Will AC work if outside temp. is < 60 degrees? - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

wjmeyer · 01-22-2011, 07:37 AM

On a mild sunny day here in New Orleans about a week ago, about 60 degrees, my AC wouldn't come on so I brought the car in for service yesterday and was told that the AC compressor won't engage if the outside temp. is below 60 - which I thought is strange having never experienced this before in any other car or seeing anything about this in the manual.
I know - why does he want AC on a 60 degrees day - on that particular sunny day, I was running and overheated and wanted to cool off.
Until the outside weather warms up, I can't test if the service dept. 60 degree answer is true (I think the AC is broken and they can't figure out what is wrong), so: Can anyone else verify if their AC works in weather under 60 degrees.

SC2150 · 01-22-2011, 08:13 AM

It wont cool much but will remove the moisture from the cabin air aiding in the defroster function.

oldsmobubble · 01-22-2011, 08:19 AM

The owners manual says no

Hephaestus1 · 01-22-2011, 08:31 AM

Well, mine sure as heck seems to. I have started 36-44 degF mornings with the temp set to mostly warm (and it takes a while to get there--pretty cold at first), then back it down as time wears on. By ~15-20 minutes, I can get back to having fairly cold air blowing (not that that's my goal). Then again, mine's a 2010, and there was a TSB for preventing compressor freeze-up, maybe I lucked out and missed it?

BowlingSS · 01-23-2011, 12:49 PM

I used mine a couple of weeks ago and it was working with temps in the 50's outside.

Bill

paslag · 01-31-2011, 02:08 PM

A/c comes on even if it's cold outside. On the defrost position, it will come on even below 32... It takes out the moisture in the cabin and it defrost quicker. Every cars are like that...

thiggin2 · 01-31-2011, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paslag

A/c comes on even if it's cold outside. On the defrost position, it will come on even below 32... It takes out the moisture in the cabin and it defrost quicker. Every cars are like that...

For the A/C compressor to engage there must be an ambient temp above 34°F.

01-22-2011, 07:37 AM	#1
wjmeyer Drives: 2016 Camaro RS, 2LT Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Metairie, LA Posts: 131	Will AC work if outside temp. is < 60 degrees? On a mild sunny day here in New Orleans about a week ago, about 60 degrees, my AC wouldn't come on so I brought the car in for service yesterday and was told that the AC compressor won't engage if the outside temp. is below 60 - which I thought is strange having never experienced this before in any other car or seeing anything about this in the manual. I know - why does he want AC on a 60 degrees day - on that particular sunny day, I was running and overheated and wanted to cool off. Until the outside weather warms up, I can't test if the service dept. 60 degree answer is true (I think the AC is broken and they can't figure out what is wrong), so: Can anyone else verify if their AC works in weather under 60 degrees.

01-31-2011, 02:08 PM	#6
paslag Drives: 2010 Camaro 2SS/RS Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Québec, Canada Posts: 177	A/c comes on even if it's cold outside. On the defrost position, it will come on even below 32... It takes out the moisture in the cabin and it defrost quicker. Every cars are like that... __________________ 2010 2ss/rs Ls3, E-force s/c, 3.25'' pulley,Kooks long tubes w/cats, magnaflow 2.5" cat back, Rotofab cai, 65 lbs inj, MSD bap, AEM water/meth, comp cam, 621whp,577 wtq on mustang dyno

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01-22-2011, 08:13 AM	#2
SC2150 Account Suspended Drives: 2012 Camaro RS, RX supercharged Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Bradenton, FL Posts: 6,063	It wont cool much but will remove the moisture from the cabin air aiding in the defroster function.

01-22-2011, 08:19 AM	#3
oldsmobubble Drives: 2012 45th anniversary, 1969 c-10, Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: louisville ky Posts: 103 View My Garage	The owners manual says no

01-22-2011, 08:31 AM	#4
Hephaestus1 Drives: 2010 2LT/RS A6 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Between a Rock and a Weird place, TX Posts: 37	Well, mine sure as heck seems to. I have started 36-44 degF mornings with the temp set to mostly warm (and it takes a while to get there--pretty cold at first), then back it down as time wears on. By ~15-20 minutes, I can get back to having fairly cold air blowing (not that that's my goal). Then again, mine's a 2010, and there was a TSB for preventing compressor freeze-up, maybe I lucked out and missed it?

01-23-2011, 12:49 PM	#5
BowlingSS Camaro Owner Since 1987 Drives: 2011 2SS/RS L99 RJT Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Lawrenceville, GA Posts: 2,185	I used mine a couple of weeks ago and it was working with temps in the 50's outside. Bill