I have a 1995 honda civic d15b7 5 speed and when the a/c compressor engages it Boggs the engine something horrible. I have also noticed in the past at times the engine would idle up and down like the IACV is acting up. Is that what the issue is? Is my IACV just not compensating for the compressor putting a load on the engine at idle?

 

Make sure that the condenser fan works. It should start when the compressor engages and stay running until it disengages. When the condenser overheats, the refrigerant pressure will rise, overworking the compressor. The compressor's excessive horsepower draw then bogs the engine.

If fan is OK, then yes you should try cleaning the IACV.

 

Now that you mention the condenser fan, I just replaced it with one from the junk yard yesterday. The old one had a short in it somewhere and kept blowing the 20 amp fuse that it and the a/c compressor were on. But after I put it in, I did notice that it wasn't kicking on, but it was not blowing the 20 amp fuse either. After the a/c ran for a while and the car was warm, when the a/c compressor disengaged and re engaged it bogged the worst, confirming your statement of the condenser overheating and making the refrigerant level rise. Probably why it purged refrigerant when I ran the a/c with the old condenser fan unplugged too. Probably need to clean IACV and find out why the condenser fan does not engage with the compressor as they are on the same circuit. Also the car has a slight misfire at idle (which probably does not help my a/c issue) and hard to start when cold, but a full tuneup did not help either. Got a new distributor sitting on the bench waiting to be put on but that's a different story. It's all making more sense now.

Thanks for the tip and I will keep you all posted if I don't sell the car lol

 

The most likely explantion is that your "new" fan is a dud. Unplug fan and measure ohms through it, if open circuit it is bad. You can also test it by connecting two test wires direct from the motor plug to a car battery.

There are two relays on a little bracket by the left headlight and condenser. One is for the compressor and the other is for the fan. Unplug the plugs and swap them, so that your old fan relay is now connected to the compressor. If the the compressor quits working, you will know that it is a bad relay. (Note that the device mounted right next to the fan motor that looks like a relay is actually not a relay, it is a radio noise filter.)

 

Yes, unfortunately I am all too familiar with the a/c electrical system when I diagnosed my old fan to be shorting out and blowing the fuselol. Hopefully it is as simple as a dud fan motor as it has a warranty.