A/C Relay Bad?
 

Two days ago the A/C on our TSX suddenly started malfunctioning. We usually leave the climate control on and it has finally turned hot and humid in St. Louis. When we start the car, the A/C comes on and works like a champ. But, within about five minutes, the air from the vents warms up and becomes humid. If we stop the car for even a few minutes and then restart, the A/C works like a champ again....for another five minutes....Does this sound like the relay has gone bad? About how much does it cost to have a dealer replace the relay? Is it something that is easy to do yourself? Any how to advice?

Yes. I've had this happen twice already, the last time just last month. I just had it fixed, cost me around $110 at the dealer. Search for the other A/C threads...it's in there.

yes a relay could cuase these syptoms, as well as a bad ac coil(stator)
if you can find the a/c component relays and swap them with known good ones, you can pretty much pin point where the problem is.
im guessing your coil(stator) is the one to blame.
there is a service news article discussing probable faults regarding poor/no ac cooling after a short amount of time system being on.

Can anyone point me to the service news article that discusses probable causes of poor/no A/C cooling after a short amount of time system being on? Is it located somewhere in this forum?

^ I've never heard of that particular bulletin, but you can check the FAQ section to see if there is one.

my mistake this was for an r.l. the one that applies to all vehicles is stated "poor ac performance after extended period of driving,hwy)

heres the one for the rl. same concept. wouldnt hurt to test stator resistance at cold temp/operating temp(yes engine off)

ServiceNews Article

Helping you fix it right the

Got a vehicle in your shop because the A/C runs poorly or doesn’t work at all? A bad field coil in the
A/C compressor clutch could be the culprit.
To determine if this is the case, connect the HDS, go to the

Sept 2007

Poor A/C Performance or A/C Doesn’t Work

Currently Applies To: ’05–06 RLs

So, I'm thinking that I should wait until the A/C is consistently not working and then bring it in to the dealer to have it analyzed/repaired. The instances of the A/C not working are becoming more frequent. I have an appointment next week to have the power steering recall work done. Maybe I should have them check it out then.

I had a bad blower motor resistor (underneath glove box, super easy swap) which would lead to a fried blower motor relay in the fuse box in the engine bay. Swapping out the blower motor relay actually had the system up and going again, albeit only temporarily as it would get blown again. Once I swapped the resistor ($70 from dealer) and put in a new relay ($5) the system was up and running again.

The symptoms that lead to this are an immediate cut-out from the AC, with absolutely no response from the vents when operating hvac controls.

The blower on our TSX works fine. Our problem seems to be the compressor kicking in and/or staying on. Brought the car in for the Power Steering Hose recall on Monday. The service advisor told me that there are multiple relays/switches involved any one of which could be the problem. He said they could do a diagnostic on it for $165 but since it worked when we just turned on the A/C and drove it round the lot, they would most likely not be able to find the problem. He suggested we keep driving it and not use the automatic climate control...just turn the A/C on and off manually... until the failer was more consistent.

In our case, it ended up that the relay was the culprit. They now cost $32...With the check out of the A/C system and the replacement of the bad relay, the total tab at the dealer here in St. Louis came to $173.

My AC last week and I took it into the shop, turns out it was just a bad relay. Went to Honda dealer and picked up the relay for $30. part number 39794-SDA-A05.

To Test: (pretty easy)
Open the relay box under the hood. You should see 3 relays (black cubes, about 1" x 1/2"), standing on the side of the car, you will see 2 to the left and 1 to the right. The one to the right is for the AC. You can pull either one on the left and plug it into the right side. Try to turn on your AC now. If it works, replace the relay. Be sure to put the relay back on the left. One is for your BRAKES.