Situation:

As I'm sure all of you Dakota owners now, there are a ton of air settings on the dak that result in the air conditioning being used. Some of them are ridiculous, like the defroster for example. Given that I live in Sunny Oregon (sarcasm), it's going to be friggen cold all winter. There's no way in hell I'll ever need my air conditioning again until march.

The Question:

Is there a way to disable the airconditionary for the winter months? I simply don't need it, and I would like to run my defroster without the airconditioning sucking down my milage. Will disabling it throw any codes, or cause any issues anywhere else? Has anyone done this before? Is there an easy way to disable it so as I can easily re-enable it?

Anyways, let me know what all of your experience and knowledge is pertaining to the situation please.

 

You can just get a shorter belt and bypass the ac compressor. My compressor locked up so I bypassed it and everything works fine(except the AC of course). Keep in mind the belt for the non-AC models will not work. I don't have a part number for the belt i am using but a parts store should be able to help match something up. The belt I am using is a 5 groove belt though...(stock is 6 grooves)..but it seems to work fine and it would be easy to swap back to the stock belt for summer use.

Keep in mind that your defrost will work much better with the ac compressor connected because it basically acts as a de-humidifier and clears the windshield much faster.

Honestly I doubt that the occasional usuage of the ac compressor is really hurting your mileage all that much...maybe 1-2 mpg when in use.

 

Did you notice any power gains from bypassing it? I was day dreaming once of bypassing it, but have yet to even look into what it would take. Even here in Southern cali I haven't turned my AC on even once since I bought the truck.

 

i personally would leave the the a/c compressor attached, for the fact that the clutch kicks on anyway, to circulate the oil throughout the compressor and the rest of the system to maintain lubrication and so the seals dont dry out, so ive been told by my diesel instructor

 

I agree, leaving it as is will help keep things from breaking down.....

Dusty

 

hey toys for tots were the donation distributer ppl for them here in cedar rapids iowa!

 

I unplug mine at the compressor. I did it last winter and noticed no issues this past summer. Although everyone brought up good points. It doesnt use THAT much mpg and it keeps the oil circulating by leaving it connected.

 

Like was stated before:
1) leaving the A/C connected isn't bad. It act's like a de-humidifier, which helps to quickly clear-up fogged up windows.
2) except for defrost, the A/C shouldn't turn itself on. So, unless you run around in defrost all the time, it shouldn't effect you much.
3) gas mileage doesn't suffer all that much with A/C on.
4) it's good to run the A/C at least every two weeks or so. Not doing so can lead to problems with seals/etc, which can lead to expensive repairs.

If you still want to disable it (not just electrically, but from the belt, which "frees up the drag"), get a new, non-A/C belt and install it. Depending on belt routing, you may have to remove the A/C compressor, which, costs assosiated with evacuating and recharging come spring time could definitly outweigh the potential gas savings.

 

I didn't really notice any difference at all. The only time you will is when the compressor is engaged(AC or defrost). The pully on the front of the compressor turns very freely when the clutch is not engaged. I spun it by hand before I put the new one on it it took VERY little effort so I doubt it would cause much drag on the engine when it isn't in use. An electric cooling fan would do more to reduce drag and increase horsepower than removing/bypassing the AC in my opinion.

 

i agree with that, on tractor trailers, those mechanical clutch fans rob about 45 horsepower from the engine, sadly you need that amount of cooling power to cool down the intercooler, a/c condensor, radiator, maybe a power steering cooler and a transmission cooler on automatics