When i'm in neutral and my a/c is on, i hear a clicking noise in the engine bay that engages every 5-10 seconds. When the clicking sound happens my idle drops to a little lower than 500rpm and the car shakes like hell. It reminds me of when you leave your car in gear by accident sometimes and brake w/o hitting the clutch. Also, when idle speed drops, the electrical systems dim.

However, when i'm in neutral w/o a/c the car is fine and idling at 725rpm.....my haynes manual says the car should idle between 650-750rpm. A friend said i should just adjust the idle speed to go higher but won't that mess up my engine?

 

oh yeah.....the car is a 96 manual accord sedan

 

kind of sounds like the AC system is overcharged. If thats true, the compressor will be shot as well, thats the clicking noise.

Does your AC work? If its not very cold, have a professional check it out.

It really sounds like the compressor is shot though.

 

the a/c works but i have to admit that its not putting out the cold air it used too

 

it will work a little... but being the compressor is cycling on and off really quick like that, that means there is too much pressure in the system... and from that, the compressor will be pretty much dead now... thats the clicking noise.