1998 Honda Civic A/C Compressor Clutch

1998 HONDA CIVIC
100,000 MILES • 4 CYL • FWD • AUTOMATIC
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RMTRUNFIO44
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
Hi,
A few weeks ago my wife's car's (1998 Honda Civic LX -Sanden engine, 4 cyl, auto, 4 door) A/C compressor broke. The clutch froze and would not disengage. Needless to say it is the rainy season in Oregon and fog is a constant. Several issues have occured, One of which is the loss of the refigerant.
So I purchased a used unit and installed in place of old one. Pretty easy. Then I bought a refrigerant charging kit to reinstall new refrigerant. When I turned on car and set all A/C to high and high speed fan all lights where showing on and working. But I noticed the clutch was not engaging with the Compressor unit so I could not charge it. Went to manuals and found where fuse was and it was blown from previous issue so I replaced it and still no engagement. I also noticed in manual that it is controlled thru a rely switch but when I looked for the relay none was to be found. Any ideas where I can find the relay for the A/C comp. clutch.
Also do you have and ideas as to what I should look for next. My wife is always asking when is car going to done and want to finish this item.
Thanks for taking your time to answer my question.
D T
Nov 13, 2008 at 11:38 AM
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ZACKMAN
  • CAR REPAIR CONTRIBUTOR
  • 4,202 POSTS
You didn't say that you evacuate the system after installing the "new" compressor. There is air in the A/C system that has to be evacuated (the entire system has to have vacuum) before you can introduce new refrigerant into the system.

A/C compressor clutch relay s located in the under hood fuse/relay box, right rear corner of engine compartment.
Nov 13, 2008 at 9:31 PM
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