Do our cars have weak air-conditioners?

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by trm0002

So... I grabbed our Fluke temperature IR gun from work and tested mine this morning. As you can see, mine was blowing at 42.5 degrees with an outside ambient temp of 75. Good? Bad? Can't tell you because I don't know what the drop is supposed to be or if it will maintain low 40's when the outside temp climbs to the mid-80's later today. Rest assured, I will measure it again then and report.

Be sure you check it while driving at highway speed, AC compressors and condensers have been downsized and also the new refrigerants are not as efficient as the old R12, so you will get the most efficient cooling at highway speeds... at idle you will not get as good a heat transfer.

[Memphis SS]

I have owned several GM cars and never had any AC issues.. the AC in my Camaro works great and here in Memphis area we have temps in the summer of high 90s.

[bradshaw]

Went on a 5 hour trip last week, outside temp was 101 F , high humidity, traveling at 75 mph, fan speed halfway, temp reading on inside vent fluctuated from 40 to about 43, very comfortable, my only complaint is when car has been sitting in the sun for awhile , takes about 10 minutes before it finally cools down into the 40`s.

[fastball]

The old A/C systems were power hoggs with their huge compressors, inefficient, and using R12 were not environmentally friendly..... but they would turn your interior into a meat locker within 2 minutes at 1:00 in the afternoon in the middle of Death Valley.

For my personal opinion, I would take that any day over the nice little efficient systems modern cars have. Yes, they still work well and cool acceptably, but nothing beats the old honkin compressors and R12 when you really want ice cold air. Because when its as hot as it is today (94 with a heat index of 100 here in Cleveland today), the new A/C designs work harder to keep up when you're at idle.

[ROE]

no ice cold

[dannkimmel]

i mesured mine with a thermometer that came with my infered gun like the one posted today.40 degress exatly!!!
but i still wonder does anyone have an opion about the moisture on the out side of the winshield at the defrost vents?even when i have selected
foot level out put...

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by dannkimmel

i mesured mine with a thermometer that came with my infered gun like the one posted today.40 degress exatly!!!
but i still wonder does anyone have an opion about the moisture on the out side of the winshield at the defrost vents?even when i have selected
foot level out put...

when you have footlevel set it assumes you want heat (normally a winter setting) and also diverts part of the airflow to the windshiled for defrost/defog action. to prevent this select the bi-level (Foot and upper vents) on your heater controls.

[dannkimmel]

thanks ill try it i thought i had tryed differant selections but to be sure ill use bilevel only and see.
thanks!!!!
oh and i havent said in a while how much i love this car!!!!
5888 miles since april!!!!!
sorry motorcyle but you deserve a break!!

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by dannkimmel

thanks ill try it i thought i had tryed differant selections but to be sure ill use bilevel only and see.
thanks!!!!
oh and i havent said in a while how much i love this car!!!!
5888 miles since april!!!!!
sorry motorcyle but you deserve a break!!

Sometimes I want to cool my feet, and that is the setting I usually use. cold air on the windshield will fog up the outside in a hurry on a hot humid day...

[tradosaurus]

Originally Posted by bradshaw

Went on a 5 hour trip last week, outside temp was 101 F , high humidity, traveling at 75 mph, fan speed halfway, temp reading on inside vent fluctuated from 40 to about 43, very comfortable, my only complaint is when car has been sitting in the sun for awhile , takes about 10 minutes before it finally cools down into the 40`s.

This is the only way to measure the true effectiveness of the A/C inside the cabin.

I put a thermometer on my center vent and it blows about 42F. This seems consistent with other posters who measured their coldness.

Don't guess. Buy a thermometer if you don't have one.

[fastball]

Originally Posted by trm0002

Of course they can. That said, the easiest test is to simply measure the temperature of the air coming out of the vents. I read somewhere it should be 45 deg but don't take that as the Gospel truth as I'm sure 110 degree AZ heat is different from 88 degree NY heat. Most likely it's supposed to be able to achieve a temperature drop of "x" degrees from ambient temperature down to as cold as "y" degrees. Someone in the know, please chime in with x and y figures.

If you turn on your a/c in the middle of a 20 degree below zero arctic blizzard would it actually warm your car?

Every rookie technician fresh out of HVAC school has a gauge set to check the high side and low side pressures of an air conditioning system. Anyone who tells you they can't check the pressure of any A/C system is stupid or lying.

[TooCool5]

Originally Posted by bradshaw

Went on a 5 hour trip last week, outside temp was 101 F , high humidity, traveling at 75 mph, fan speed halfway, temp reading on inside vent fluctuated from 40 to about 43, very comfortable, my only complaint is when car has been sitting in the sun for awhile , takes about 10 minutes before it finally cools down into the 40`s.

This is the correct way to check your AC, the temp at the vents should be around 40 degrees or so. Properly running AC units can only cool the interior 20 degree's from ambient temp. So if its 101 out you can only expect 20 less than that.

[zen]

Originally Posted by TooCool5

This is the correct way to check your AC, the temp at the vents should be around 40 degrees or so. Properly running AC units can only cool the interior 20 degree's from ambient temp. So if its 101 out you can only expect 20 less than that.

If you have recirc turned on the ambient temperature is what is returning back to the evaporator, which eventually be somewhere ~ 80°. Should get somewhere betwen 35 and 40° drop across the coil at ~2000RPM.

[DarrenJ]

Originally Posted by MillerTime

TINT IT!!!!! Any car looks better with tint...and that camaro looks bitchin!!!!!

+1! 20%!!!