Honda A/C Fuse Relay Troubleshooting Problem and Solution 

I have never been so excited ... my AC wasn’t blowing cold ... went to charge it only to figure out it was the compressor not kicking on. So I decided to go out on a limb and buy a relay - I live in the sticks so I was gonna be the next day. So I’m sitting there still lookin for problems and I come across your video. I never thought to use another relay the same size. I went out, swapped the horn for my compressor and bam - COLD AIR ... which is heaven sent in the South Ga high 90s weather!! I’ve never wanted to give a RU-vidr a shoutout more than I do now!! Lol Thanks!

It's so refreshing to view a video where the poster is not hesitant to acknowledge his 'not so strong' suits. Because of this , I was able to actually pick up some knowledge and some arm-chair mechanic skill! Thank you a million times!

My a/c was shorting out. I took my Ridgeline in twice. A reputable chain could not diagnose the problem. However, the manager said, among other things, he went to RU-vid. Out of frustration, I checked RU-vid. I found this right away, bought the fuse for $5.99, and ended months of frustration. Thank you.

This video was posted almost 5 years ago and I just need to thank you for posting it. I convinced my husband to let me try this before he had our mechanic replace our alternator, and it worked!! Our car battery was dead, but just before this our AC was glitching. I found this video, read the comments and had a hutch it would solve the problem. Yep, sure enough. My dad would be so proud. Lol. The internet and RU-vid can be amazing sometimes!

Solid idea. I reversed it. Tested the horn first. Then I the used the suspected A.C. relays in the horn relay spot. I just beeped the horn to check each one. Saved me sitting in the hot car with a thermometer in the vent trying to decide if the air was cooling down. Mine were all good. Thanks !

This video saved my wallet. It was 96 degrees today with 90% humidity. I watched this video, figured out that it was the relay switch, and 20 minutes later I was purchasing a new one and my CR-V was blowing cold air. Thanks for the help.

This is my first video comment ever. I got my AC back up and running on my 06 Odyssey. My wife and kids thank you! 7.99 for the relay and 5 minutes under the hood.

Just came back from Advanced Auto Parts with AC Pro can to refill AC and I thought that would fix the hot air issue with my 2006 Civic. Nope..compressor did not rotate and therefore no suction. So just google it and end up here. I was happy that this might be the issue I have and went to my car to see the fuse box. I saw several similar relays. But I did not see horn relay and saw several with book icons. So used one of those relay and viola!! compressor kicked in. Was able to charged the AC and now my car is cool. Thank you.

Thank you! Im crying litteral crying. Im so happy! And angry! Ive been to two places and they each wanted 1000+ dollars to fix this. Ive stupidly waste all summer being dizzy hot and miserable because did not want to spend that kind of money i knew on something was a probable eazy fix. Thank you!

You literally saved me from spending hundreds, thank you and thank god for RU-vid.

Super job of showing me what the internet and all the diagrams could not. You narrowed my search plus gave me fuse diagrams I needed to fix my 2007 Honda Element's problem.

Life saver, thanks! My AC stopped working mid drive which was unfortunate, but now I'm cool again! Plus, who even needs a horn

Just brought my AC back to life with this golden nugget of information. 🤩

Thanks so much for the video and Amazon link. A/C in my 09 CRV has been working on and off for a good while. I don't drive long distances and learned to pretty much just suck it up and enjoy the fresh air (unless it's raining). Saw your video and figured it was worth a shot. Got my relays delivered next day via Prime, popped out the two old AC relays, installed two new ones and instant AC! Will certainly make my next long drive this summer much more pleasant.

Omg!!! Thank you so much!! A/C is working!! Hallelujah! ❤ have been hitting 90° this past week in SoCal

I know this video is old, but it saved me a ton of money recently. Thanks!!

AWESOME!!! my 2007 Accord AC has been out for months. Was about to take it for service, and $145 just for them to tell me whats wrong. :( I had even been debating on trading it in, and now I won't have to! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR VIDEO!!!!!!!

Thanks man! I'm not handy with cars at all. Did what you mentioned, went to the auto parts, replaced the part and it is working now. You saved me some money.

2009 Honda Odyssey AC back up and running! Thank you so much!

Thank you. I was not sure why my AC was intermittent. You nailed it. Saved me a ton and it worked perfect. Good job.

Omg thank you 🙏 you are the man! Saved me from spending more money. I had to replace my nav drive bc I thought my ac was not working bc I couldn’t access my ac button. Paid $600 and my ac was still blowing hot air. Guy told me that it is probably low on Freon. I tried that to no avail and finally found a solution bc I came across your video. I wish I would have found this sooner. Thank you a million times thank you.

Thank you!!!! Literally 5 minute fix. It was 98F today, this is a God send.

