hatchdog
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 8, 2017
- Messages
- 164
Greetings all,
Yesterday I drove my car to the Post Falls, Idaho area which is about an hour from my home. I left early in the morning when the outside temps were still cool but drove home mid-afternoon in 90* heat. I drove on a highway at 55 mph and lower. As I expected to use the A/C I put a thermometer in the center dash duct to measure the A/C temp.
While driving at 55mph the temp on the thermo read 60* and the air felt cool but not ice cold as in my modern car. At no time did the cabin of the car feel like it was cooling off and remained somewhat uncomfortable the entire time. Part way home I was stopped by a train. I put the car in park and left the engine and A/C running as I was curious what would happen. The temp on the thermo raised to 70* and the cabin was even warmer.
The A/C on my car is all new components and is the new R 134 freon compressor. At no time did my temperature gauge show any sign of overheating.
I have done a bit of internet research and read that the best one can expect is for the air from the ducts to be 25* less than the outside air but I'm not sure if this was with R12 or R134. If this is the case having my duct air 30* less than outside should be good. I also read that while the car is not moving, as in waiting for the train, the lack of air over the condenser will cause the A/C temp to raise.
So, after the above long short story, is it your opinion that my A/C is working as well as can be expected from a 49 year old car or should I have it looked at?
Also, just to make sure I am operating the dash controls correctly, I set the left switch to max, the center to cool of course and the fan to various speeds. Before I left I checked the system with the hood open and it sounded like the compressor kicked in when I turned the on fan switch. Does it sound like I am setting the controls correctly?
Thanks for your input, it's just gonna get hotter here in Eastern Washington State.
Mike
Yesterday I drove my car to the Post Falls, Idaho area which is about an hour from my home. I left early in the morning when the outside temps were still cool but drove home mid-afternoon in 90* heat. I drove on a highway at 55 mph and lower. As I expected to use the A/C I put a thermometer in the center dash duct to measure the A/C temp.
While driving at 55mph the temp on the thermo read 60* and the air felt cool but not ice cold as in my modern car. At no time did the cabin of the car feel like it was cooling off and remained somewhat uncomfortable the entire time. Part way home I was stopped by a train. I put the car in park and left the engine and A/C running as I was curious what would happen. The temp on the thermo raised to 70* and the cabin was even warmer.
The A/C on my car is all new components and is the new R 134 freon compressor. At no time did my temperature gauge show any sign of overheating.
I have done a bit of internet research and read that the best one can expect is for the air from the ducts to be 25* less than the outside air but I'm not sure if this was with R12 or R134. If this is the case having my duct air 30* less than outside should be good. I also read that while the car is not moving, as in waiting for the train, the lack of air over the condenser will cause the A/C temp to raise.
So, after the above long short story, is it your opinion that my A/C is working as well as can be expected from a 49 year old car or should I have it looked at?
Also, just to make sure I am operating the dash controls correctly, I set the left switch to max, the center to cool of course and the fan to various speeds. Before I left I checked the system with the hood open and it sounded like the compressor kicked in when I turned the on fan switch. Does it sound like I am setting the controls correctly?
Thanks for your input, it's just gonna get hotter here in Eastern Washington State.
Mike