8th Generation Honda Civic Forum - View Single Post - What does it mean when my car is doing this?

daytonaturbo · 10-10-2008, 10:49 PM

First, you may have the a/c on and not even know it. These civics are programmed to run the a/c compressor in lots of situations even if the light isn't on. There's some steps you can follow so it always lights up the a/c button every time the compressor is running, so you can turn it off. If the a/c compressor's clutch is engaged, it puts extra load on the engine, which lowers idle rpm. The computer is supposed to know the a/c compressor is spinning and increase the idle speed a little to compensate. Next time it starts vibrating, put your left foot on the brake and bring up the idle rpm maybe 200rpm or so, if the problem goes away then you know it's just an idle speed issue, which the dealer should be able to correct.

10-10-2008, 10:49 PM	#13 (permalink)
daytonaturbo Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Manitoba, Canada Posts: 167	First, you may have the a/c on and not even know it. These civics are programmed to run the a/c compressor in lots of situations even if the light isn't on. There's some steps you can follow so it always lights up the a/c button every time the compressor is running, so you can turn it off. If the a/c compressor's clutch is engaged, it puts extra load on the engine, which lowers idle rpm. The computer is supposed to know the a/c compressor is spinning and increase the idle speed a little to compensate. Next time it starts vibrating, put your left foot on the brake and bring up the idle rpm maybe 200rpm or so, if the problem goes away then you know it's just an idle speed issue, which the dealer should be able to correct.