All links referenced in the video are noted below: One hot summer day last July I was driving my 2009 Honda Fit. It was a 95° day and on the first part of my trip everything was working great and the AC was blowing cold. On my way back, however, I suddenly hear a slight clank in the lower passenger area and my AC stops working shortly after. That made the remaining hour drive hot and sweaty, and not in a good way!
I went to get a few estimates and most shops wanted to replace the entire AC compressor with an after market unit for $1000, or with the OEM unit for $1800. Since the AC had been working very strongly right before it failed, these seemed like extreme options. I didn't like the idea of replacing my good OEM compressor that came from Honda with an aftermarket part that could put me in a failure cycle every few years. And so I did some research.
The first thing I found was another Youtube video indicating that the clutch could be bad.
Then I spent some time reading Honda forums and found someone mentioning that with Honda's, it's rare for the compressor to fail and instead it's usually just the clutch and field coil which need to be replaced. I used the following guide to troubleshoot the clutch - first I tested the field coil, then I tested the clutch gap, and finally I checked the bearing. Note that this link is for a Honda CRV, but everything seemed to be similar to my 2009 Fit.
Fit Freak Forum Link:
Honda TSB Link:
Troubleshooting AC Compressor Clutch:
You can see that after I installed the new clutch everything worked perfectly. I know I skipped quite a few of the steps involved but there are a few Honda videos out that that cover the clutch replacement in more detail.
I have a couple final thoughts to share with everyone. First, I'd recommend using original Honda parts if you can. They cost a lot more, for example the CLUTCH replacement kit was $360 brand new compared to $50 if you buy a cheap replacement eBay or Amazon. However, I've learned over time that the OEM parts perform exactly the same as I'm used to so I want to spend the money for the quality. They will last longer. In this case I got lucky with finding a junkyard replacement with such low miles, so I'd recommend checking that route first if you're on a budget.
Also, some people have mentioned that finding the right-sized snap ring pliers was a challenge. I've included a link to the Tekton pliers below:
Good luck to everyone and let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.
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