A bit of back story... I have a 2008 Fit Sport with almost 110k miles. Around the end of 2015 the AC cut out on the drive home from work. I dropped it off at the mechanic and he said the compressor was bad, $700 later and a new compressor, and the AC was back in business.

Fast forward to about 2 months ago and in similar fashion my AC died after driving for about 20 minutes. I left it off for around 20 minutes then tried again and it worked for a little while before dying again. I initially thought the AC clutch relay was bad, so after seeing the fan and clutch relays were the same I swapped them, but the clutch still failed to pull in.

Thinking there may be a small leak from when the compressor was changed a few years back I bought one of the recharge kits. The gauge on the recharge kit showed it low, so I added about 3/4 of a can worth of refrigerant. The AC ran great for about 3 weeks. After about 3 weeks I was having the same issues, where it would run when first started, then stop running after the car had been running for a few minutes. Thinking I had a leak, I dropped it off with my mechanic.

He put a real gauge set on it and said that the pressures looked good, if anything a bit overcharged. I explained what I had done to that point, and he still suspected the relays, so he ordered a set. After swapping them with no luck he next thought it was the pressure sensor. After waiting a few weeks for the part to come in, he changed it, but the AC still won't run. He was next thinking it could be the compressor again, but not wanting to spend $700 again I declined to go further.

Based on the AC running, then dying, then running again when I added more refrigerant, then dying once more I really don't believe there is any problem with the compressor. I think it is a sensor or something similar keeping the compressor from running. Any thoughts? I do like and trust my mechanic, but I felt this troubleshooting was a bit over his head and he was just resorting to throwing parts at it. I will add for all the time he spent on it he only charged me for the pressure sensor (around $60).

Any help is greatly appreciated!
Cheers!

 

 

Sorry, that was an important bit of information I left out. When the AC quits (and right now it won't run at all) the clutch is not engaging at all. I was planning on jumpering the relay outputs this weekend to see if that picks up the clutch, and I'll let you know if that works or not.

 

 

Agree! Back before all mechanics were just parts changers, they used to re-shim clutches as they wore. They also used to change out just the clutch assembly and not replace entire compressors.

I'd try to find a dedicated A/C repair shop and ask them to diagnose and let them know you have a suspension that the issue is compressor clutch related. I'd probably even call ahead and ask them if they will change the compressor clutch if that is the part that is bad.

As you can tell, I am truly disappointing in modern mechanics. Modern cars have them spoiled to the point that all they know how to do is get codes and follow step by step instructions to replace parts.

 

I posted this in the GE forum since I fixed a 2009 Honda Fit with a similar problem. 15 minutes to remove the shim and no cost to the Fit owner my daughter.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...ml#post1409244

 

I appreciate the responses, but don't feel it is the clutch. I don't hear the click associated with it pulling in. I think there is a sensor or something otherwise preventing it from ever being sent voltage... I do plan to check it this weekend, and plan to jumper the relay output contact and see if it picks up and if it will spin the compressor. I'll report back when after I give it a shot. Also the new compressor (around 3ish years old) only has somewhere around 10-15k miles on it, so I don't think it should have worn that far down yet...

 

You may be right, but are you sure it was a new compressor and not a reman with a used clutch?

 

Here's a link to the electrical diagram for the AC system for our Fit. Click on page 18 (for the AC diagram).

http://www.hondafitjazz.com/manual/A...000ZDAT00.HTML

The ac clutch relay is energized by the ECM/PCM and send power to the magnetic coil to pull the clutch plate into the pulley. There's a fuse that you can check to verify that it is not blown. Fuse No. 11 is a 30 amp that power the condenser fan and ac clutch coil. If the condenser fan is spinning when you push the ac switch on, the fuse is ok. That leaves the ac clutch relay. Ac clutch relay is located below the battery in a plastic box.

Even though you don't think the air gap is the problem, I fix our daughter Fit by removing the shim and I link you to a video in which removing the shim fix the problem. You think/feel it's a sensor, but you can't tell us what sensor it is. You thought it was low on refrigerant so you just haphazardly added additional refrigerant to the point that you mechanic informed you that the system is slightly overcharged. The shim removal is just a 15 minutes repair, less if you have access to a lift since it took me 10 minutes to jack up the front of the car to remove the wheel.

 

Are cooling fans tuning on (or momentary pulsing on) when a/c is turned on?
Is compressor hard too spin by hand (with ignition off place 14 mm socket on the nut on the shaft and rotate clockwise)

 

Thanks for all the tips. I just got a chance to take a peek at it (don't have a good spot to work on it at the moment). Here's what I did/found:
- With the car off I pulled both relays (AC fan and compressor clutch), and jumpered the output. When I jumpered the fan relay output the fans came on, and when I jumpered the compressor clutch relay output I heard the click of the clutch.
- I started the car and turned the AC on. Nothing come on (no AC fan and didn't hear the clutch click).
- I jumpered the compressor clutch relay output again and heard the clutch pick up and the engine load down a bit as I would expect when the AC cycles on at idle.
- I connected the gauge from the Arctic Freeze refill kit I used before (I know, it isn't a real gauge but it gives me some idea) and hooked it up to the low pressure port. The pressure was reading in the 60-150 PSI range (around 80ish if I had to estimate) with the compressor off, and dropped to around 20 when I jumpered the compressor clutch, which the gauge labels as "low".
- The fact the pressure dropped when the compressor clutch was jumpered is what still makes me think the compressor / compressor clutch / etc is good and it is a sensor holding it out, but I'm not sure how to troubleshoot it further...

