Is My Air Conditioning Compressor Broken?

As a part of your Honda Civics air conditioning system, any changes to the air conditioning system that indicate it is not working properly may be due to a faulty compressor. This could be your Civics air conditioner not properly blowing cool air, and instead blowing warm air.

Another sign that your compressor is no longer functioning properly are weird noises coming from the air conditioner, especially when running it heavily. Noises such as chattering, squealing, whirring or rattling indicate something is wrong with the air conditioner. It may be the compressor, so if you hear these sounds from your Honda Civic you should bring it in to get the air conditioning system looked at.

What Does the Air Conditioning Compressor Do?

To understand what the compressor does, we first need a brief overview of how your Honda Civics air conditioning system works as a whole. Your air conditioning system works by compressing and de-pressurizing refrigerant in the air conditioner unit. This changes the temperature of the refrigerant, allowing it to make the air around it colder or warmer. This air is then blown out of the air conditioner into your Honda Civic.

The compressor has the important job of compressing the refrigerant into a high pressure state. This drastically raises the refrigerant temperature and allows it to turn from a gas to a liquid in the next part of the air conditioner, which is the condenser. If the compressor is not working right, it cannot heat the refrigerant to a high enough temperature, and the compressor will be unable to turn it into a liquid. This throws the whole air conditioning cycle our of balance and leads to your Honda Civic air conditioner not working.

Other Sources of the Problem

As we mentioned earlier. The air conditioner is a complicated piece of machinery with lots of vital parts. Any one of which can cause the system to fail if working incorrectly. If the condenser isn't working right and turning the refrigerant from a gas to liquid, then the refrigerant is in the wrong state for the evaporation coil. Or, if the evaporation coil does not cool correctly then the air blown out by the air conditioner won't be cold. Or, a refrigerant leak may mean there is no refrigerant to cool the evaporation coil.

There are a lot of things that can cause your air conditioner to stop working, so you shouldn't immediately assume it's the compressor. Instead, you should take you Honda Civic in to get checked so you can better learn what exactly is wrong.

Next Steps

It is important when taking care of your Honda Civic to always be keeping up to date with its maintenance, especially if your air conditioner isn't working correctly. Ignoring your cars general maintenance can lead to major problems later on as worn parts may then also damage other nearby components, compromising the vehicles ability to drive.

If your Honda Civics air conditioner compressor needs fixing, or you just haven't brought your car in for maintenance in a while, schedule using the link below and our team of expert technicians will make sure your ride stays safe and smooth.