97 Civic DX A/C Blowing Hot Air!!

[Matt Hart]

97 civic 1.6l sohc d16y7
A/C blows hot. Heat works great.
Have recharged and still doesnt blow cold.
Took it to get looked at recently, apparently, i have a wiring isuue. The tech manipulated some wire in some way and the compressor came on but the fan did not, he then did something else with some wire and the fan came on but the compressor did not. The amount Firestone wanted to charge for diag. was ridiculous. Id rather save the cash and figure this out myself. ANY IDEAS ??¿¿??¿?¿ (not sure if i have leaks)

 

[HeX]

It would greatly help if you could further explain what they were messing with when you vaguely describe them messing with wires. Were they messing with relays, fan switches, harnesses, plugs, the dashboard control, etc? Did you happen to get a printed out estimate that states what they suggest you need specifically?

 

[Restotech]

Low freon, bad pressure switch, bad compressor coil, or blow fuse. The list can go on and on. You have guages? We need some diag info to help you. What's the static (reading the gauge without the compressor running)pressure both low and high?

 

[Matt Hart]

Just saying this is my first car i still have a lot to learn and know nothing about automotive a/c systems so bare with me. Low side is at 45psi. Not sure wht H side psi is. A/C compressor is working i believe. (Belts runs) Fan doesnt click on. A/C blows whtever air temp of the day is. I dont believe the heater is stuck in the on position. Not sure wht wires fiestone was f**king. They wanted to do a compressor rebuild. How do i test relays and fuses ? (Also i have regrounded the ac fan harness and have directly powered it to the battery so the fan is good).

 

[Restotech]

1. You might be low on freon? I don't know though because I would need both low and high side readings.

2. You may want to study the operation of automotive a/c to understand the different components and their basic purpose if you would like to try to repair your own ac.

3. Locate pressure switch for a/c and disconnect it. ( I believe its on the dryer in 6th gen but I may be wrong)
-start engine
-turn on ac to high
-jump the two wires on the switch briefly and see if the compressor and fan, come on. ( Don't do it to long, it's bad for the compressor)
- if it come on, then it is either low on freon or a bad pressure switch. If not, then we take a different path that involves test lights and understanding what your testing.

 

[Matt Hart]

Ok thanks for the info. Ill get back to postin when i get around to working on it. Ive just recharged it today so maybe not low freon ? Cheers