Okay so I like working on cars as my hobby and I have my sister's wedding coming up in about a week. I already did all of the regular maintenance on the car for the 1000 mile trek there and 1000 mile back. I was trying to get my AC to work because it'll be hot where she lives and it hasn't been working in a few years.
Checked all of my filters, cabin and air, nothing. I tried refrigerant with dye as a first step, no leaks, but also no cold air either just fans going on blast and regular weather air coming through. Next step I read somewhere was to check the relays with a multimeter, readings were running back and forth (first time use).
Didn't understand it or get anything out of the readings. Also tried to re-engage some of the connections by jumpstarting them (also read it somewhere on this forum). Not sure if or what I did wrong, but after I decided to heck with it, I'll just withstand the heat, I went to start my car to roll the windows back up, and the green key light was on.
Tried starting it, it cranked at III but does not roll over to actually start. Had a guy come out and charge me $126 to tell me the immobilizor was fine and the key was fine but 2 codes: P060A and P1659 kept coming on. He called his buddy, he says it's a possible corrosion on an ecu plug and that there isn't communication between the coilpack and throttle sensors...
This whole section of vehicle stuff and electronics is a whole nother language to me. I have no idea and he wants to charge me "no more than $225 including parts", which saves more than taking it to the dealer, but I'm tight on money due to the trip already and I have nonidea if that's the actual issue because maybe I shorted something trying to jumpsart it or what. Id rather fix it myself for less $$, but I have no idea how.
Thoughts please!
Well sometimes they just get corroded so go to where the computer is first. Disconnect the negative terminal the battery so there's no power. Then unplug the giant wiring harnesses that go into the computer. They just clip and then pull out. They get a flashlight and look inside if there's green corrosion clean it off with spray electrical cleaner and a toothbrush. Pray that fixes it
There was a green like goo coming out of one of those clipped in wiring holey thing. But just the white one. The green and grey one seemed fine. Update below.
I think it might be my ac condensor cause one of the positive sides doesn't light up, indicating it's bad, right?
Huh? AC condensers are not electrically operated and thus have no polarity, it's basically a radiator to shed heat for the air conditioning system. You cannot test an AC condenser with a "lightbulb thingy". (The only thing with wiring you'll find on a condenser would be a temperature or pressure sensor.)
Oh, then on a Honda Civic 2009 or a CR-V. It's the top relay in the middle? 🤔
I thought you were talking about the condenser. For relay location you'd have to consult a relay chart for your vehicle.
I was. Isn't there a relay for the condensor? It's all the same. The middle top relay if you look at it straight should be the ac condensor relay and the positive terminal is not working with that light bulb thingy. It said on the labels that is was the condensor... So now wgat you're saying is confusing me about temperature and pressure. 🤔
Okay so mini update. I checked all the fuses and relays with the multimeter. There were all fine so I didnt short anything. The base (not sure what its called) where the fuses and relays plug into are also all fine except one. I checked it with that lightbulb thingy. I think it might be my ac condensor cause one of the positive sides doesn't light up, indicating it's bad, right? Not quite sure how I would go about replacing that quite yet. Thoughts? Theres still the issue of the green key light. You said to check the computer for corrosion, but I don't see any. What is it supposed to look like? Once my roomate gets back he'll let me borrow his car to go get electrical cleaner from the store. I have pictures to attach, but theres no link to attach any. Not quite sure what to do next. Thoughts?
I was. Isn't there a relay for the condensor? It's all the same. The middle top relay if you look at it straight should be the ac condensor relay and the positive terminal is not working with that light bulb thingy. It said on the labels that is was the condensor... So now wgat you're saying is confusing me about temperature and pressure. 🤔
No, there is no relay for the condenser. As I said the condenser is basically a radiator, a passive part, there is nothing electrical about it.
You probably have a condenser fan that has a relay but that's a separate part from the condenser. The air conditioner should work without the condenser fan operating but it would get weak while the car is standing still due to lack of airflow across the condenser. So if the AC is not working at all you have more troubleshooting to do. The problem could be in the electronics, which would require a fancy bidirectional scan tool to diagnose, or it might be in the mechanical parts of the AC system. Air conditioning systems in modern cars are very complex and are not friendly to the shade-tree mechanic. Except perhaps for the most basic repairs they are best left to professional AC technicians.
Is your compressor clutch even engaging? Are all fans working? When you hook up a manifold gauge set what are the static and operating pressures?