I located the relay and swapped the AC relay for the ETCS relay. The AC worked. Swapped them back and drove to Auto Zone. $8 later I have the new relay, but the check engine light is on. I scan and reset the code, and sure enough it was an ETCS code. The bad relay threw the code. I reset the OBD and I am golden. 2009 Ridgeline with 180,000 miles.

This happened to my 09 Civic a couple years ago. Swapped it out with a genuine relay and it's worked like new ever since.

Thanks I switched them and it worked and the Horn still works thanks again

Thank you for making this video. I followed your instructions and my AC is working again on Honda Pilot ., Thank you so much

Thank you so much for posting this video! I can't tell you how many things I have fixed myself through RU-vid Videos!! This was no exception! Air was not blowing cold and I did just what you said and it worked!! $19.07 later and I have air again in my Honda!! Thank You Thank You Thank You!!

Worked perfectly, my car started weird this morning and must have shorted out that relay. Thank you so much for making this video you saved me a ton of money!

You just saved me a ton of money at the Honda Dealership- my 2007 Odyssey a pile of crap- I have over 2K in repairs in the last few months- never agin.

Thank you. Looks like you're talking about the Honda Element. I'm looking for the info. for the Accord. However your info. about the images with the snow flake really helped. I did not know that, and the Service manual doesn't mention it either. Thank you very much.

This worked on my 2004 Honda accord. Fantastic. Probably saved me 7 or 8 hundred dollars. Thanks much..

Thank you very much! My 2005 oddysey just not stop Blowing air a couple of days ago. I tried to recharge some r134a but not working, cause the decompressor clutch not engaging. Saw your video I swap the clutch relay fuse with radiator fan fuse, they are identical, wow, immediately the a.c. get cold. So I went to neighborhood O'Reilly auto store for a replacement part for $6.45, tax included. After that, I add a can of r134a, now for works great. You saved my "life", thanks again.

Awesome. Thanks. Hope you are earning your keep with the ads. You earn every penny! A/C back working. And no ridiculous quotes from some service department. Kudos!

The "fan clutch compressor relay" from Advanced Auto Parts fixed it for me. They are a little bit more geared to Honda maintenance parts. The Denso relays are recommended.

Just for reference the 12v power for the AC clutch relay is shared with the condenser fan power circuit. It’s the fuse right in front of the clutch relay. A relay is just a switch that controlled electronically

Wow, that was a $9.00 fix for me, thanks!!!! I think the oil guys try to pull a fast one on me.

Thanks for this. Worked for me too. Can I ask how a non mechanic figured this out?

I have this very same problem with an 09 CRV i just bought. I pulled out the relay (the only one of this type so no way to swap with horn etc) and gave it a little shake and it rattled... Im almost certain the relay is faulty! Great post and thank you.. ill let you know how i get on with the new relay

Just a note: my relays worked when swapping with horn. I put the new one in anyways, same one on video, and it worked. Not sure if these gradually go out but try swapping with a new one anyways.

A ac relay can also cause your battery to drain while the car is turned off. If the relay fails in the "closed" position, even after you shut your car off, it will continue to send 12 volts to the AC compressor. Depending on how new your battery is, a full day of sitting without being driven can cause the battery to drain to the point where it doesn't have the juice to start you up. That's how I got here.

Fixed it. $5.99 part at o riley's

I think i have the same problem. My problem is that the a/c is blowing cold air and out no where it start blowing air without cold or hot air. Do you think is that relate

Wow!!! Such an easy fix!!! Thank you so much, this was exactly the problem I had. Very helpful!

Great vid. I appreciate your honesty because I don’t know what a fucking relay is either. 😂

Thank you my ac is working now thanks to you

lol i swear putting in refrigerant is more difficult than changing your own oil, but great video anyways! :p

please help if possible. Honda Element 2003. Front speedometer and tachometer do not light up. the starter is working. the car won't start. Thank you

This worked for my honda thatnks bud!

My driver side blowing cold and passenger side blowing hot air. That could be a relay issue also?

Thanks, my AC is working again, after I swapped with other relay.

Did the ac compressor not engage also as a symptom? Mine is not coming on when I turn the ac on.

You the man! Solved the issue.

I'm guessing someone has probably already mentioned this, but just in case... a relay is just a switch, but is turned on/off with electricity, not by flipping a physical 'tab'. here is better description.. They are normally used to control heavy loads (on/off) and will let you use a light duty/low voltage switch/button to turn something on or off. otherwise you would need a huge heavy duty switch to turn something heavy duty on. this will let you use a small switch on your dash for instance to turn on something like your rear window defrost. so you use a little switch/button to activate the relay, which then lets the power go to the thing you wanted on in the 1st place. In this case it lets the computer (low voltage) control the AC compressor. ..// i'm sure the link explains this better then me, sorry... -->> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relay

You fixed my AC! Thank you!!!

