Air Conditioning problem
1996 Honda Civic 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Manual 111,00 miles
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My AC had been working fine, and suddenly quit.
Found AC Clutch Fuse Blown. Tried new fuse, but blew shortly after switching on.

Clutch plate, outboard of pulley assy. turns freely, so compressor apparently not seized.

No visable shorted wires.

Hi leigh-a,

High possibility the clutch coil is faulty. Check the coil resistance, it should be between 3 to 3.8 ohms.

Thanks KLH.

(1) I removed + wire from clutch / system on- condensor fan worked / no blown fuse.

(2) Swapped Clutch & Condensor Fan relays ( same P/N)--- No changes.

(3) Connected jumper-wire, with in-line, 10 amp fuse direct from battery to clutch + wire. Clutch & compressor worked fine.

(4) Got very low voltage reading at wire from Thermal Protector (top of Sanden Compressor)

I'm not sure if the Thermal Protector is a device that's prone to shorting out, but there seems to be a short somewhere between the clutch relay and the output of the Thermal Protector/

Leigh

Hi leigh-a,

The thermal protector is linked to the coil. Test the coil resistnce. Sanden shoud be 3.05 to 3.35 ohms at 68 F.

If the resistance is out of specs, the coil is defective. A faulty coil might still operate but it will cause shorting while in operation.

Thanks for the reply KHL.

Could you tell me where the clutch coil is located.

Is it an internal component of the coil, in which case you would measure resistance across the + & - wires to the clutch? Does coil replacement mean clutch replacement?

Thanks in advance.

Best regards,
Leigh

Hi leigh-a,

The coil is seated behind the clutch, they comes separately.

The wire after the thermal protector is the coil wire, attach ohm meter to it and compressor body to test.

I am having a similar problem with my 1998 Honda Civic. I just spent right over $1200 to have my a/c compressor replaced (along with my timing belts and water pump at the same time) and when I got my car back, the air was blowing, just not cooling. When I took it back to the mechanic, he ended up discovering that the fuse was blowing. Everytime we replaced it and turned on the A/C switch, it would blow. He states that since it is electrical, it's not something he can do, but referred me to someone else. Before I go spend a ton of money at another mechanice, is the fuse blowing a result of something my mechanic did wrong when he installed the A/C compressor? or just a bad compressor? or something else? (This wasn't a problem before my compressor crapped out and was replaced.)
ANY assistance would be greatly appreciated. THANKS!