura defined spec is 0.3mm - 0.55mm. You do this by inserting a feeler gauge in between where the pulley free spins and the pressure plate stays still. If it is not to spec, add/remove shims to make it right. Mine was right on 0.55mm and if my thinking is correct, as the clutch material wears, i will just have to add shims to bring it closer, so right now I'm good.
Now, there are several ways to remove the center bolt. Acura says to rent an a/c compressor tool to do it, but I followed an azine'ers advice and just tapped it with an impact and it came right off. (book calls for 13lbft of torque) Once that is off, you can pull off the pressure plate by hand, just work it straight back. BE CAREFUL that if ANY shims stay on the end of the shaft that you don't lose them. Most of the time they will stay embedded in the pressure plate, which is great.
Once that's off you'll see this:
Pull the snap ring off and you'll see this:
The pulley should slide right off (if not, just work it back and forth, it is NOT a press fitting.) You'll see this:
Tada! the infamous field coil!
unplug the lead off of the top of the coil. and then remove the snap ring from inside the coil that holds it on.
Remove the snap ring that keeps the coil on:
The coil should pop right off. I did a resistance test on the coil and got 4.8ohms at ~65deg F ambient. The new coil was 4.1ohms, which is right in between the acura spec of 3.9-4.3.
Pop the new coil on (it has a seating tab to make sure it is straight). Put in the new snap ring that should have come with the kit, put on the pulley, put on its new snap ring, pop the pressure plate back on. put the bolt back in.
as for torquing the bolt, I had a hard time keeping that pulley still to torque it right, so I just ___tapped___ it with my electric impact and it was good to go. Be careful!
Now, before you button everything up, you can also replace the wiring harness on the coil if you want. Mine was in great shape so I left it. Put the drive belt back on, and fire up the car. Since my a/c only gave out after awhile, I put it on "Lo" and let it run for about 30 min. It worked great!
Put everything else back together, (wiper fluid tank and shrouds) and you should be set!
Special thanks given to rbf351 for the coil and to eg5 for some hints on replacement!
I just replace the field coil (stator) on my 2003 MDX. A few comments to help the next guy:
1. Access to the face of the compressor is very limited on the MDX. I was unable to remove the snap rings using any of 5 or 6 different snap ring pliers I purchased. I had to use the pliers from the left side of the pulley, the right side being partially covered by part of the frame. On my compressor, the holes on the snap ring where you insert your pliers were on the right side, where I could not access them. I eventually used my dremel tool to cut through the rings and then was able to pry them off. Do not do it this way! See below.
2. Once I had the snap rings off and had replaced the coil, my next problem was getting the new snap rings on. Again, tight space was a huge problem. After several hours, I finally decided to try what I saw on another post: drop the compressor. To do this, I swiveled the frame cross bar located just below the compressor. Three bolts attach this bar to the frame, two towards the center of the engine and one out by the wheel. Remove the two center bolts. Loosen the third bolt just enough to swing the cross bar out of the way. Now you can remove the four bolts securing the compressor and it will drop down just far enough for you to access the face of the compressor. No need to suspend the compressor: it rests conveniently on part of the frame.
3. With the compressor dropped (and this was really easy to do, 15 minutes max), you can fairly easily remove the snap rings, replace the required parts, and reinstall the snap rings. Button everything up and reattach the cross bar and you'll be ready to go.
4. I spent 2 days futzing around trying to do this job without dropping the compressor. Once I decided to drop the compressor, I had the job done in about 2 hours. Hope this keeps you from struggling with this repair like I did!
worked great on my 05 RL! great writeup. my spacing between the friction plate and clutch was like .69 so i took out the spacer and added the 3 smaller ones that came with the oem field coil from honda to give me a spacing of ~.403. Only difference for the RL is you don't have to remove the windshield fluid because they used a different container and placed it behind the frame by the headlight so it was already out of the way. Thanks again Shaft!
went to the dealer to check my A/C on my 04 MDX because it would blow hot air after 10 -15 minutes i was told i need to change the clutch and coil and relay and the dealer wanted 1198$ parts and labor are they sold as one or separate items i try to find the parts but came up with just clutch coil part # 38924-RCA-A01 or a/c compressor coil /stator set thanks
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I did this job on a '05 RL, what a pain. I bought the part on the internet from an Acura dealer. $98.00 including shipping.
I was leaving for Florida the next day so I started early in the morning. I would say the main problem I had was rust, this car has lived in the northeast for 75000 miles. I took my time working the parts so as not to bend or damage anything. About half way through what I thought was a few hour job it started to rain.
