08 Honda CR-V A/C Issue

[klt1986]

Wife and I went out to eat yesterday evening and took her 2008 CR-V. Temperature outside was about 82 degrees and the AC worked perfectly on the drive there. On our trip back home the AC was simply blowing hot air. I tried turning it off and back on a couple times but it did not change anything. Please note the fan was working. After leaving the AC off for approximately 10 minutes I turned it back on and it started blowing cold air as normal. Checked it today and it is still working normally. Any ideas on what could have been the issue or anything I can check?

 

[Chris142]

Clutch coil going bad or expansion valve not regulating correctly.

 

[Trav]

Some Honda vehicles tend to have A/C relay issues, I keep a couple of them. Look in the owners manual for its location, its usually under the hood in the main fuse box.

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Some Honda vehicles tend to have A/C relay issues, I keep a couple of them. Look in the owners manual for its location, its usually under the hood in the main fuse box.


Had a 2007 Pilot come in recently & it was the A/C Relay....Didn't know about the "pattern failure" though.

 

[alchargo]

The A/C compressor clutch was a common failure on this era of CR-V. So much so that Honda acknowledged it was a problem and extended the warranty on the compressor. Here is a link to the compressor clutch bulletin in PDF form issued by Honda:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.carmd.com/Tsb/Download/104819/A12-072&ved=2ahUKEwiL_byDj-HaAhXjyoMKHVj5C_8QFjABegQICBAB&usg=AOvVaw23eITA9zgWCwT2EffqiN0c

 

[JC1]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Some Honda vehicles tend to have A/C relay issues, I keep a couple of them. Look in the owners manual for its location, its usually under the hood in the main fuse box.


+1 I would swap out the AC relay first.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: clinebarger
Originally Posted By: Trav
Some Honda vehicles tend to have A/C relay issues, I keep a couple of them. Look in the owners manual for its location, its usually under the hood in the main fuse box.


Had a 2007 Pilot come in recently & it was the A/C Relay....Didn't know about the "pattern failure" though.


I guess you wouldn't call it a pattern failure but I went through a dozen (all different vehicles) in 2 years compared to 2 GM and 1 Toyota.
Honda had a bulletin on the relay. If the one in the car is an Omron that's an issue and should be replaced anyway. They don't list other models but they fail also with the Omron.

Fuel pump relays on 05 and 06 officially but really up to about 09 are another problem, if the relay is a Denso its good if it has Mitsuba on it change it as a precaution.

Bulletin number: SM-10-002-00

https://hondakarma.com/threads/air-condition-compressor-relay-failure.1054/live?page=1

 

[klt1986]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Originally Posted By: clinebarger
Originally Posted By: Trav
Some Honda vehicles tend to have A/C relay issues, I keep a couple of them. Look in the owners manual for its location, its usually under the hood in the main fuse box.


Had a 2007 Pilot come in recently & it was the A/C Relay....Didn't know about the "pattern failure" though.


I guess you wouldn't call it a pattern failure but I went through a dozen (all different vehicles) in 2 years compared to 2 GM and 1 Toyota.
Honda had a bulletin on the relay. If the one in the car is an Omron that's an issue and should be replaced anyway. They don't list other models but they fail also with the Omron.

Fuel pump relays on 05 and 06 officially but really up to about 09 are another problem, if the relay is a Denso its good if it has Mitsuba on it change it as a precaution.

Bulletin number: SM-10-002-00

https://hondakarma.com/threads/air-condition-compressor-relay-failure.1054/live?page=1


As would have it, the AC is working perfectly as of yesterday. Should I go ahead and replace the relay or wait and see if the condition repeats?


Edited to add: Any particular brand of relay I should look for or better yet, any brand to stay away from? My local NAPA actually has one in stock. I did not check AZ or Advance but Oreily would have to order it. I do have a local Honda dealer if the OEM would be the best idea.

 

[Trav]

I would swap it out or at least know where it is and have the new one available, its not an expensive part. I get them at Napa part# ECH AR6242 its about $7.

Edit: The most common brand I see fail is Omron but even they seem to go 8-10 years maybe a bit shorter on Civics, its just a common relay.

 

[nwjones18]

Is the compressor running or not? I know on my wifes 08 CRV the blend motor that controls hot/cold lost its mind and decided all the air would be hot sometimes.. Its located near the gas pedal. I'd take a look at it while someone changes the temp from hot to cold and see if its moving.

 

[ARB1977]

Welcome to the club, lol. I’ve replaced the relay a few times. Ours goes out only when idling for a long period of time. Once you get moving it comes back on.

 

[mk378]

If the compressor clutch gap is too large, there will be unreliable engagement especially when it is hot under the hood.

When not engaged but it should be, test if the relay is sending power to the compressor.

 

[klt1986]

Originally Posted By: Trav
I would swap it out or at least know where it is and have the new one available, its not an expensive part. I get them at Napa part# ECH AR6242 its about $7.

Edit: The most common brand I see fail is Omron but even they seem to go 8-10 years maybe a bit shorter on Civics, its just a common relay.


