CRV air con question

[TOPTON]

I have had the 05 crv 2.0 petrol for 2 years. Thirsty old beast and lacks in power to justify it's thirst, but it does the job of ferrying the dogs and taking the mrs shopping.

The air con has never worked and it has never bothered me until now. I always thought it was the compressor pump that had failed as that is a common problem apparently.

The symptoms with the engine running are>>>>

Switch interior fan on, runs as normal, hot and cold, slow to fast fan. All ok so far
Turn air con on, light on switch illuminates but no compressor click and condenser fan does not spin.

QUESTION????

Should the condenser fan still spin if the compressor pump has failed?

With the engine off, I can turn the outside rim/clutch section of the pump. But it does not engage when switched on with a running engine. Is it normal to be able to spin it while switched off, or is this a sign of a broken pump ????

I've read about a low pressure switch failing on Honda's, this I cannot find on mine, any ideas??


I've spent 10 minutes fiddling and swapped relays around, but that makes no difference.

[Jimmyarm]

Start at the beginning, does it have any gas in it ?

[E-bmw]

Take it to your local a/c expert as they will start with the obvious as above and do a vacuum test, if that fails they either go no further & you pay not a lot, or they will try to find the leak for you in which case it will be good value for money & if it is just the gas....Job done.

[Polome]

Your compressor has an electro magnetic clutch ...when energised it engages the compressor shaft so it will freewheel when engine stationary as you describe Normal system running.. ie the condensor fan ( in engine bay ) compressor and interior fan running when selected on controls. IF ...the system is low on gas a low pressure switch in AC pipe work inhibits the start ( to protect the compressor from damage) The switch can be frigged ( jumpered out ) to give a healthy signal to the system and allow a VERY short run ( if system low in gas it will also be low in lubricating oil) to check item functions.....lots of info on net...try googling for more advice if needed. Good luck. P.s. If going to garage use a AC specialist...see my post re halfrauds on this same subject.

Edited by Polome on Friday 3rd June 09:45

[TOPTON]

I've tried googling and couldn't find the answers I wanted, that's why I asked on here.

When I bought the car the salesman told me that they'd had it re-gassed, it wouldn't work because the compressor pump was broke. So I bought it anyway with this in mind. Google backed this up as a very common Honda problem and it never bothered me that it didn't work. (well it did really but I never got round to it until now)

Reading that the compressor should be free spinning when everything is off, I decided to re-gas it myself with a bottle of EZChill I had in my garage. When the pressure got up to about 3/4, the pump kicked in as did the condenser fan. HAPPY BUNNY

So now I need to wait to see if it holds pressure for a few days before I get it refilled properly at a AC shop.