I have a 2003 Honda Civic EX Couple 5-speed manual transmisson just a bit over 100k miles on it that seems to be developing a problem. Just did a cross-country drive from NC to NM for work, changed the oil and air filter just before I left. Driven roughly 500 miles since I got here. Last couple days, the A/C has seemed to lose it's cool air while I am driving to work, but the light is still on when I push the button on the dash. Also, today I noticed when I came to a stop at a light, with the car out of gear, the idle rose up to about 2000 rpm when it has normally been running about 800 rpm. Also, one time when it did this and I turned off the A/C, the rpm almost dropped to 0 and I had to give it gas to keep it on. Only one Honda dealership here in town and I do not have the tool to get any error codes, but the check engine light has not come on yet, so I figured I would post here to see if anyone else has had this problem or knows a good route to start checking before I take it to the dealer. Thanks for any help you can give.

 

ac part could be if it is still blowing air then you might be low on freeon and you might have to recharge it or you could have it tested and dyed to see if you have a leak anywhere now as far as the idling i have no clue but i am sure some one on here does so dont give up some one will answer

 

Does the A/C still get cold when you are moving but not with the car sitting still? In that case you should check the fans on the radiator, they should both run with the A/C on. If one or both fans fail, the A/C condenser will overheat, causing loss of cooling and also a high pressure that makes the compressor put an abnormal load on the engine.

 

Thanks for the responses. To give a bit more info...

Yes, the A/C is still blowing air it just starts to warm up to the point that it feels like it is blowing air as if I have the A/C button turned off. It does not seem to make a difference if I am moving or sitting still. The fans are running okay. I took the car down to Auto Zone and they checked for any codes, but got nothing. Also, the check engine light has not come on at all, so it was a long shot but I figured it was worth a try. A couple more things that they suggested that I'll throw out to see if it sounds like they may be on the right track...
They said there is a high and low pressure setting somewhere in the A/C system that if these tolerances are exceeded, it will cut off the A/C compresser. In the last three weeks, I took the car from basically sea level to 4,300 ft elevation, and also temps from the mid 80's to 105 the last three days. They said in theory, that could cause the pressure in the system to go too high because the outside air pressure is much lower here. As far as the idle goes, I did drive through a coouple dust storms on the way out here, and it is normally dusty here, and it has been about 7,000 miles since I changed the air filter. Haven't had a chance to check it yet, but I will after work. Also, the oil is approaching 3,000 miles now and they said in their opinion, both need to be changed about every 3,000 miles out here due to the harsher conditions.Think I may be on the right track to figuring this out?