I got the relay from NAPA and swapped it out this afternoon. The relay I took out was the Omron. Supposed to be in the mid to upper 80's the rest of the week, so I hope it will do the trick.

 

[Balrog006]

Originally Posted By: alchargo
The A/C compressor clutch was a common failure on this era of CR-V. So much so that Honda acknowledged it was a problem and extended the warranty on the compressor. Here is a link to the compressor clutch bulletin in PDF form issued by Honda:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.carmd.com/Tsb/Download/104819/A12-072&ved=2ahUKEwiL_byDj-HaAhXjyoMKHVj5C_8QFjABegQICBAB&usg=AOvVaw23eITA9zgWCwT2EffqiN0c


Aside from standard maintenance items such as fluid changes, tires and brakes a failed AC clutch has by my 08’ CRV’s ONLY mechanical failure since new and it has 270K + miles

 

[mk378]

Many of these "failed" clutches can get a lot more miles for zero dollars by removing the shim washers to close up the gap between the clutch plate and the pulley.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: klt1986
Originally Posted By: Trav
I would swap it out or at least know where it is and have the new one available, its not an expensive part. I get them at Napa part# ECH AR6242 its about $7.

Edit: The most common brand I see fail is Omron but even they seem to go 8-10 years maybe a bit shorter on Civics, its just a common relay.


I got the relay from NAPA and swapped it out this afternoon. The relay I took out was the Omron. Supposed to be in the mid to upper 80's the rest of the week, so I hope it will do the trick.


That's about EOL for that relay anyway (and seeing it has a TSB about it) so changing it was good thing rather than have it go out on a smoking hot day.
If it does it again nothing lost replacing it at least you will know where problem likely isn't and go from there, wiring to the clutch from the relay or the clutch itself. See how it goes.

 

[mightymousetech]

Originally Posted By: klt1986
Originally Posted By: Trav
Originally Posted By: clinebarger
Originally Posted By: Trav
Some Honda vehicles tend to have A/C relay issues, I keep a couple of them. Look in the owners manual for its location, its usually under the hood in the main fuse box.


Had a 2007 Pilot come in recently & it was the A/C Relay....Didn't know about the "pattern failure" though.


I guess you wouldn't call it a pattern failure but I went through a dozen (all different vehicles) in 2 years compared to 2 GM and 1 Toyota.
Honda had a bulletin on the relay. If the one in the car is an Omron that's an issue and should be replaced anyway. They don't list other models but they fail also with the Omron.

Fuel pump relays on 05 and 06 officially but really up to about 09 are another problem, if the relay is a Denso its good if it has Mitsuba on it change it as a precaution.

Bulletin number: SM-10-002-00

https://hondakarma.com/threads/air-condition-compressor-relay-failure.1054/live?page=1


As would have it, the AC is working perfectly as of yesterday. Should I go ahead and replace the relay or wait and see if the condition repeats?


Edited to add: Any particular brand of relay I should look for or better yet, any brand to stay away from? My local NAPA actually has one in stock. I did not check AZ or Advance but Oreily would have to order it. I do have a local Honda dealer if the OEM would be the best idea.


I would replace the relay ASAP. They can also stick on, which will drain the battery overnight, can also melt the A/C clutch field coil. There is an updated relay, it is much taller than the original version, so easy to tell them apart. I probably do 10 or so a month during the summer. Extremely common.

 

[Trav]

He did swap it.

 

[klt1986]

Well so far so good. Was 85 this afternoon when my wife got off work this afternoon and she said the AC worked fine. Hopefully it will continue to work.

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: klt1986
Originally Posted By: Trav
Originally Posted By: clinebarger
Originally Posted By: Trav
Some Honda vehicles tend to have A/C relay issues, I keep a couple of them. Look in the owners manual for its location, its usually under the hood in the main fuse box.


Had a 2007 Pilot come in recently & it was the A/C Relay....Didn't know about the "pattern failure" though.


I guess you wouldn't call it a pattern failure but I went through a dozen (all different vehicles) in 2 years compared to 2 GM and 1 Toyota.
Honda had a bulletin on the relay. If the one in the car is an Omron that's an issue and should be replaced anyway. They don't list other models but they fail also with the Omron.

Fuel pump relays on 05 and 06 officially but really up to about 09 are another problem, if the relay is a Denso its good if it has Mitsuba on it change it as a precaution.

Bulletin number: SM-10-002-00

https://hondakarma.com/threads/air-condition-compressor-relay-failure.1054/live?page=1


As would have it, the AC is working perfectly as of yesterday. Should I go ahead and replace the relay or wait and see if the condition repeats?


Edited to add: Any particular brand of relay I should look for or better yet, any brand to stay away from? My local NAPA actually has one in stock. I did not check AZ or Advance but Oreily would have to order it. I do have a local Honda dealer if the OEM would be the best idea.

I once was given an A/C delco relay, but inside the box was a Denso unit. I'm not sure how often that happens or if it may happen to you.