A/C not working

Tiny
CHRISTOPHER IVAN ROEDER
  • MEMBER
  • 1996 HONDA ACCORD
  • 2.2L
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 333,477 MILES
So I'm not sure how to go about testing my fans to see if they function or test the relays. I'm trying to troubleshoot but don't know where to start. Also when I bought the car it has a switch they said was for the A/C so that might also be the cause. Any suggestions or help will be greatly greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Monday, June 7th, 2021 AT 10:10 AM

19 Replies

Tiny
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Just to be clear, you said the A/C was not working in the heading but you are looking for in on the two cooling fans?

If the fans are not working then we need to check for power at them and make sure it is not a fan issue. If you are getting power then the fan motor has failed.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-an-electric-cooling-fan-works

However, if both fans are not working then we most likely don't have a motor issue as they are separate fans.

If that is the case then we need to go back to the relays and check for power coming from the radiator fan control module. I suspect this is going to be the issue as it controls both fans through two different relays.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-an-electrical-relay-and-wiring-control-circuit

Please review this wiring diagram below for more info on this. Please let us know what you find on this and we can go from there. Thanks
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Monday, June 7th, 2021 AT 7:20 PM
Tiny
CHRISTOPHER IVAN ROEDER
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Sorry half my post got erased on accident I didn't notice. Anyhow neither of the fans are running from the looks of it so I'll go and test the relays which are the two up by the driver side headlight, correct?
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Monday, June 7th, 2021 AT 9:16 PM
Tiny
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That is correct for the condenser fan relay. However, the radiator fan relay is in the underhood fuse block.

You have a relay for each fan so I attached the info below. Please let us know what you find. Thanks
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Tuesday, June 8th, 2021 AT 6:32 PM
Tiny
CHRISTOPHER IVAN ROEDER
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Thank you so much. I'll be sure to keep you updated.
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Thursday, June 10th, 2021 AT 9:03 PM
Tiny
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Sounds great. Thanks for the update. Yes. Please let us know as I am curious how it turns out. Thanks
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Friday, June 11th, 2021 AT 7:33 PM
Tiny
CHRISTOPHER IVAN ROEDER
  • MEMBER
  • 127 POSTS
So here is what I'm thinking. Remember that switch I was talking about I believe it was to turn the A/C off and on, but I'm not sure how they had it wired. So when I push the A/C button there's no signal being sent because that switch isn't connected properly. If that makes any sense at all I can take a pic and send it shortly.
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Sunday, June 20th, 2021 AT 12:20 PM
Tiny
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Is this switch a separate switch that they just wired in rather then using the switch on the control panel?

A picture would help just to be sure I understand.

However, you on off switch for the control panel are green and then blue and red.

Let us know if you can get a picture and we can go from there. Thanks
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Sunday, June 20th, 2021 AT 7:18 PM
Tiny
CHRISTOPHER IVAN ROEDER
  • MEMBER
  • 127 POSTS
I have a ground going to the compressor but no voltage for some reason due to the butchered wiring.
Any suggestions?
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Monday, June 21st, 2021 AT 7:27 PM
Tiny
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Holy cow. That is not good wiring. Do you know what this wiring goes to? Plus is that a ground in the picture below?

If it were me, I would just trace all this wiring and remove it once you know what it goes to.

Even if this is wiring that goes to the compressor, I would redo it properly. Let us know what this goes to and we can go from there. However, once it is removed, I would jump 12 volts to the compressor and see if it comes on.
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Tuesday, June 22nd, 2021 AT 7:08 PM
Tiny
CHRISTOPHER IVAN ROEDER
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The compressor does come on at least it did when I checked with my power probe. But I will let you know once I figure it out. Thank you once again for all your help it is greatly appreciated.
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Tuesday, June 22nd, 2021 AT 10:41 PM
Tiny
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Sounds great. Thanks for the update. Yes, if you could let us know because I am curious about this. Thanks
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Wednesday, June 23rd, 2021 AT 6:40 PM
Tiny
CHRISTOPHER IVAN ROEDER
  • MEMBER
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From the looks of it the switch is spliced off the blue/red wire that connects to the evaporator behind the glove box which I believe is the thermostat connector. Hopefully I'm making sense that's as far as I got today sorry.
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Wednesday, June 23rd, 2021 AT 8:51 PM
Tiny
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It does make sense but I am not sure why they are splicing into that so keep the updates coming because I am sure at some point it will become clear.

Thanks
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Thursday, June 24th, 2021 AT 7:32 PM
Tiny
CHRISTOPHER IVAN ROEDER
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Again thank you.
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Thursday, June 24th, 2021 AT 7:58 PM
Tiny
CHRISTOPHER IVAN ROEDER
  • MEMBER
  • 127 POSTS
Sorry for the delay so there was a break in a wire going to the A/C switch that in turn kicks the compressor on fixed that and runs great now nice and cool, except for some reason every now and then I'll get cold air everywhere except the driver side vent not sure but at least it's working for the most part. Thanks again for your time and knowledge very appreciative.
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Saturday, July 10th, 2021 AT 11:02 AM
Tiny
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That is great info. Thanks again. I am sure that will help others in the future.

When this vent blows warm does it stop after a minute or does it continue for a while?

If you want to get into that issue, let us know and we can get a new post started to help figure that one out. Thanks
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Saturday, July 10th, 2021 AT 5:50 PM
Tiny
CHRISTOPHER IVAN ROEDER
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It continues until I shut the car off and start it back up. I think it maybe something to do with the air mix control cable and the air mix control arm it connects to. Not sure though.
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Thursday, July 15th, 2021 AT 7:25 PM
Tiny
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That would make the most sense but let's start a new post and we can dig into it.

https://www.2carpros.com/questions/new

We just need to keep each post to one issue so that when you solve the issue others will find it easily.
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Thursday, July 15th, 2021 AT 7:28 PM
Tiny
CHRISTOPHER IVAN ROEDER
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Okay, sorry about that and thank you so much for your time and patience it's greatly appreciated.
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Thursday, July 15th, 2021 AT 7:47 PM

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