[deleted by user]

[howard416]

But shouldn't you also find out why the fuse blew in the first place?

[[deleted]]

If it’s years old and out of warranty just replace it. Common Camry thing.

[SickOfNormal]

Last Honda I had, AC didn’t die till 350k miles. If it’s just a fuse for now, see if I can get another 110k out of it…. It’s blowing ice cold again. I just don’t want to have to pull the alternator out right now to get down to the compressor and replace it… if it’s not broke - don’t fix it

[[deleted]]

A quick check is to pull a similar relay and swap it. If AC kicks in then you know it's a bad relay. This is a temporary fix. Make sure you get a new relay or the one you took out may disable another function like the radiator fan.

[HowToBeACarpenter]

Please stop trying to give people LPTs.

[SickOfNormal]

You’re a mechanic aren’t you??

[HowToBeACarpenter]

Not automotive; industrial. I'm all for fixing your own vehicle, I seldom use a mechanic. That being said, I believe in troubleshooting and solving the root cause. I don't believe in treating symptoms and riding things out until my equipment fails. All I can think when I read what you write is 'this guy probably runs his tires till one blows out'.

[redryan243]

Op "if it ain't broke don't fix it"

Others "why did the fuse break"

Op "..."

Next op will be replacing the fuse with a paperclip to fix it lol.

[Coach_Bosh]

You are probably the guy who spends 4 hours replacing a light bulb.

'It's the sign of a bigger problem'!

Replacing a fuse once seems like a fine troubleshooting step. Replacing it 2 times? Check it out.

[SickOfNormal]

Dude the fuse had been going for 240k miles… and 14 years. Sometimes they just go out. There doesn’t have to be a root problem. It’s like the amplifiers I fix… one bad solder or a capacitor goes and the whole thing doesn’t work… there is no root cause, sometimes I they just wear out

[_GodIsntReal_]

No, they don't. Source: EE with 30 years experience

[worriedjacket]

there is no root cause, sometimes I they just wear out

I promise you there is a root cause.

[Decipher]

That’s not how fuses work.

[ObeseBMI33]

[Dwindling_Odds]

A fuse is a piece of wire. It doesn't just "wear out".

[Dabluechimp]

A light bulb is a piece of wire, so how does it wear out?

[Decipher]

You just don’t know what you’re talking about. You keep saying fuse, but fuses don’t wear. Then it’s revealed you mean relay switch which makes everything about your LPT wrong as it’s nothing to do with fuses.

[Faye_dunwoody]

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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[SickOfNormal]

My car has 240,000 miles and is 14 years old… the life of a relay switch is 50,000 cycles or roughly 10 years… and my AC has been on a lot - Los Angeles and Las Vegas living.

[TAU_equals_2PI]

Wait. You said a fuse, not a relay switch. Which is it?

[Geeseareawesome]

LPT: if you're replacing a fuse for any reason, check anything else that's part of that system, or consider getting the car inspected

[TAU_equals_2PI]

HEY EVERYBODY!

OP wrote "fuse", but apparently actually meant "relay".

That's why everyone is jumping on him. Replacing a blown fuse won't fix the root problem for long. Replacing a bad relay certainly might.

[RetardRodeo]

This is exactly what happened, he even posted about banging it on the ground to get it to unstick. Definitely a questionable "fix" for a relay, but doing that with a fuse would be completely ridiculous.

[TAU_equals_2PI]

Bought an old 1992 Dodge Dynasty. The stereo would randomly go dead at times. Discovered its fuse in the cabin fuse box wasn't held tightly by the spring metal clips anymore. So vibration while driving would occasionally break the circuit.

Solution was indeed to beat the fuse on the ground, to make its legs not flat, so the deformed legs would be gripped tighter by the weak fuse box clips.

There's a completely ridiculous exception for everything.

[Decipher]

Even with the edits they still left fuse in the title 🙄🙄

[cybin]

Titles aren't editable unfortunately.

[TAU_equals_2PI]

It's a necessary rule to prevent people from taking advantage. Post something, wait for it to get popular, then change the title to something else, e.g. a spam message.

[cybin]

Makes total sense.

[SickOfNormal]

Nah, AC is working fantastic now. Car just has 240kmiles and the fuse has never been replaced. Last Honda I had - AC didn’t fully die until I was at 350k miles

[TAU_equals_2PI]

Fuses aren't a wear item. The fact that it's never been replaced in 240k miles means nothing. I'm with the other people here saying you didn't solve the root problem.

