a/c with defrost

[spaz]

i really hated having my a/c come on automatically, i have a gt and it uses a lot of gas when i forget and leave it on. i also got tired of turning it on, then immediately turning it off before it used up too much gas.
i couldn't really find an answer to my problem online so i took it upon myself to do something about it. turns out it's very simple (maybe that's why no one was talking about it) 3 pics of same thing at different angles, just pull the plug
i think a picture is worth a thousand words
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd158/diseasedhealer/2011-02-15_16-36-07_132-picsay.jpg
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd158/diseasedhealer/2011-02-15_16-35-22_149-picsay.jpg
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd158/diseasedhealer/2011-02-15_16-35-15_84-picsay.jpg

[roaf85]

i really hated having my a/c come on automatically, i have a gt and it uses a lot of gas when i forget and leave it on. i also got tired of turning it on, then immediately turning it off before it used up too much gas.
i couldn't really find an answer to my problem online so i took it upon myself to do something about it. turns out it's very simple (maybe that's why no one was talking about it) 3 pics of same thing at different angles, just pull the plug
i think a picture is worth a thousand words


A/C just means conditioned air. The reason you A/C comes on when you use the defrost is because conditioned air will clear your window of fog way faster than using outside air which is the reason fog exists in the first place. It is the difference between the outside temperature and the temperature in your car.

[mad.mdx]

the defog is not very effective without the a/c, but i can see why you would want fully independent control

[Pool Playen Bob]

i see this on other vehicles. but mine does not do this. a/c works fine. but i never see the little lamp come on when i defrost. weird.

[Klint]

Its supposed to come on because ..well without having ac on... it would take a long time to clear the windows. you don't waste that much gas ...

[Nlkko]

i see this on other vehicles. but mine does not do this. a/c works fine. but i never see the little lamp come on when i defrost. weird.

You need to push it in for it to come on. Either that or it's jammed/broken.

[InsolentMinx]

my a/c only comes on if i push the a/c button and have the centre dial on full power.

if i don't have the dial at full power, even if i push the a/c button, it won't come on.

nice to know there's a plug you can easily disconnect though :)

[boost addict]

The A/C compressor does come on when you place the vent selector dial in the defrost position. The A/C button light just doesn't light up because the separate switch in the vent selector has bypassed the A/C switch and tripped the A/C system relay.

One thing some of you don't understand is for those of us that live in drier climates, most of the time we don't need the defrost air to be dehumidified by the A/C system. An example is in the morning I may have a light layer of frost on the exterior of my windshield. As I start the car to let it warm up, I'll place the vent selector in defrost mode to get rid of the frost on the outside - there isn't any fogging on the inside of my windshield. It’s just unnecessary wear/tear on the A/C system, wasted gas, and additional parasitic drag while driving.

I think it is a backward step in engineering to include the A/C function in the defrost position for times when it “might” be needed. Asian vehicles for years have been designed to allow you to choose if you wanted to turn on the A/C system in defrost mode, but now they are following what American vehicles have been set up with for years. This was what I thought was one of the neat and smart designs that turned me on to Asian cars – Toyota specifically until recent.

It boils down to “dumbing down” our vehicles for those that aren’t smart enough to know when to use A/C while in defrost mode. Most owners who know their vehicle and how to control it properly are now left with figuring out a way to disable these features that big brother and the manufacturer think we can’t manage.

End of rant ....

[xCaldazar]

i see this on other vehicles. but mine does not do this. a/c works fine. but i never see the little lamp come on when i defrost. weird.
+1

Mine only comes on when I select it. I'll have to take a look and see if it was previously disconnected or something. I got an '02 gts if that makes a difference? Maybe they just put it on certain models or years?

[Pool Playen Bob]

yeah idk man. i know the light works. the a/c works. but i have never physically seen that light come on at any single point in time.

and what some people don't know that running your a/c frequent enough to keep things lubed up is a good thing. even if that a/c is only on for a few short moments even though your pumps getting that little extra wear and tear you're still keeping those seals decent by flowing some oil past them. i see more a/c failures do to leaks then a catastrophic failure of an a/c compressor.

so in the end its really not that bad of a thing. kinda like starting a car once a week and driving it to get everything splashed around and replenished so after an initial start up after a long sit isn't tough on a few items.

give and take. :shrugs: its all in a matter of opinion.