I know in order to change the pressure switch my mechanic would have had to evacuate and refill the system. Is it possible he didn't refill it enough? Does the pressure switch also cut the system off for low pressure?

 

Did you verify that you have power to the relay on the control side? If you look at the diagram that I posted, fuse No.22 which is a 7.5 amp fuse is the control side for the relay which controls the condenser fan relay and compressor clutch relay.

 

I would verify like said above.

Also a few weeks ago I used one of those kits to charge my AC. The "Rtic" gauge read nothing and my compressor still engaged. It didn't take much but at idle with the AC full blast I set the low pressure to 50 (with trigger not pressed on can).

 

So my fuse 22 is labeled "Small Light" and is a 10A. It was good. I also check all the 7.5A fuses in the interior fuse box and all were good. They were: 10 - "IG HAC", 18 - "TPMS", 25 - "ABS", 26 - "Radio", and 31 - "LAF". I didn't see any that referenced the AC system. Again thanks for the help!

 

Since you know where the AC relay is located and know how to jumper the AC output to provide power to the compressor magnetic clutch, you can take a test light (AKA Scope on a Rope) or ohm/volt meter and test the other relay contacts. One should have 12 volts constant since that is the power for the control side of the relay. The other contact will be the ground side of the relay.

 

The clutch plate may develop grooves and waves as well as wearing at the angle. In this case only replacement of both components will help

 

I replaced the AC compressor in my 2008 Fit Sport at the Honda dealer in Los Angeles for $1,400, and a month later it was blowing hot air. Now they tell me the AC condenser is leaking and I need to replace that too, plus recharge the freon (again) for an additional $985 parts & labor. Am I right in thinking they are crooks? Car has 81,000 miles on it btw.

 

I would not jump to the conclusion of crooks, but I'd say maybe not so good at their job. Compressors typically fail from being run without lubrication. So, it's likely that you had a leak prior to the first service. I'm guessing that they didn't do a real good leak test after installing the first compressor.

Make sure you do not run the A/C or defrost until you get the leak repaired and freon/lubricant back in the system. Running the compressor at all could lead to needing that part again.

 

Update for anyone who is struggling with this... I finally fixed it. After two mechanics both gave up and said it was probably the computer I finally took it to a Honda dealer. The dealer's initial note was "AC issue duplicated. Connect HDS to vehicle found every time vehicle AC switch on dash is push on under fuse no. 22 keeps blowing rec replacing switch to start with and retest vehicle for any other related issue." The dealer called and I carefully questioned that if they jumpered the switch the AC worked. They swore up and down that it did. Once the switch came in I got a call that it was still not working and now they said it was the computer and quoted $1700 to replace it. Not thrilled that they didn't diagnose past the bad switch properly I opted to get the car back. Their notes after changing the switch state "Replaced AC switch fuse stopped blowing still no command for AC compressor clutch on at switch. Under fuse box has 12 volts at no. 2 terminal clutch clicks when jump at PCM 31P connector and at relay PCM not sending signal to command compressor rec R/R." Not wanting to spend $1700 I eBay'ed an ECM for $50 and had them program it for $130, yet the AC still didn't work. Having had my fill of the dealer I got the car back.

After lots of Googling I learned of the existence of the Electrical Troubleshooting manual. I found a copy for the 2007 Fit (same as 2008 except no TPMS apparently) for $20 on Amazon. A week later it arrived. I knew that if I jumpered the AC clutch relay the air conditioner would come on. I also knew that the fans didn't come on when I pressed the dash switch. Looking at the schematic for the fans the computer turns them on whenever the AC is called for. It is not directly wired to the switch. So this meant the AC switch input wasn't making it to the computer. After looking at the schematic I saw that the compressor thermal protector has two separate functions. There is a thermal fuse in the AC clutch ground which was fine (why the compressor came on when jumpered). But there is a separate thermal switch (which opens above 252 deg F) in the control circuit. This isn't shown on the wiring diagram in the factory service manual available on hondafitjazz.com. The thermal switch was open even when the car was cold. I jumpered it out and the AC works again.

I'm extremely frustrated the dealer was ready to have me spend $1700 when that wasn't the problem. I'm planning on filing a complaint with Honda of America as this was a $40 part with minimal labor to repair. It took me 15 minutes to figure out the schematic (once I had a good one available to me) to get it running. I highly recommend picking up the Electrical Troubleshooting manual (you can get them new from https://www.helminc.com/helm/search_...lm&class_2=AHM but lots are available on eBay/Amazon). Hope this helps someone else!

 

Thanks for an update.
Where this "second thermal protection switch" is located? (picture will be great)! Hopefully it's not a low pressure switch!
BTW fuse 22 has nothing to do with a/c it's for illumination at night; only Fuse 10 deals with a/c fans. A dealer showed his extreme level of incompetence. looks like Honda is going down the drain by failing to train their techs.