running air con all year

[cram_it_frog]

Hi I have climate control and was told the best way is to use air con as much as possible , this will cause less problems such as leaks and such

is this true

I did see holden comodore VF had problem with leaks in there air cons so the service managers are telling people to run it all year to keep the seals moist

[poppa smurf]

I just give mine a run once a week to keep everything lubed up......I wouldn't run it all the time simply for economy reasons.

[MR REKLAW]

Hi Cram It Frog,I have a BF ute and any time i decide to use climate control,either heating or cooling my air con comes on,so most off the year it gets used,i have had no problems with the system at all,apart from trying to ram a trolley jack through the radiator and condenser
doh,expensive mistake,live and learn.The reason they suggest using often is to circulate the oil through the system,therefore keeping the seals from drying out and gas from escaping.

[cram_it_frog]

my wifes sid of the duel zone does not work so it pumps cold air out so I just move the dial to off and put a rag at the bottom foot well vent

living in Broken Hill we really do not need heat as much as cooling we have had a warm year we started to get 35 in October

but as far as economy it uses less fuel that my old magna 4cyl with out air con

thanks I will leave it on cool as much as i can

[Olbucko]

I have a seven year old SY Ghia with climate control, 250,000 Km on the clock, I have had the air on continuously since new. The system has been totally trouble free, works as well as it did on day one, and has never required re gassing.

[Ben73]

I was told the same thing buy a guy working at an car aircon place. Perhaps he was just saying that so he can get more business.
But I have honestly heard similar things from others too.

I run mine almost every day, so far so good, but the car is only 9 months old

[MAGPIE]

If the car is on the climate aircon is on, whether it is hot or cold.

[supershifty]

I haven't got climate control as such on my XH, just heater and A/C.

When I start her in the morning I turn the A/C on and open up the heater to full for the first 5mins - just to keep things moving regardless of the weather conditions.

I've had no problems.

Cheers!

[csv8]

My BF Mk 2 has had the climate control aircon on continuesly since new. Serviced twice..no problems..BF has 140k on clock...

[cram_it_frog]

mine has done 165,000 k and was owned by Lachlan Shire and I am sure it was on all the time when they had it

I made a big mistake on my last car a 4cly magna and I paid $400 to get it converted to the correct gas but did not use it all the time and with in 12 months it was not working

but it cost me a fortune to run when I had the air con on

on Monday I went to Mildura for the day it was 38 outside and humid and I had air con on for the 600 k entire trip

In the end I used less fuel that I would have used in my old Magna I am sure the cruze control helped with that as well as the barra engine

I can say best trip and so comfertable the falcon soaked up the Ks and I was worried that buying a 6 cyl would be more expensive in fuel but no it is not

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by cram_it_frog

my wifes sid of the duel zone does not work so it pumps cold air out so I just move the dial to off and put a rag at the bottom foot well vent

living in Broken Hill we really do not need heat as much as cooling we have had a warm year we started to get 35 in October

but as far as economy it uses less fuel that my old magna 4cyl with out air con

thanks I will leave it on cool as much as i can

my heater is not working on wife's side either (heater shaft, yet one more thing on the "repair list") I keep saying to her (albeit under my breath) that with all the hot air coming from her that she would not need heat, one day, when I have room to manoeuvre, I shall say it out loud.

my answer is to place the system into defrost and hit the air-con button, this turns the air-con off but leaves the heat blowing up on the windscreen, no cold air to she suffers immeasurably.

[cram_it_frog]

my answer is to place the system into defrost and hit the air-con button, this turns the air-con off but leaves the heat blowing up on the windscreen, no cold air to she suffers immeasurably.

so how do I do that ?

which button do you hit for go to defrost

thanks

[poppa smurf]

on your list of options in the heater control, look for the little picture of the wavy arrows heading into a box (defrost mode), when you hit defrost the air-con will come on immediately in an effort to, well, defrost the window.

once the defrost button is hit, immediately hit the air-con button to turn that off.....only hot air will come through then, stopping the intermittent whining emanating from the shotgun seat.

no cold air from passenger side vent, hence happy hubby.

[cram_it_frog]

thanks so much

less winging from the passengers lol


if I lived in say the snowy mountains or tas then I would spend the money fixing the issue

have a great day

[Itsme]

I have my climate control switched on all the time, set on auto with desired temperature setting, always nice & comfortable in the car.

[commodorenutt]

It is well known in the industry that the aircon needs to operate to regularly to keep in in working condition, and avoid seizures & leaky seals. Most people would recommend 10 minutes, once a week.

Nissan took it so seriously, that the N13 Pulsar has the aircon compressor clutch hooked up to the reverse lights, so that the compressor is activated every time you reverse. This was their way of ensuring people ran the compressor at regular intervals.

I have always run my A/C and have never had aircon issues - even with a 16 year old car, still running it's original gas, untouched. It's actually useful to run the a/c with the demister in winter to dehumidify the air, and improve the performance of the demister.

