[Shotimes] Where do you set your EATC to?

[George Fourchy]

On Sat, 25 Jan 2003 21:07:04 -0500, Tommy wrote:

>Is this true? Is the compressor running @ temperatures below 50: F?

Helms does not specify.....it apparently doesn't think we need to know.   My
experiences with my car say this....The compressor will run constantly when it is
needed to cool the hot interior air, in a summer type a/c situation, when you are
first starting out.  It will, over time, engage less and less when the ambient
interior temperature approaches that which you have selected in the window with the
red and blue buttons.  If the outside temp is not that much hotter than the desired
inside temp, but just more humid, the compressor will run a minimal amount, just
enough to keep the evaporator cool enough to cool the air to the desired
temperature.   If you are still too humid, you have to lower the desired temp more,
to get the compressor to run more, and if necessary, you must go to Max AC, for
recirculating the interior air to dry it out.  (We don't have that problem here in
Ca.)

If, in the winter, you have the defroster selected, the compressor will stay on all
the time, since its purpose is to dry the air, which is theoretically a constant
chore whenever the defroster is needed.  (I've discovered, in the winter, I can use
Max AC, rather than the defroster mode, and use less fuel and make less noise, and
easily keep all my windows clear.)

So the defroster setting will use more gas than the a/c setting, unless it is VERY
hot outside....then a healthy a/c system will use less fuel than a tired one, after
the interior is finally cooled down to the desired level, and the blower can slow
down.  If the evaporator cannot stay ahead of the air warming up inside, since it is
not cold enough, because the freon level is low, then the compressor will stay on
longer, and use more fuel.

George