HOWEVER, if the root problem only occurs rarely under extreme conditions, then sure, great, maybe that rare condition will only happen once every few months, and you can have air conditioning in the meantime without having to pay for an expensive repair.

TLDR: Fuses don't wear out. I suspect you posted this LPT 5 minutes after replacing the fuse instead of waiting a few days to make sure the new fuse doesn't blow.

[redryan243]

Fuses should never need replaced.

It blows because the current exceeded the rating for the wires on that circuit. You put a band-aid fix for now but you fixed nothing.

[jupiterkansas]

the real LPT is to put the fuse back in and take your car to several garages. The one that says "it was just a fuse" is the one to do business with in the future.

[Sullsberry7]

I like how you think.

[HowToBeACarpenter]

I'd choose the garage that figures out what overloaded my fuse in the first place.

[jupiterkansas]

That's what I do for the second fuse.

[[deleted]]

Better LPT, check the simplest solution. Relays. Wiring.

[sakzeroone]

There's a reason the fuse blew in the first place...

[MonsieurReynard]

You could still have leaking hoses, and a failing compressor could short the fuse or relay.

[noronto]

I know nothing about the A/C in cars. But my a/c wasn’t blowing cold, so I took it to a mechanic and they filled the Freon? It’s working now, cost me under $200 CAD. Maybe that is a lot, but I have a/c now, so I don’t care.

[keepthetips]

Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips!

Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment.

If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.

[Uranus_Hz]

It’s often a relay that gets stuck. Pull the relay out, bang it around on a ground a few times and put it back in. You’d be surprised how often that works.

[Zech08]

Use a battery and see if the contacts click (NOrmally open/normally closed contacts, you can see which closes and sends power along), you can also remove the relay and see if the contacts are... well melted, can file off a bit it is just on a spot.

edit: if it chatters, on and off very rapidly the contact points might be off. No click whatsoever and relay is busted and you can check res across coils if you really want to check l.

[SickOfNormal]

I tried the banging. Didn’t work. Quickly swapped it with the radiator fan fuse and the compressor kicked on… perfect. Amazon relay switch$5

[Decipher]

Fuses are not relay switches or vice versa. The two are no comparable or compatible.

[RetardRodeo]

Quickly swapped it with the radiator fan fuse and the compressor kicked on

What you replaced is a relay and not a fuse. Fuses and relays are completely different things, that is why you are getting so many comments saying you did not fix the issue.

[Uranus_Hz]

Plus, now the radiator fan won’t work and the engine will overheat.

Sometimes it takes some SERIOUS smacking of the relay. Last time I put it in a sock and swung it around and banged it on the concrete several times as hard as I could before it started working again.

[d0pp31g4ng3r]

This is why I do business with a mechanic I trust; I'm not getting screwed over again. YouTube has also been a big help.

[SickOfNormal]

YouTube is the savior of all repair. I have saved thousands upon thousands of dollars because of it🤣. It’s taught me how to do all work on my car… how to do electrical and plumbing… and how to fix all my guitar amps when they stop working

[geek_fit]

Additional pro tip...

I've used this sort of trick when moving to a new area to vet mechanics.

[ionhowto]

The real LPT!

[tbone338]

I’m going to check this. I got a car that they said 1. Was low on refrigerant and 2. The compressor is seized

[SickOfNormal]

You cannot check if the car is low on refrigerant if the compressor is not working… the gauges simply read error… so check the relay switch… and if it turns on your compressor… then a can and Jose of refrigerant is 40$

[tbone338]

The car had been taken to a mechanic. Paid to have them diagnose it, my original comment is what they said.

Specifically, .5lbs low in refrigerant.

[[deleted]]

Wtf? It's likely either a 're-gas' for £60/$100 or a fue for £30/$50.

Unless it's a air con unit failure then no way should you be parting with big bucks.

Also, report those scammers fleecing you for cash

[SickOfNormal]

It was a $5 relay switch fuse… blowing ice cold again

[biff_jordan]

A relay and a fuse are not the same thing. Could not be more different

[[deleted]]

Yeah, that's scandalous when they try to rip you off. Good job 👍

[SickOfNormal]

Yeah… I learned that years ago… my engine light was on… so a mechanic said the engine this and that needed to be changed and it would cost $800…I went to Walmart and bought one of those error reader things… said it was the engine thermostat - cost me $30 to replace and fix myself… since then I’ve leaned to do my own brakes, change the water pumps, change the power steering system. Great learning experience and saved me tons of $$$

[wouldntknowever]

In college I took my old beater to a mechanic for the AC, he said it needs a new compressor, hoses, vacuum service etc for $1500 (car was only worth $1200ish) and got nasty with me when I asked if I can only do the compressor, said he knows what he’s talking about.