You don't have to run it in full cold to use the A/C either - you can run the aircon with the heat turned up - the compressor will still operate, just that the cold air exiting from the evaporator will then be directed through the heater core to warm it up before it blows out the selected vent.

[cram_it_frog]

ok I just ran the defrost as described and yes it works well

now I know life might be better lol

[39ClevoUte]

I've always run a/c on all the time with manual a/c or climate control, just adjust the heat to get the temp right if non C/C.
One thing you notice on cars that only some times run a/c is that the windscreen gets dirty on the inside. I don't know why but it happenns. Not the reason I run mine all the time though, I just find it more comfortable.

[XR Martin]

Aircon still works in my EL, I only use it in the winter to defog the glass and only other time I use it is in 30+ degree days.

[paule11]

BF xr6 100000 kms aircon on 99.9% of the time no problems

[39ClevoUte]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

on your list of options in the heater control, look for the little picture of the wavy arrows heading into a box (defrost mode), when you hit defrost the air-con will come on immediately in an effort to, well, defrost the window.

once the defrost button is hit, immediately hit the air-con button to turn that off.....only hot air will come through then, stopping the intermittent whining emanating from the shotgun seat.

no cold air from passenger side vent, hence happy hubby.

Fords for many years (at least since the 70s that I know of) mix hot with the floor vents first and as you increase the temp towards max they will give in and mix with the face vents.
In defrost mode the face vents are turned off and nothing beats A/C for clearing a frosted screen within seconds. You can still add heat and the lower floor vents will still heat the passenger side floor.
Even with heat fully added the sceen will clear much quicker with the air on.

[Jason[98.EL]]

the second you put the windscreen demister on in the car it will automatically turn the aircon pump on so it is more than enough to keep it working most the time

Me I leave the car on windscreen demist all the time have not realy noticed a diff in the fuel side of things from memory it was not that much change between the 2

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by 37Clevo

Fords for many years (at least since the 70s that I know of) mix hot with the floor vents first and as you increase the temp towards max they will give in and mix with the face vents.
In defrost mode the face vents are turned off and nothing beats A/C for clearing a frosted screen within seconds. You can still add heat and the lower floor vents will still heat the passenger side floor.
Even with heat fully added the sceen will clear much quicker with the air on.

yes mate but the problem and question was nothing to do with "defogging" merely heating.

I found the heater set to "defog" without air-con on still let the warmth in without the cold draught associated with a busted mixer shaft.

[vbvbvb088]

As Split Enz say's 'History Never Repeats'.... those Nissan Pulsars ('Reebok' special?) turned compressor on every time in reverse. 1990's....till now - 'Go Figure'.Everything old is new again....

[SPArKy_Dave]

Yep, same here.
I have a 97' 5ltr EL Fairmont wagon.
The climate control is on, all year round.

I just change the temperature setting, and/or fan speed, to suit the prevailing conditions.
260,000km, A/C works exceedingly well, and has never been touched to my knowledge.

My old man has owned a 98' EL sedan since new, in which he always used the A/C sparingly.
Guess what no-longer works......

I have all the skills/tools to recondition/rebuild/flush and regas Aircon systems, so I have a fair idea what works well.

(I plan to refurb the A/C in the 98' EL, when I can grab the car for a week or so.)

Any vehicles I drive, (with working aircon) first thing I do, is turn the A/C on almost by reflex action - even with the fan speed just on minimum.
The A/C system will love you for it!

[Ford_The_Win]

Like others here I use mine all the time. It's great for dehumidifying the warm air in winter, keeps things toasty dry inside the cabin.

[yearby]

I have 93 Hilux, I run air conditioner most of the time, even winter, it had A/C serviced for the 1st time last year, still runs original gas, no leaks, no problems.
So, yes run a/c regularly to prevent seals from drying out, which in turn prevents leaks.

[NX74205]

I use mine all the time, not because I heard it was good to run it, but because I don't see how you can be comfortable without using an air conditioner in this sort of weather.

The car is over 9 years old and the air conditioner still works like a dream.

[LoudPipes]

I was told by my auto electrician mate back in the late 70’s after I blew a compressor I should run the air at least every week to help keep the seals from drying out.

When it happened I hadn’t turned the aircon on for about 6 months and when I did the compressor seized and threw the belt.

It could just be coincidence but I’ve turned it on regularly in every car since without ever suffering a repeat of the problem.

I use to just let it blow out the passenger vents in winter and put up with a bit of cold air in the cabin for a while.

In the early days I always thought a few minutes of discomfort was better than the price of a new compressor.

[cram_it_frog]

NX74205 I used to live in Perth and with the air con I am 60 and most of my life of driving is with out air con

yes it is much nicer to drive but it is not the end of the world we used to wind the window down and drink lots of cold beer ( no RBT in those days)