I'm sure you all know that the a/c kicks on when the defrost mode is selected in the vent position knob, my question is if I should just disconnect the a/c compressor plug under the hood or just rip appart the entire dash and clip one of the two wires? I noticed that mine only comes on and off a few times wien on the defrost postion and doesn't run constantly, is it supposed to do that?
Not sure what you are asking in the first part... Anyway, just hit the 'A/C' button and it turns off. No need to disconnect the A/C. As for the second part...I hit the button so I don't know.
There is a wire inside the HVAC unit that you can clip. You will have to search NASIOC for the info. This will stop the AC compressor from enguaging in those two positions. The AC button will still work properly. Matt
^^ what webcrawlr said. It dries out the air so it can absorb more water from your windshield. The climate control will still add heat when your engine is up to temp, so it doesn't blow cold air even though the "AC" is on. PS webcrawlr - did the SS lines tonight (couldn't wait) - learned some valuable info for your install.
Kill is a strong word - I read in Maxim magazine a few years ago that running your AC gets you better mileage than driving with your windows down because having your windows down upsets the aerodynamics of the car resulting in a lot more drag. (not that this has anything to do with winter driving, but it wouldn't seem that AC sucks that much mileage if this is the case) It is also good to run your AC compressor once in a while during the winter. So, all in all, I would just leave it alone and turn it off when it's not needed. ymmv
your AC isnt constantly on while the defroster is. it cycles on and off. so it will not kill your gas mileage. you may get slghtly worse MPGs, what i do is just disconnect the plug from the compressor in the fall, and plug it back in, in the summer (assumming i have an AC belt *cough* squigly *cough*). no wire clipping, dash disassembly and its easily fixed. cuase i wouldnt want to be soldering in that tight space if you want to return it to stock.
It definitely impacted mine quite a bit on a road trip in January. There was 3 of us in the car, and it literally rained the entire way to Chicago. Had to run the defrost almost 100% of the drive. I was nice to it and couldn't squeeze out more than 23.5 mpg. I can do better than that buzzing around the cities. The car ('06 WRX TR) had less than 5,000 miles on it at that point.