Anyway, the key to this going smoothly are the snap ring pliers. They need to reach in about inch and have an angle on them. If you held the pliers on a plain from 9am to 3pm on a watch dial, you want the angle to so the tips are pointing at 5pm if that makes sense.
Took a ton of time but saved a ton of money, all has been working fine.
went to the dealer to check my A/C on my 04 MDX because it would blow hot air after 10 -15 minutes i was told i need to change the clutch and coil and relay and the dealer wanted 1198$ parts and labor are they sold as one or separate items i try to find the parts but came up with just clutch coil part # 38924-RCA-A01 or a/c compressor coil /stator set thanks
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no way it was that expensive to replace the coil, you sure they didn't say compressor as well? $203 for clutch and field coil is $116 part at dealer and 2 hrs install... about $500 total...
Last edited by YeuEmMaiMai; 06-05-2013 at 01:00 AM.
went to the dealer to check my A/C on my 04 MDX because it would blow hot air after 10 -15 minutes i was told i need to change the clutch and coil and relay and the dealer wanted 1198$ parts and labor are they sold as one or separate items i try to find the parts but came up with just clutch coil part # 38924-RCA-A01 or a/c compressor coil /stator set thanks
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You're looking at $320 in parts only. I don't know how many hours of labor they are charging you for it to come to $1200. Probably around 6-7 (my guess).Which is a little over the top. I believe it should be no more than 3 hours labor. Plus the cost/time of adding refrigerant.
I actually took my car to a local shop recommended by a friend when the AC started blowing warm.
They checked it and told me that it was the coil but that I had to replace the compressor because the coil was not sold separately.
I actually took my car to a local shop recommended by a friend when the AC started blowing warm.
They checked it and told me that it was the coil but that I had to replace the compressor because the coil was not sold separately.
Bastards were charging me $1200.
That could be because:
A) The dealer didn't mention you could buy the part seperately. The person to blame in this case would be the parts representative that took the call from this shop.
B) They didn't want to mess around with swapping new parts onto old units.
Researching definitely helps people that don't like to DIY. Not doing so is how people get screwed out of their own cash. Knowledge is power..and in this case,money.
I just replace the field coil (stator) on my 2003 MDX. A few comments to help the next guy:
1. Access to the face of the compressor is very limited on the MDX. I was unable to remove the snap rings using any of 5 or 6 different snap ring pliers I purchased. I had to use the pliers from the left side of the pulley, the right side being partially covered by part of the frame. On my compressor, the holes on the snap ring where you insert your pliers were on the right side, where I could not access them. I eventually used my dremel tool to cut through the rings and then was able to pry them off. Do not do it this way! See below.
2. Once I had the snap rings off and had replaced the coil, my next problem was getting the new snap rings on. Again, tight space was a huge problem. After several hours, I finally decided to try what I saw on another post: drop the compressor. To do this, I swiveled the frame cross bar located just below the compressor. Three bolts attach this bar to the frame, two towards the center of the engine and one out by the wheel. Remove the two center bolts. Loosen the third bolt just enough to swing the cross bar out of the way. Now you can remove the four bolts securing the compressor and it will drop down just far enough for you to access the face of the compressor. No need to suspend the compressor: it rests conveniently on part of the frame.
3. With the compressor dropped (and this was really easy to do, 15 minutes max), you can fairly easily remove the snap rings, replace the required parts, and reinstall the snap rings. Button everything up and reattach the cross bar and you'll be ready to go.
4. I spent 2 days futzing around trying to do this job without dropping the compressor. Once I decided to drop the compressor, I had the job done in about 2 hours. Hope this keeps you from struggling with this repair like I did!
Guys, can someone please help me figure out what frame cross bar I need to remove? I'm really stuck and would appreciate any help. Getting dark now and I'm trying to finish tonight. Thanks!
Great writeup SHaFT7. On my 2004 TL with 120k the AC went out suddenly (blowing hot air) on a 115 degree day, but worked well for 20 minutes the next day, then more hot air. I could see the clutch was not engaging, and I didn't suspect a leak. Relays and fuses were all fine, but I tested the resistance on the field coil at the relay socket and got 0.9 ohm. I simply did this because the connector near the compressor is a bit hard to get to. The clutch gap was about 0.6 mm, at the upper range of spec. The tip on using an impact wrench (I also used a 3/8 swivel on the 10 mm socket) was very valuable in getting the bolt off.
I had two important variations on the experience of SHaFT7, after which I found out my field coil as expected was bad with an open circuit.
