I have noticed that while driving above say 30mpg air conditioning works fine and cold. but in town driving and while stopped it seems to not work. gets humid fast. I also notice that my idle sits at the third notch if i count by twos it would be 600 rpm? which doesnt seem right becuase when then the notch that reads 1000 would be like 1200 or 1400 . is this a pump or condensor problem or is my idle set to low etc.? thanks.

 

Where does your needle sit at idle? If it's within the normal range, I would say that it's your a/c bringing the idle down. Have your a/c checked, it may just need to be "topped off" and maybe have them put some dye in the line too.

 

it sits at the third notch when air is on maybe a little higher with it off. this acts this way when it is fully charged and works fine on the highway. or if i just raise the idle by pressing the gas while stopped. anything else i can try? thanks.

 

Well, judging from my a/c, which was doing the same thing until it leaked out all the freon stuff and died, my compressor was bad. It would blow warm but cool air at idle and get cold when at speed. So, mine ended being my compressor, but that's all the experience I have with a/c. There's not really much to it though, you have the compressor, hoses with the freon, the dryer, then the HVAC. There are also sensor on the coolant system which tell the ECU to kick on the a/c compressor fan...hmm, check to make sure both your fans kick on.

 

haha, funny you mention that, no both of my big fans in front dont kick on . the one on passenger side doesnt. what could i do now?

 

The passenger side one is the radiator fan...well, both affect the radiator, but the one on the passenger's side comes on when the motor temps get high, while the a/c fan turns on when the a/c starts to tax the motor and cause more heat. If your radiator fan does not come on at all, there is definitely an issue that needs to be resolved fast or your motor might just overheat. Do you have a Haynes/Chiltons manual? I always suggest getting one because they are worth the money spent. Anyway, there's a fan "switch". I forgot where it's located, so let me try to find that for you and I'll post back.

 

yes i have a haynes, i wrote to quick last time. both my fans turn on when i have the air on. when i turn the air off the passenger goes off. i looked in the book to charge my system and got a kit with adapter at walmart. but when i tried to plug it on i got pressure feedback so i backed off. i went back to the store and looked at the other kit and it had the same adapter maybe i just freaked when the pressure came by just trying to get the hose on. i thought i had done it about 3 years ago and it seemed easier anyway, i will try that first "charging the system" and get back to you.

my question would be though. why if it isnt charged why would it have cold air at highway sppeds and not intown or idle?

thanks.

 

Ah ok, cool (no pun intended). As long as you use the green cap or whatever color it is, but it should have a big "L" on it for low side, I'm sure you already know that though since you've done it before.
I don't know the technical answer to that but my bro-in-law told me that there's more push from the compressor with higher RPMs but as soon as it drops so does the push from the compressor and the pressure of the gas inside slows down too. So the compressor has to use the higher RPMs to compress the gas and it does it with ease at higher RPMs and if the gas is low, then it needs to work harder and the only way it can work harder is with higher RPMs because it's taking what help it can get from the motor.
Does that make sense? Lol, it made sense when he explained it to me. I hope I didn't just screw that up, someone correct me, lol.