AC problem, or not?

[S H]

Hi

my new 05 ST has an air conditioner that does NOT work as well as my old 02. Works well in MAX AC position, but the minute you switch to regular AC it warms up considerably. To the point of being uncomfortable even with the fan blowing like gangbusters. Do you think this could be a problem with the temp control switch, or perhaps just minimum charge of refrigerant? I went to the dealer today, and although they couldn't get it in to look at it this afternoon, they put a thermometer in the vent with it on max cool and got a reading of 50 degrees, so they looked at me like I was crazy. It seems to me that my old 02 temp was below this new one when on max ac, and well below this one on regular ac. Am I crazy? Or can you give me some ammunition to take back to the dealer?

 

[Robert Stanton]

I've noticed the same thing with my '05 ST. Generally I use MAX AC when I first get in, and once it's nice and frosty inside I switch over to regular. I haven't really had an issue with it... at worst I'll switch it back over to MAX for a minute or two if I'm a little warm.



One thing I've noticed with all ACs is that turning the fan on to the highest setting isn't always the quickest way to cool a hot vehicle. I almost never turn my fan on beyond 3.

 

[Mike Wilson]

When you first get in, the best thing to do is crack a window or windows if it is not pouring

rain, turn your fan to the highest setting for approximately one minute, to let the

built up heat escape the vehicle interior. Then switch to normal a/c for a few minutes till

you feel the air coming out noticeably cooler. Then roll up your windows (if down)

THEN switch to max a/c. Reasons for this are that when the a/c is on max, you

are recirculating the vehicle interior air and trying to cool it down, since when on

max, the hvac (heating vent and air conditioning) system is designed to pull air

from the passenger compartment. Which as you may know can be up to 180 degrees

in the summer heat. When you have the hvac on a/c, it is drawing air from the

cowl area in fron of the windshield, which may be 100 degrees on a hot summer day,

but not the 180 d. air that has been trapped in the interior for several hours.

It is a step process that will help you cool down your interior faster, and also save

some wear and tear on your a/c system. Also, most newer a/c systems are designed

to cool the air to 32-45 degrees below the outside ambient air temperature, on

average. So if you got a reading of 50 d.,outside air temp should have been 90 d.

or higher, without any concerns to the proper operation of your a/c.

An by the way, 134-a is no where near as good as R-12 when it comes to cooling.

Humidity can also play a factor in this method as moist air takes longer to cool

than dry air in an a/c system.