My '09 Fit's A/C cools fast and blows very cold during city driving, and the compressor clutch never cycles on/off. Lots of water drips from the drain tube, no sloshing heard inside car. I checked it at idle for almost 2 mins, never cycles, and neither during acceleration or cruising. Both rad fans are always running. I usually use recirculation on 4 at first, then turn down to 3 or 2 as it cools off. But the biggest problem is on long highway cruises, after about an hour, the evaporator becomes iced up to the point of airflow being nearly cut off. The low side piping is solid ice under the hood. Cabin filter is clean. Called Honda dealer and made an appt to check it out. He suggests moisture in the system may be the cause, a relay might be stuck. He said they will evacuate/recharge the system first, then evaluate from there. He doesn't believe it's the thermistor. Ballpark is up to $240 evac/charge, around $400+ if they have to open the evaporator casing to change the thermistor. I have CarMax extended warranty @ $250 deductible from when I bought the Fit @ 14K miles. I'm at 56K now, no other worries so far. So hopefully this is just a simple case of evacuate and recharge the system. Got a long trip coming up soon, and definitely want it to be worry-free.

 

Sounds like what I had happen last summer. The A/C is the Fit's Achilles heel...

 

I looked over your service write-up and diagnosis. Looks like our Fits (at least the '09s) are having issues with their pressure switches and compressor clutch relays? I'm having the exact same symptoms as noted in the service writer's description of the problem. Thanks ever so much for posting that invoice, very good points to note. Hopefully others will see it as well and get their Fits chilled out properly as they should be. Only thing I hate is what they charge for a cabin filter.....over $22!!!!!!! Guess that's why they call them "stealerships"

 

Your symptom sounds like the relay, jammed/stuck clutch, or pressure sensor. If you turn off the AC does the compressor continue to spin? If it does continue to turn, it could be the relay or a mechanical problem with the clutch. If you unplug the relay and it continues to spin then you have a clutch mechanical problem.

I'm looking at the 2009 service manual. At the top of page 21-26. There is a symptom of "The AC compressor does not disengage when the AC switch is off." It shows that relay is located up front near the left front headlight. It is labeled auxiliary under-hood relay box. The box only has 3 relays in it. I have never changed one, but the relay should be simple plug in.

The pressure sensor is located on the right side of the condenser. On some vehicles I work on, the pressure sensor is also replaceable without loosing the refrigerant charge. If you want to thrown some parts at it, I would buy a relay and replace it myself. After that i would replace the pressure sensor, IF it can be done without loosing the R-134 charge.

It could be slightly low on refrigerant but even then I would expect some cycling.

Please tell me if the compressor stops when the AC is turned off and we will go from there. There is a whole flow chart page (21-36) o this problem in the manual but I'm a terrible typist and do not want to type all unless you really need it.

There is also a low temperature sensor buried in the evaporator that should prevent this icing. You do not want to replace it unnecessarily. It requires complete removal of the evaporator.

You could also always go buy a relay, install it, and see what happens.

 

It's not just the '09's as I've had the same trouble out of my 2012 with the evaporator freezing up. I'm going to have the dealership take a look at it at my next service, which is due pretty soon.

-Dustin

 

I'll check the clutch disengagement this afternoon after work. Seems like it gets super-cold in everyday driving (since comp is on 100%). Relay is a cheap and easy fix, maybe that's all it is. Might have them evacuate and charge it anyway to be certain, as low R134 can "mimic" by creating an overcooling situation. There is no oil residue anywhere in the engine compartment around the compressor or fittings. I put plastic screen mesh inside the front bumper inlet area when I first bought the Fit, so condenser is protected. I actually found a chunk of hard plastic debris that had gotten inside somehow, but missed damaging the condenser! Lucky there.

 

yeah, it seemed overkill to replace both the pressure switch and relay; seems like it would be one or the other (unless the switch side of the relay drew too much current killing the switch). And the recharge could have fixed it alone if it was low. I don't know how extensive their diagnostics were. But it was fixed one way or another (no issues in the ensuing year and I went back a couple times since).

Anyway being on the road between here and FL I was glad to have it working correctly on the way back and that they didn't use trial and error to fix it.

 

Do you have the link to the online service manual for the '09 Fit? I was only able to find the Owner's manual so far.

 

There might be some online subscription service. I bought it on CD from an ebay seller. If there is a specific section you need I don't mind uploading a few pages.

 

Yesterday I drove for three hours to Roanoke. Initially the A/C was fine, then about an hour and half into the drive I noticed the airflow diminishing and also the air coming out is not as cool. I wasn't sure what the problem was, cycled the A/C on and off a couple times without resolving the issue and ended up doing the last hour with windows down. Today I was driving back with windows down and it got pretty warm after two hours and out of curiosity I turned the A/C on and it was blowing ice cold air out nicely. Sounds like I'm having the same issue. Will work on this tomorrow. Thanks for the posts.

 

The AC clutch relay is pretty common item in all late model Hondas.

Replace with 39794-SDA-A05 and you should be good to go.

Never seen a dual pressure switch go bad as result from the relay. Usually see the Compressor safety valve pop in extreme cases.

 

This sounds like the same problem I was having in the thread I made the other day (https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...-ice-cold.html)

Mine got warmer after a while of driving. I've done a few short trips since, and it's been ice cold. Can anyone post a tutorial on how to replace the relay? I may try that since it's only a $20 part.

 

Checked for proper relay operation this afternoon. Compressor clutch switches on/off by pressing the AC dash pushbutton when fan is in any On position speeds 1-4, green LED goes on/off. Switching the system Off with the knob turns the compressor off as it should, doesn't matter if the AC button is on or off.