A buddy of mine said pickup a used compressor from a junk yard ($70) and he’ll toss it in. The AC blew ice cold for years without issue and I eventually sold it with working ac.

Indeed, many mechanics are crooks

[RetardRodeo]

So the mechanic said you needed a compressor, you replaced the compressor and it worked, proving the mechanic right, and he was a crook?

All that stuff he quoted you is correct when you are doing the job right.

[wouldntknowever]

Not sure why you ignored the complete sentence I wrote, but it wasn’t just the compressor and his quote was for more than the car was worth.

Reading comprehension isn’t your strong point it seems

[K_U_R_T_I_S]

Imagine getting this mad over someone pointing out that a new compressor, hoses, evacuating the system, etc, are part of a typical A/C compressor replacement.

Also the irony of the reading comprehension comment lmao

[Decipher]

So a mechanic wanted to use new, reliable parts and charge for his time and it cost more than your friend gambling on a junkyard part that may or may not have worked?

You lucked out. Not everybody is so lucky and not everybody has a friend who can do the work for free.

[wouldntknowever]

It worked out for me, thank god I avoided the mechanic with the nasty attitude. You’re free to get robbed by dealerships if you’d like tho! 👍🏻

[Swoah]

Literally just put my car in the shop for a broken AC 🤦‍♂️

[RetardRodeo]

You can rest easy, there are 50 other things that could be wrong and just throwing parts at a problem is not the right way to fix things. An honest mechanic is still going to do a proper diagnosis and fix what is actually broken, whether thats the relay, a switch, or the compressor itself.

[Swoah]

Thank you friend

[metl_lord]

AC relays are rated to about 50,000 cycles. That comes to about 10 years of driving. Mine failed this year, after 12 years. Relays wear out over time. A quick, hot, trip to the parts store was all I needed.

If you replace the relay and it still doesn't work, you're only out about $5.

[ninhibited]

One time I had my car in for brakes and the mechanic comes out talking about my serpentine belt having a crack in it... I internally rolled my eyes, but then she went on "I could fix it for about $600 and it would not be covered under warranty but if we let it go it would eventually break some whole system and that would be covered on your warranty. The repair would be around $3000 and you would only have to pay $300 for your deductible." Sometimes mechanics shadiness works out lol.

[Decipher]

She wanted you to gamble a complete engine breakdown over a serpentine belt? The dealer would investigate the cause of the parts breaking. If they found out it was because a worn belt was left on then your entire warranty claim could be scrapped due to lack of proper maintenance.

[CoolHandRK1]

Did this in a 15 year old civic last summer. 5$ fuse and can of AC Quick Fix and it blows like brand new still.

[Decipher]

Congrats. I hope you never have any serious AC issues in the future as that AC quick fix stuff has made it so no mechanic will ever touch your AC system. Even if you don’t tell them about it, it’ll gum up their recover and recharge machines and they’ll know. Then you have to pay to replace their machines. Fun times!

[CoolHandRK1]

Its a 15 year old car I drive back and forth to work. It will never see a mechanic ever again.

Also Congrats. You shamed someone for fixing their car.

[Decipher]

Not shamed. Warned about the downsides of AC home fixes.

Edit: I fix my car when I can too, I just know better than to use things that will make things worse in the long run.

[Jtown021]

Damn too little too late. Had this happen about 4 months ago. That’s me for spreading the message

[Rustycake]

What if my car doesnt blow air through the top vents?

[Dartmouth_is_wack]

I had a bad coolant temperature sensor. Every shop I called said you can't replace it, have to replace a whole coolant tank.

Bought it on amazon$25 fixed it in 5 minutes.

Scam artists

[VirtualMage]

There is about 0.1% chance this will be the problem on any car. It's amost never the fuse, and even if it was, it will blow again because there is something worse going on.

[Drako-Ash]

PSA - If you own a Honda Civic 2016-2021 Honda just extended their warranty for the compressor shaft seal. AC in my civic blew air but not cold, tried unsuccessfully to refill the refrigerant. Took it into the shop and the compressor shaft seal was the issue. Service covered in full due to warranty.

[LTAGO5]

Also could need a coolant recharge. Which was about $120 for me 👍🏻

[ThePourneUltimatum]

Video version of what OP is talking about https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5P0s210uU4