This exact same thing happened to me, I swapped the horn and AC relay to diagnose it, and then bought a new one to replace the horn.

You the man fixed it bam thanks awesome 🇨🇦🛠️🇨🇦🛠️

Great video! worked like a charm..Thanks

You didn't mention what the symptoms of your air conditioner were. What I have going on right now is that the fan is not coming on at all, so there is no air whatsoever. I don't hear any sounds either. Do you think it could be the relay?

Very good tip. It worked for me. Thank you so much.

This fixed my problem 🙏🏻

Worked for me! I thought I was going to have to replace the compressor because the gauge readings were the same on High and Low. Turned out it was just the relay. Thanks man.

Good video, now I know that it's not the relay switch, it's something else.

Hi Guy Thank you video .Today I have problem after upgrade all-new LED cluster on my 2004 Element, when turn the key on all light not ON ???and now the car look like no power ,how can i check fuse ,replay ... Can you help me please .Thank so much ...Tim

Will this work if air isn't blowing un the front but it is in the rear

this is much appreciated, made changing the one on our 20007 Odyssey a breeze, thank you!

A relay is just a remote switch. It lets a low amp power source/signal (like an ECU command) to turn on a high amp signal (like an AC fan/compressor)

It's works.... Thank you for the video... It's fully helpful....

Mine was the 30 amp condenser amp that was blown: changed it and it worked then next day, blown again and ac condenser fan not working . I’m guessing it’s the fan?

Good video.. what keeps popping it to begin with

My 09 TSX cluster lights do not work at all, but the engine turns on for a second and dies right away. Are you having similar issues o possibly know what is happening? Fuse but which one...

thank you for making this video.

Relays are switches that open and close circuits electromechanically or electronically. Relays control oneelectrical circuit by opening and closing contacts in another circuit. Asrelay diagrams show, when a relaycontact is normally open (NO), there is an open contact when the relay is not energized.

I wish I knew what kind of car this was ... they are not all the same but thanks 👍.... honda element 👍

Your fix worked for me. Thanks

I recently replaced the relay and it was working for a while but for some reason it stopped today. When I press and hold the relay down the compressor turns on and the Ac works but when I move my finger it turns off again, any ideas?

Good video whit year is your Honda

Can anyone post a compatible relay link (UK delivery for a Honda FRV) since i cannot find the Denso one shown in the video? Many thanks

Is it necessary to disconnect the battery before replacing relay?

2002 Civic si ep3 ac blower stopped blowing air No air hot or cold in any speed . Replaced the blower motor resistor and still nothing checked the relay and it's good but still no air checked all the fuses they are all good even jumped the transistor resistor thing and the fan blows so the blower fan is good . but no air at all without the jumper what else can it be ????

It worked!!! thanks

So does this help if your AC doesn't blow at all or if the AC doesn't blow cold air?

Thank you for this Video. My sister's 2004 CRV stopped blowing cold air, it was blowing hot air instead. I thought of checking the fuse. While reading all the post about this, I can accross your RU-vid Video and I need to tell you I swapped the Horn relay with AC clutch relay and that was it. Funny thing is my horn is also working. I can assume the relay connections might have lost after sitting in same place for 14 years :-). Again thank you.

Did you disconnect the battery when you replaced the relay?

Good job saved me a lot of trouble!

I have a CRV 2000, and when I turn on Air AC does not cool, and the fans do not light, what do you think it can be, the Relay?

Hello, my problem is with electrical power. No power on the board and check the fuses and everything is fine does not work to turn on the heating in the seats I do not have power in the mirros any relay is the cause?

Hello, I sapped the relays and still no power to the ac clutch . I got down to the ac clutch wire and no power at the wire. I dont kno where to go next.

Just Did that on my wife's 07 Accord! Thanks man

Hi, just out of curiosity did your AC start failing little by little or did it just stop working completely one day? My AC has no problem blowing air but the air temperature fluctuates from cold to mild?

Thank you. I did exactly what you said and it fixed my A/C. Yer awesome!

It worked!! Thank you!

When I tell you till came in handy for me.

When I pulled my AC relay out of my 05 Element it rattled. Yep it was bad.

Great video and fixed my issue. Thank you.

none of the on light on my climate control come on and my fan works sometimes any idea ? what was you ac doing before the repair

What was the issue with your A/C?. Was it not blowing air at all or it was not producing cold air?

Thank you, you are my savior

not able to take off from the box. do I need special tool to take off relay plug. I have honda accord

A relay is an electronic switch. In many jurisdictions AC gas shouldn't be added without first vacuum testing the system. And a qualified person should do this. Refrigerant harm the environment.

What do you mean "swapping it out"? You mean you used the horn relay where the ac compressor relay goes?