The relay in question is in the fuse panel forward of the driver's left leg, correct? Which one exactly?

 

Unfortunately I have a paper copy of the Maintenance manual here so I have no way to post any copies here. Also I went to the eye doctors today and they put something in my eyes that will take a couple of days to wear off. I expected just normal dilation that wears off in 8 or 10 hours but this was something else. So I can not see what I'm typing and can not read the paper copy. So please excuse any errors.

From what you have determined, the clutch is not mechanically stuck so we will forget that one.

The relay also appears to be working correctly in that you can electrically stop and start the compressor through the relay. Because the relay appears to be a common failure item, and should be an easy replacement, I would replace it anyway.

If someone here has an electronic copy of the 2009 manual possibly they could post a few pages for you.

What I remember from looking at the chart yesterday was page 21-20 had a picture of the relay socket and location.

Also page 21-26 at the top of the page had the symptom of compressor clutch does not disengage. Also page 21-36 had the flow chart on shooting the improper clutch operation. Page 21-38 had the informaation on the pressure sensor.

Finally page 21-44 had the information on the evaporator temperature sensor which you do not want to do. I'm sorry but I do not remember the details of the flow carts.

If no one posts the above pages for you, I can get back to you in a couple of days when my eyesight returns.

 

Here's the relay location. It's under the hood.



Here's a link to an album with the other pages. Sorry they may not appear in order but the page numbers are on each image.

 

Thanks everyone for pitching in to help. In my case, I believe it's going to be either the relay and/or the thermistor, and possibly the pressure switch, since I get really cold temps until evap freezes up on road trips >1 hr or so, and the fact that the compressor can be switched by using the AC button. Maybe half of the relay contacts are stuck on? At least it's a "cheap" DIY part, just pull the left headlight assy for easy access, pop the little box open & change it. At first I couldn't find the crazy thing, but now I see where it's at.

We'll see what's up tomorrow morning once they put gauges and stuff on it and see where we stand first with basic troubleshooting. May evacuate & recharge to preclude moisture in the system. Condenser is in good shape. I installed plastic mesh screen inside the bumper very soon after buying the Fit 3 yrs ago after seeing how easily crap can enter and waste your condenser! Found it cheap thru McMaster Carr.

The good part is if she does need the dash opened up for evaporator surgery to replace the thermistor, I've got an extended warranty plan from CarMax when I purchased the Fit back in 2011. Things not covered are "maintenance" items such as freon, belts, hoses etc. The $200 deductible won't hurt too bad compared to paying full dealer rate on something like this if it happens to need it.

 

Took the Fit to the dealer Saturday morning. The service writer explained, after noting my description of the problem, that there was possibly moisture within the system. An evacuation/recharge service was performed, which took about 2½ hours. No leaks were found. The condenser, A/C clutch relay, pressure switch and evaporator thermistor are all in good working order, no parts were needed. The total was $173.79. The technician said if it happens again they will need to replace the receiver/drier and expansion valve. That would be covered under my extended warranty after a $200 deductible. But it's looking like that isn't going to be necessary.

After the service was finished, I took a 2 hour highway drive to verify if the problem was totally resolved. Yeah, I know, it burned half a tank of gas, but I wanted to find out for sure if the problem would re-occur or not. I'm taking a vacation trip next week, and want to be sure it's fixed right.

I'm happy to say everything is back at full performance! I placed my digital multimeter thermocouple temperature sensor in the center vent to monitor how the system was chillin'. It now gets quite cold in a hurry and stays there! Running on fan 2, top vent output, center vent temps are running between 2–5C (35.6–41F) at 84F ambient @ 75% humidity. The compressor now cycles normally as it should approximately every 15 secs. At cruising speed you can barely tell, doesn't draw very much engine load, really efficient. The only indication is watching the multimeter temp display drift up/down every 15 secs or so as the compressor cycles. Very stable temp output. When I stopped at a rest area, I let it run for 10 mins in the hot sun, no difficulty maintaining temp.

My final observation is the system was probably slightly low on refrigerant, possibly from factory-new. The issue manifested itself on a trip shortly after I bought the Fit back in 2011 with barely 14,000 miles and had most likely never been serviced. The factory probably didn't get a full charge in it, maybe only putting the bare minimum in to save costs. Might not have been fully vacuumed down either during the factory assembly line build.

Honda is known for going a bit cheap on things such as paint thickness, for example. My previous '95 Civic had a bad case of roof rash where the paint simply wore away over time.

Now everything is working right again, I'm thinking about doing the glovebox refrigerator mod!

 

I've been meaning to check the forums for this issue. It's happened 3-4 times to my GE over the past year or two.

With the warm, muggy weather returning, I figured it would be a service to bump this thread to the top.

Just placed an order for the relay: #39794-SDA-A05

 

I mentioned earlier that I've had similar problems with the evap freezing up on my 2012 Sport A/T. I never got around to taking it to the dealership, but took a chance and bought a $38 A/C recharge kit from Walmart. The kit has a reusable hose and gauge and Walmart sells freon refills for it. I'm guessing it took about 1/3 to 1/2 of the bottle to get the gauge dead in the middle of the green area that matched the outside temperature. I did this a little over a week ago, so I can't comment on any long term effects, but the A/C is working perfectly now. The cooling performance is much better and I've had no problems with the coil freezing up even on 3+ hour road trips running the A/C constantly. I knew it just needed some freon and didn't want to take it to the dealership and have them evacuate it, check for leaks, recharge it, etc. and charge me $200+, so I went this route.

-Dustin

 

Thanks Dustin, I'm going to give this a try. Anyway you can link the item you purchased from Walmart?