My mother-in-law has a 2002 Honda Civic EX. She says her A/C has been working fine but yesterday it wouldn't cool and was just blowing warm air. Do you guys have any thoughts on what a typical cause of this is? I fear that it's the compressor or something else that is going to cost her a lot to repair. The car is in good shape and she'll be keeping it for a while.
2002 Honda Civic EX A/C Suddenly Blowing Warm Air
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It's the relay. Mine went recently on my 2003. They take only a few minutes to change. The relay was about $30 at Advance with the A123 code.
Originally Posted By: Slick17601
It's the relay. Mine went recently on my 2003. They take only a few minutes to change. The relay was about $30 at Advance with the A123 code.
That would be great if that's what it is! Can you tell me the details on where the relay is at, what exactly I'm looking for, how I can determine that that's what it is, etc? My mother-in-law will be thrilled if I can fix it for her for $30 or so.
It's probably just coincidence, but you never know will electrical things. Her battery bit it just two weeks ago. She was over at our house and when she went to leave, her car wouldn't start. The cluster and other electronics just went berserk. I took the battery out, had it tested at AAP, and then bought an AutoCraft Silver using the BIG35 promo code and saved $35.
It's the relay. Mine went recently on my 2003. They take only a few minutes to change. The relay was about $30 at Advance with the A123 code.
That would be great if that's what it is! Can you tell me the details on where the relay is at, what exactly I'm looking for, how I can determine that that's what it is, etc? My mother-in-law will be thrilled if I can fix it for her for $30 or so.
It's probably just coincidence, but you never know will electrical things. Her battery bit it just two weeks ago. She was over at our house and when she went to leave, her car wouldn't start. The cluster and other electronics just went berserk. I took the battery out, had it tested at AAP, and then bought an AutoCraft Silver using the BIG35 promo code and saved $35.
Originally Posted By: barlowc
Originally Posted By: Slick17601
It's the relay. Mine went recently on my 2003. They take only a few minutes to change. The relay was about $30 at Advance with the A123 code.
That would be great if that's what it is! Can you tell me the details on where the relay is at, what exactly I'm looking for, how I can determine that that's what it is, etc? My mother-in-law will be thrilled if I can fix it for her for $30 or so.
It's probably just coincidence, but you never know will electrical things. Her battery bit it just two weeks ago. She was over at our house and when she went to leave, her car wouldn't start. The cluster and other electronics just went berserk. I took the battery out, had it tested at AAP, and then bought an AutoCraft Silver using the BIG35 promo code and saved $35.
Please,
. Yeah it 'might' be a relay, but it also might be a bunch of other things. I hope it is something small, but there's no way of knowing that's for sure the cause.
If the compressor isn't running, you can remove the A/C relay, and by pass it with a jumper wire to see if the compressor kicks on. It's in the under hood fuse panel, labeled.
You can look here for more specific info, but I suggest if you plan on working on this car to buy some sort of repair manual.
http://honda-tech.com/index.php
My '01 Civic also starting blowing warm air, and it certainly wasn't the relay. The clutch plate came off the compressor.
Originally Posted By: Slick17601
It's the relay. Mine went recently on my 2003. They take only a few minutes to change. The relay was about $30 at Advance with the A123 code.
That would be great if that's what it is! Can you tell me the details on where the relay is at, what exactly I'm looking for, how I can determine that that's what it is, etc? My mother-in-law will be thrilled if I can fix it for her for $30 or so.
It's probably just coincidence, but you never know will electrical things. Her battery bit it just two weeks ago. She was over at our house and when she went to leave, her car wouldn't start. The cluster and other electronics just went berserk. I took the battery out, had it tested at AAP, and then bought an AutoCraft Silver using the BIG35 promo code and saved $35.
Please,
If the compressor isn't running, you can remove the A/C relay, and by pass it with a jumper wire to see if the compressor kicks on. It's in the under hood fuse panel, labeled.
You can look here for more specific info, but I suggest if you plan on working on this car to buy some sort of repair manual.
http://honda-tech.com/index.php
My '01 Civic also starting blowing warm air, and it certainly wasn't the relay. The clutch plate came off the compressor.
OP Update: So my mother-in-law brought her car over on Sunday for me to take a look at. I did pull and check a few fuses and relays under the hood, but everything looked fine. So I started the car, turned on the A/C, and it blew nice cool air. That leaves me thinking that either a) my mother-in-law had a senior moment and didn't press the A/C button, so it was just blowing warm air, or b) there's some intermittent electrical issue and I just caught it on a good day. So I guess we'll see if the problem returns.
OP Update: So, it's nearly a year since my original post. MIL was over the other day with the problem again. What I noticed is that when I turn the A/C on, I can hear something click on and feel the added load. But the air coming out of the vents isn't cold. It's just a little bit less hot than the air that comes out when the A/C isn't on. Thoughts?
After she reported a problem last year and I took a look and founds things to work just fine, it continued to work fine the rest of the summer. This intermittent aspect makes me wonder if it's an electrical issue of some kind.
After she reported a problem last year and I took a look and founds things to work just fine, it continued to work fine the rest of the summer. This intermittent aspect makes me wonder if it's an electrical issue of some kind.
It is probably low refrigerant. My 2000 Civic started exhibiting this last year. On really hot days, sitting in traffic the a/c would start blowing warm air. Once I got back up to speed and cooler air, the a/c would come back.
This year, the a/c only blows cold when it is like 70 degrees or less. I mentioned it when I was in for an OC and the manager said it sounded like low refrigerant. I actually might try and bring it in today seeing it is consistently getting into the upper 80s here in the DC area now.
This year, the a/c only blows cold when it is like 70 degrees or less. I mentioned it when I was in for an OC and the manager said it sounded like low refrigerant. I actually might try and bring it in today seeing it is consistently getting into the upper 80s here in the DC area now.
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Is a refrigerant recharge something I'd be able to do myself on this vehicle? I've not ever done anything like that.
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