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When I first turn it on the A/C blows really cold, but after a while the air turns warm like I turned it off, and I can’t get any cold air no matter what I have the settings on. The shop checked my A/C charge and said everything seems to be working fine. But the next day the A/C started blowing warm air again on my drive home from work. What could be going on? Do I have a bad compressor, sensor or something?
A#1
Believe it or not the problem you are describing is common to Hondas, but we see it with other vehicles are well, so we’ll not make this just a Honda problem. If your A/C was low in charge it would have been noticed by the tech checking the A/C system. As for it being a computer or sensor problem, it is not likely but that has to be proven. Because the A/C works as it should when you first start driving, I feel that your problem is more on the heat related side. The key to diagnosing your problem is to drive the vehicle long enough to get the A/C to stop working then have the shop diagnose it.
In the image above you can see a new Honda A/C clutch on the left and a worn one on the right. Over time the A/C clutch will wear and affect A/C operation if the wear is bad enough.
The most common problem we see with Honda A/C systems not cooling after the vehicle has been driven is due to a worn A/C compressor clutch that has too much clearance between the clutch surface and the pulley surface that it locks to.
Belt driven A/C compressors have an electromagnet mounted on the A/C compressor just behind the pulley that is mounted on the AC compressor. When you turn on the A/C, electricity flows through the electromagnet which creates a magnetic field which pulls the A/C clutch into a surface on the pulley, effectively locking the 2 parts together allowing the belt to drive the A/C compressor to make cold air.
New clutch kits come with a new clutch, pulley with bearing & electromagnet. This is most often the fix for an A/C system that stops operating when hot on a Honda or many other vehicles as well. Of course, diagnose before replacing.
Over time the surface of the A/C clutch and pulley wear and even get rusty. When too much wear occurs the air space between them increases which makes it harder for the electromagnet to hold the 2 components together. To make things even harder, heat causes the internal resistance of the electromagnet to increase. This reduces the amount of electricity that can flow through the assembly resulting in a weaker magnetic field. So as the temperature under the hood of your car goes up, the magnetic field gets weaker and finally gives up and your A/C stops working.
I’ll bet you’ll find that just turning the engine off for ½ hour will cool things down enough that you’re A/C will start working again until things get hot enough that it stops working again.
The key to diagnosing your A/C shutting off is to drive your Honda until the system stops working and have your technician check the operation at that time when everything is hot and broken!
If I’m right and you need a replacement A/C clutch it’s a lot less money than a compressor. A good kit comes with a new clutch, pulley, electromagnet, and some hardware. Here at the Northwood Garage we like to use Honda replacement parts when possible.
Once the new kit's installed your Honda should be cooling like new for the summer.
As a AAA member you receive many discounts, one you may not know of is the 10% you can save on repairs at the Northwood Garage. If your car or truck is towed in by AAA your discount happens automatically on the needed repairs and any additional repairs you have performed.
Benefits don’t stop there, when you come into the Northwood Garage show us your AAA membership card. Current members will receive a 10% saving on brakes, timing belt and most any other service your car or light truck needs.
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