1998 Honda Civic A/C

I have a 98" Honda Civic with 140,000 miles on it. After the engine warms up, after awhile when I Idle at a light, the car's RPM's goes between 900 and 200 almost stalling and the A/C clutch keeps clicking on and off. If I keep my foot on the gas and rev it to about 1200 it seems to stop ,but I have to keep doing it. When I'm driving normal the A/C works fine.
Everything else on the car works normal.
There is no check engine light on either.
Has this problem happened to anybody else.
It doesn't do it all the time, but more often than not.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,Scott

 

idle speed and quality are affected by a number of things. vacuum leaks and throttle body deposits would probably be the 2 most common things to check for. next would be whatever it uses to "idle up" under increased load

 

already checked for throttle body deposits-cleaned.
what do you mean check to see what throttles up with a load

 

it has some way of increasing idle speed when there is increased load at idle, like turning on the ac or power steering load increase during a parking manuever. some cars have a air bypass valve (normally a stepper motor) mounted on the throttle body...some use a solenoid mounted remotely and using hoses to move the extra air thru.

did you check carefully for vacuum leaks? hunting idle is more often than nor associated with unmetered air entering the induction system. vacuum leak, crack or split in the snorkle tube that connects the throttle body to the air cleaner housing. have you checked the crankcase vent system?

has it got any mods on it?

 

what is the crankcase vent system? No mods.
Thank you for the help

 

Hi guys, I wanted to chime in as well. I have a 98 civic, and only when the car is stationary at a low idle, the car will act as if it's going to stall, only when the A/C is on. When I'm driving, the A/C works fine.

I'll start the car, and let it run at idle for a little while with the A/C on and it works fine. Then, when the car gets to a low idle, it acts as if it's going to stall. Any ideas????

 

Hi truckie4life,
I too have the same issue in my Honda Civic 98 LX, were you able to find out the reason for A/C switching on and off when idling/ Car going to stall when ever idling and A/C on.
Thanks
Sriram

 

i currently own a 98 civic lx with 82,000 miles. i previously had that exact problem, i will have the a/c on, stop at the light and the car would idle from 800 and drop down to 2oo. and repeated every 5 to 15 seconds. my solution to stop this was to release some pressure out of the HI side of the a/c. i didnt realize it but i had over charged my a/c. hope this might solve most of your problems.

 

I have to agree with "carguyinva". You must have an idle speed solenoid or motor, (AIS - automatic idle speed) usually on side of throttle body, that automatically increases RPM under load conditions, such as A/C to eliminate these symptoms. If it's dirty or defective, you will experience the symptoms you are describing. Sometimes removal & cleaning will cure, or at least help it, if not replacement may be necessary. Be sure to clean inside the spot it came out of too, before re-installing it. Throttle body cleaner will usually do the job.