1. The pulley, the one with the serpentine grooves, was very stubborn to remove. I used a flat pry bar, like you'd use to pull nails, and a hammer to tap the bar to perform the prying. Weak but rapid taps (think vibrate rather than force) and steady pressure did the trick, and a small block of wood against the engine block to get the correct angle helped once it got going.
2. The snap rings stumped me, as mine had the pin holes rotated 180 degrees opposite the ones SHaFT7 had. On the first one I used a couple different small flat screwdrivers and with little trouble got it off, but on the second I could not even see the second hole in the snap ring. At the local hardware store I grabbed the $15 set, and with a little imagination I had legit 90 degree snap ring pliers for tight quarters.
Got first part on the ring with my right hand and held it, then grabbed the pliers with my left and got it on the first try.
I was making pretty good progress on trying to replace my field coil until I had to remove the pulley. I can't get it off for the life of me. Tried wiggling back-and -forth, the pry bar with tapping from a hammer, PB Blaster, hitting the pulley with a small hammer, hitting it harder with a leather mallet. Nothing, it has not budged. I am concerned about damaging the bearing, so have not hit it with too much force.
It is an '02 and been through a lot of winters, so the hub is probably corroded. I don't think there is enough room to get a puller on it. Any ideas? Should I try heating it?
I got the pulley off. I had to remount the compressor on the block and bang on the pulley with a leather mallet. I took a while, but slowly inched off. The reason I had such a hard time getting the pulley off was because the field coil was totally melted. Turns out all this work was for naught, because after I got the pulley off I put the clutch plate back on and discovered that the compressor is locked up, so will need to be replaced.
I got the pulley off. I had to remount the compressor on the block and bang on the pulley with a leather mallet. I took a while, but slowly inched off. The reason I had such a hard time getting the pulley off was because the field coil was totally melted. Turns out all this work was for naught, because after I got the pulley off I put the clutch plate back on and discovered that the compressor is locked up, so will need to be replaced.
Did you ever get the A/C compressor replaced? I needed a new coil and ended up having to buy the whole compressor/clutch assembly. Now I have a clutch and compressor that I dont need. Im wanting to get back some of the money that I spent on it
Did you ever get the A/C compressor replaced? I needed a new coil and ended up having to buy the whole compressor/clutch assembly. Now I have a clutch and compressor that I dont need. Im wanting to get back some of the money that I spent on it
Huh? Who sold you that? They ripped you off, you can buy the OEM clutch/coil assembly separately for less than $150....
) shows it popping right off. The OP mentions the same. I am stumped.
AutoZone rents an A/C pulley removal tool but that won't work on the pressure plate. The gap is too small and I would not want to damage the assembly by jaming something in there or prying for that matter..
As a note, I am pulling it off because the a/c pulley bearing is shot and makes noise when the A/C is engaged like in the above video. I ruled out the idler pulleys as the video suggested.
This past week I attempted the stator coil change on my 2005 Acura TL. I used the above photos as my guide and purchased the exact Ace Hardware snap ring pliers. Uncovering everything was no problem, but once I remove the clutch cover and tried to remove the first snap ring I knew I was in trouble. Looking at the end of the compressor the snap ring was in the three o'clock position. It was physically impossible to do the 90° snap ring pliers trick as indicated in earlier post. The spare ends would not fit between the frame and the snap ring so I modified them so they would clear. Then nothing I did would keep them on the end of the pliers. The slightest movement and they would dislocate. I use tape to tighten up the holes, I taped each end on individually so they could move freely, but that did not work. I taped them to each other so they would stay at 90° and that did not work either. After two hours of fighting the first snap ring I finally broke it. One fourth of it stayed in the groove and had to be pried out. Then it took me an hour to get the pulley off the shaft. Then I moved on to the field coil snap ring. This was worse than the other. The 90° snap ring pliers rig was not able to get a good bite on the snap ring holes because the pins were to small in diameter. I tried and tried again and tried again and tried again, but after 45 minutes I gave up. By this time I had been working on this project for 5 1/2 hours and it was nearing midnight so I stopped. My wife took me to work Thursday and I was able to borrow a pair of Mac tools reversible snap ring pliers. They had a longer set of handles and longer tips. Once I got home from work Thursday, I started on the car again. The pins were larger in diameter and fit the snap ring holes better. Once I rotated that snap ring to the seven o'clock position by tapping on it with screwdriver, it opened up but it too was stuck in the groove, so I had to knock it out. It is a good thing that they supply new snap rings in the kit! I closed up the air gap from .051 down to .033. After another grueling 3 1/2 hours of work, I was finished. I had a couple of small hiccups along the way but I was totally finished and back together 100%.
