As some of you know a friend and myself bought a parts car this spring. I mainly wanted the transmission and AC. Well, the transmission is going in tomorrow, and I have been working on the AC the last few days. Here is what I have learned:
First, my car came from the factory without AC
The parts car seems to have come from the factory with AC
My friends car seems to have had dealer installed AC
First the AC breaks down into multiple units:
1. AC dash display which is interchangeable with the non AC version. Both use the same plugs, but have different button and display functions.
2. The Evaporator assembly. This is the black module on the passenger side that sits under the glove box. The non ac version only contains a cabin filter. The AC version has an evaporator and temp sensor. There was an unconnected plug under my dash that fit. There were also two rubber plugs / grommets for the lines going to the engine bay. To replace the unit the glove box has to be removed.At the bottom there is a plastic strip covering a metal strip. These have to be removed (I cut the plastic strip as in the cabin filter change (another thread). The meatal piece comes out. Unbolt and slide out old unit, replace with Evaporator.
3 . Main connection lines and mounting bracket. There are aluminum and rubber connection lines that run from the firewall to the front of the car. there is also a bracket near the ABS brake module. All the mounting points were there. However the electrical plug did not match with the parts car even though the wires are color coded the same. However my friends car had a plug adapter between these plugs. This is why we think his car had dealer option AC. I just cut the plug off the parts car and will either do a pin replacement, or solder and shrink wrap the connections. On the end of these lines is the receiver dryer. It has a mounting point in the front passeger side behind and below the headlight.
4. Compressor. There are 4 tapped holes in the front of the oil pan for mounting the compressor. For some reason the bottom two were very tight, but went in with some work. This is accessible from the front of the car with the plastic panel removed (non AC version. It also helped, but wasn't required to have the underbody panels removed. The parts car had two plugs coming off the harness, one of which is for engaging the compressor clutch. my car had a single plug near the hood latch. My friends car has a adapter plug with and extension. This same plug feeds the condenser fan motor. Again all the wiring color codes matched. So I cut the plugs off of the parts car and will solder / shrink wrap them on.
5. Belt, and Idler wheel. First, the AC belt is longer than the non AC belt. Second, non AC uses a grooved wheel that sits in the belt loop and pushes forward for tension. The AC version uses a flat wheel that sits outside the loop and pushes back for belt tension. The assembly is identical other than the wheel. I just switched these and put on a new belt.
6. The evaporator / fan. All of the mounting brackets are already in place. But the front plastic components and headlights need to be removed. The fan plug also needs to be soldered / shrink wrapped unless you have an adapter plug available. There is also a little plastic shield that blocks air flow above the evaporator.
Once all the coolant connections are cleaned and checked the system can be purged and filled. Everything has been done except mounting the evaporator which I will do after the transmission is swapped. All in all easier than I thought it would be other than the plugs. It appears that factory AC uses a different wiring harness than non AC, and dealer installed AC uses adapter plugs. No biggie in the end.
Link to Kit at Majectic Honda -
https://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com...gry5=A%2FC+KIT
Installing Air Conditioning / Transplant
Alternately, you might try to move the doors gently with your fingers.
