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What's wrong with my AC compressor?

M

mullis126

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Location
Cornwall
Car
Accord 2.2 i-CDTI
I noticed my air con was no longer functioning a couple of weeks ago so I followed the handy DIY guide: http://typeaccord.co.uk/forum/topic/10382-diagnosing-aircon-problems/

Unfortunately I can only get as far as step 1 - I energised the AC compressor clutch directly from the battery with no clunk audible. However when I looked at my dashboard the glow plug light was flashing continuously which is clearly a bad thing. After a bit of investigation it turned the heater fan fuse had blown.

I attempted step 1 just in case and lo and behold the same thing happened again! So I now need to buy 2 new relay/fuse things but what do I do about the AC compressor?

Is replacing the compressor an easy job and will it fix the problem or is something else causing a short circuit? Has anyone had this problem before?
 
I've not read the guide but have you replaced the aircon relay first?
 
When I first wrote the guide I was not aware that the glow plug light comes on in the diesel when you remove the compressor relay with the ignition on (engine running or not). Although the whole guide is fairly long to read, the issues on the diesel evolve fairly quickly, and indeed the rest is about all the various aircon issues on the diesel ....the diesel has most issues because Honda put the pressure sensor out in front of the condenser because there was no room in the engine compartment with the diesel engine. It is usually that pressure sensor that has gone wrong on the aircon in the diesel.

Ok, first thing, what year is the car, if it is 7th gen facelift, the relay might be in a different place ?

Secondly, I have done the same first step check on two different 7th gen pre-facelift cars, and the relay in those cars is in the same position as in the 2.4 petrol. So if your car is also 7th gen pre-facelift, then if the heater fan fuse is blowing, it has nothing to do with the test.

Thirdly, I think that the glow plug light can be reset by removing the negative lead from the battery for about 20 minutes, but I am only 100% certain that there are no radio codes on the 7th gen pre-facelift, not sure about 7th gen facelift. Otherwise, any cheap OBD reader can be used to reset.

Finally, do not think about replacing the compressor at this stage, let's make sure that the test is correct.
 
freddofrog said:
When I first wrote the guide I was not aware that the glow plug light comes on in the diesel when you remove the compressor relay with the ignition on (engine running or not). Although the whole guide is fairly long to read, the issues on the diesel evolve fairly quickly, and indeed the rest is about all the various aircon issues on the diesel ....the diesel has most issues because Honda put the pressure sensor out in front of the condenser because there was no room in the engine compartment with the diesel engine. It is usually that pressure sensor that has gone wrong on the aircon in the diesel.

Ok, first thing, what year is the car, if it is 7th gen facelift, the relay might be in a different place ?

Secondly, I have done the same first step check on two different 7th gen pre-facelift cars, and the relay in those cars is in the same position as in the 2.4 petrol. So if your car is also 7th gen pre-facelift, then if the heater fan fuse is blowing, it has nothing to do with the test.

Thirdly, I think that the glow plug light can be reset by removing the negative lead from the battery for about 20 minutes, but I am only 100% certain that there are no radio codes on the 7th gen pre-facelift, not sure about 7th gen facelift. Otherwise, any cheap OBD reader can be used to reset.

Finally, do not think about replacing the compressor at this stage, let's make sure that the test is correct.
Click to expand...
No its a pre-facelift diesel but the fuse is in the same place as your DIY guide. I had another go and have the following observations:

I thought the heater fuse had blown but it hadn't. When I started the car up before the fan wouldn't work until i swapped the fuses around without clearing the code. This time I fished out my OBD reader and cleared the code properly and that enabled the fan to run. (There's even a fault code dedicated to the AC compressor clutch it tuns out)

I tried your guide again and heard a clunk this time on step 1 so I must have had a bad connection the first couple of times I tried the test. I followed the guide through and it looks like the compressor clutch fuse/relay has blown so I'll source a new one.

Many thanks for your help Brian & Fahad!
 
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