I do not know who could ever be able to do this job in three hours, but I sincerely doubt that... Unless you are an Acura trained mechanic or you have done it multiple times before!
One thing you did not mention anywhere in any posts I read on this site wasthere is a screw under the alternator holding the coil wire and you can not get to it without removing the alternator.
Once I put everything back together including clocking the snap rings at seven o'clock, I fired up the car and turned on the AC and immediately it was cold. I added one can of refrigerant and put a thermometer in the vent and got down to a temperature reading of 51°.
Just changed the clutch stator on my 04 TL. AC was cycling on and off for weeks and could not find the problem until the coil finally showed zero resistance. Following this forum and these instructions I was able to do the job in about 2 hours. All snap rings were turned forward so my pliers did not fit. I just forced the rings around with large screw drivers until I could get them off with standard snap ring pliers. Everything came off without prying much. It all went back together with the same clutch spacer shim. All is working well now. Thanks for great write up.
oddly enough I just changed the clutch and field coil on my tl as well, I had the parts sitting on a shelf for months and finally decided to put them in since I'm getting ready to sell the car
pretty easy job with everything still on the car, hard to believe the savings if you compare most shops would want to evacuate the system, remove the compressor, change the parts, re-install them and re-charge the system in order to do the clutch/field coil
I was able to get the parts off, those snap rings were a pain. My field coil didn't even register OHMs, the new one was @ 4.2 (I bought it off ebay for $65 with no new lead wire or snap rings). I did damage the pulley bearing taking it off since it was pretty frozen... took a few taps with a ball peen hammer. I found another write up that removed the compressor but left the lines attached, I'd recommend that if I did this again.
Hopefully I can find the new bearing so I don't have to buy another clutch.... will be cheaper just to replace the compressor if it comes to that. (that was my reasoning for buying $65 coil from Ebay).
I just did my 2005 RL and it saved me a ton of time. Not sure what I would have done otherwise. There does not appear to be any room to drop the compressor.
I had a really hard time getting the pulley off. Had to use a pry bar and block of wood as another user suggested. The snap ring tools were all useless. I just used a couple of small screwdrivers and an awl. Granted, it took me about four and half hours.
Two hours to take things apart (this was the second time, first time I ran out of time and put everything back after getting past the first snap ring) and about two and half to put it back together. The hardest part was putting in the inner snap ring that holds the coil in place. Ugh! Must have spent two hours on that alone. Everything else went together quite smoothly. I purchased the snap ring pliers mentioned a couple of times, but there just wasn't a good place to stick my hand and the pliers.
Finally I held the snap ring in with a longer screwdriver, pushed in the bottom left section (two holes at 12-o-clock) after using a very small screw driver to pry it over the edge. There is a tiny indent in the metal at this point, enough to get a small screw driver's head in. Once that was in, I used an awl (in the two holes) and a screwdriver to push the rest of the ring in place. Whew! That was an ordeal.
But still saved me over $1K, so it was definitely worth the effort.
Thanks for the great write up and other pointers everyone!
Used this myself today. Shame on Nalley Acura in Marietta. They failed to do any actual diagnostic work on my failed AC, and instead said I needed a new compressor for $1630 installed, along with 1900 dollars in other fixes, most of which were dubious.
They said since the clutch wasn't running the compressor was bad and needed replacement. They must have thought I was some rube instead of a former aircraft avionics tech. So I isolated the relay, fuse, checked for power at the coil, and decided to try this instead since it was quite clearly getting power, not engaging, and the compressor was not seized. 135 dollars and 4 hours later my AC blows cold. If they had been honest, they would have banked the full rate for the part and probably 300 or so in labor themselves, but instead I'll not be returning to see them for anything.
As far as the repair, I had to gently hammer the pulley out and the snap rings were a mutha to break free. but much of auto repair is a battle of wills...... This is still a great writeup for this fix. Sidebar..... I checked the resistance at the coil I removed and it was OPEN. Completely failed inside.
2005 RL. Stator Coil replacement. $100 for part, About 3-4 hours of work, saved me ~$1400 quote. Without this post and the knowledge/insight regarding the snap rings, this probably would have been a failure for me - I would have assumed something was seriously out of my league if all of your discussion of the snap ring difficulty didn't clue me in that it was just perseverance and time! Pumping out cold air now! Thanks all.
My service guy, and myself, who has a little 1 man shop out in the woods here, in Northern Ontario, just followed the thread, and everything worked out smoothly.
The field coil was actually melted on the inside. Part was $180Can new from Acura, out the door at $370Can ... great savings!
04-17-2010, 09:26 AM
