Honda Car Forum

dold@2003XAccor.usenet.us.com writes:

>Does the A/C cycle on and off when it is in the recirc mode?
>That's simple enough if recirc is just an air control, but if it is an
>electric switch, it may also bypass the cycling, leaving the A/C on all the
>time. I seem to recall that being part of an A/C test, but that was on an
>older American-brand car.

This is for the 92 Civic; I don't know if it applies to other years in
the Civic line, but I have seen this arrangement in other cars too:

The fresh/recirc button simply controls an air door at the inlet of the
heater, and nothing else.

The cycling of the A/C compressor is controlled (under normal
conditions) by a thermostat embedded in the evaporator, and nothing
else. This tries to keep the evaporator at 2-5 degrees C, cold enough
for maximum cooling without ice forming. The only time the compressor
will run continuously instead of cycling is when the system cannot keep
the evaporator cool enough.

In the civic, compressor clutch cycling is what controls the capacity of
the A/C system. I suppose you could also build a system where the
clutch is always engaged, and the TEV valve controlled system capacity
and prevented freezing. But that would waste fuel.

Dave