98 Accord - A/C Issues; Fan works, no a/c

[emg2919]

I have a 1998 Honda Accord DX. It has analog a/c unit; ie no climate control. The A/C stopped working about a year ago. The lights on the heater a/c control panel don't light up and have no response. The fan works and blows air, but it blows whatever air temperature it is outside. If it's hot, it blows hot air, if it's cold, it blows cold air. No temperature control.

Here is what I've changed/tested/checked so far:

Changed heater a/c control panel (No difference, same problems)
Changed all a/c related fuses
Checked all a/c heater related relays
Checked fan fuses
Checked fan relay
Checked power to fan, 12v there
Fan works fine and changes with the knob on the heater control panel. This is the only thing that works on the panel.

I can't remember the last time the a/c refrigerant was checked; not sure if it's r12 or r134a, if it's not the latter, maybe I need to switch it over.

Possible culprits:
No refrigerant in the system; I've heard the system won't switch on if there isn't adequate levels of r12/r134a in the system.

Bad a/c compressor?
Bad a/c fan clutch?

Any other ideas? I'd like to get this fixed, as I live in Florida, and summer is just around the corner.

Thanks.

[southeast LA]

did your problem get resolved? i have the same problem, but mine is intermittent . . . . fan blows fine, but intermittent loss of button lights, and no A/C functioning. then randomly things work again.

[redaccordcoupe]

it should be r134a for your refrigerant, and have you checked the plug on the back of the control to see if thats why you have no lights?

[AccordLXMaster]

yeah i highly doubt its r12....but go get that checked...honestly..that shoudlve been the first...check this out..if your car is over heating whats the first thing you check?...not the radiator..not the A/c...not the fan...none of that...you check the antifreeze silly..lol...so in this case...check your freon lvl...hell id just say get it serviced all together before the summer...who knows what shape its in now after the winter

[fieldgoal00]

Originally Posted by southeast LA

did your problem get resolved? i have the same problem, but mine is intermittent . . . . fan blows fine, but intermittent loss of button lights, and no A/C functioning. then randomly things work again.

did you ever get this resolved? I have a 99 V6 coupe and the only thing that always works it the fan speed. The A/C only comes on intermittently and I get lucky if I can get it to switch from cool to hot air. Sometimes the lights come on but once they go off, the only thing that works is the last setting it was on and the fan speed.

[rukku9999]

HI, Presently I have having similar problem. So...plz do help me to solve the issue.

I have Honda Accord 2000 SE. The A/C stopped working yesterday. The lights on the heater a/c control panel don't light up and have no response. The fan works and blows air, but it blows whatever air temperature it is outside. If it's hot, it blows hot air, if it's cold, it blows cold air. No temperature control.

What would have been the problem.....

thanks

Rukku

[dorkiedoode]

Originally Posted by rukku9999

HI, Presently I have having similar problem. So...plz do help me to solve the issue.

I have Honda Accord 2000 SE. The A/C stopped working yesterday. The lights on the heater a/c control panel don't light up and have no response. The fan works and blows air, but it blows whatever air temperature it is outside. If it's hot, it blows hot air, if it's cold, it blows cold air. No temperature control.

What would have been the problem.....

thanks

Rukku

sounds like the refrigerant is low enough that the compressor is unable to activate. the a/c is a sealed system so there must be for leak for this to happen. take it the someone who has a a/c manifold gauge that can check for you just. if there is a leak then find the leak and seal it. then vacuum the system prior to filling it.

[emg2919]

Sorry guys for not responding back with the fix...I'll write it up soon and get back to you...long story short, it's working for now..

[emg2919]

Ok, so I am in the midst of a few other issues right now, with the car overheating and what not, but I think the overheating was related to the heater/ac control unit.

So after changing the control unit with one from eBay, it never ended up working. But with further investigation, and finally filling the system with R134a, I got it to work. Basically, when there is no R134a and the control unit doesnt function and switch on the compressor, some bad things can happen. If your blower fan works, but the ac lights dont switch on, on the control unit try this fix here:

http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/sh...ad.php?t=32057

Scroll down hybridmojo and his post about soldering a jumper to the motherboard of the control unit. You are basically forcing power to the unit, bypassing a relay on the board that can get corrupted with time, (acid, humidity, old age, etc) and will stop the unit from working. This is common because with time, electronics can begin to fade out, boards get old and oxidized, capacitors burst, and the thing will stop working. If it's a slow death, then the board has probably become oxidized and there is probably some blueish green stuff on there which you have probably seen on old electronics.

soldering this jumper has fixed the a/c unit control on my car, and from the sounds of things from a lot of peoples car. I just did this yesterday and now my ac works again (after the initial post, i gave up, but then one day it switched on, then i was able to add refrigerant to get it going and its been solid up until about 6 weeks ago).

So, if your heater/ a/c unit stops lighting up and your compressor wont switch on (even if its getting 12v to it), then try this first before buying a new compressor and such.

Hopefully this helps, let me know if anyone has any questions.

[dorkiedoode]

Originally Posted by emg2919

Ok, so I am in the midst of a few other issues right now, with the car overheating and what not, but I think the overheating was related to the heater/ac control unit.

i highly doubt overheating has anything to do with the a/c. check for leaks. Make sure to check the hoses, radiator, thermostat, and reservoir are in working condition too.

and as for the A/C, you should find out why the refrigerant was depleted in the first place or else you'll have a reoccurring problem in the future.

[emg2919]

Yeah, it's overheating again.

I changed the thermostat, ETC, thermo switch A, and burped the system. All was well, until today.... drove it to the gym (about 2 miles). noticed the temp gauge rising when i turned into the neighborhood on my way home

same symptoms - opened the hood and saw a thin spray of coolant coming out

reservoir is empty.

coolant is leaking somewhere I guess.

I need to investigage further, any ideas?

[nehonda]

Where is the spray of coolant coming from? - radiator, hose, engine? That is likely your leak source.

[dorkiedoode]

Originally Posted by emg2919

Yeah, it's overheating again.

I changed the thermostat, ETC, thermo switch A, and burped the system. All was well, until today.... drove it to the gym (about 2 miles). noticed the temp gauge rising when i turned into the neighborhood on my way home

same symptoms - opened the hood and saw a thin spray of coolant coming out

reservoir is empty.

coolant is leaking somewhere I guess.

I need to investigage further, any ideas?

Lol this is why you don't just throw parts at a problem. Find the cause and fix it. What you need to do is pressure test the radiator, this will help you locate the leak.

[emg2919]

yeah, gonna pressure test it now..