Air Conditioner

[cosmicfireball]

Is there an difference in the amount of wear on air conditioner components if you manually put on the air condition at say 60mph or if the auto-thermostat throws the switch to put on the unit. Or in other words..if you're cruising at 60mph and throw on the air conditioner are you !Removed! up the compressor in making it start working from a dead stop while the belt is going at those high RPM's?

[WeatherDon]

I hope somebody knowledgeable can answer this because I've been wondering the same thing for years.

[jzz30]

im sure engaging the clutch at higher rpm's wears out the clutch more but it does last a minimum of 10 years while letting the car controll when it turns on and off. so i wouldnt worry about it.

[cosmicfireball]

im sure engaging the clutch at higher rpm's wears out the clutch more but it does last a minimum of 10 years while letting the car controll when it turns on and off. so i wouldnt worry about it.

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jzzz.......Ummm.....Does that make sense?

[jzz30]

yea it does... how often do you have to change your ac compressor clutch?

[cosmicfireball]

Well,I hadn't heard many clutches going out...BUT I have heard of compressor failure...for instance my '92 sc300 had it's replaced at about 60,000 miles-thankfully not by me!

I was wondering if it's the compressor that gets yanked mightily when it gets started up at higher speeds

[jzz30]

oh oops! i didnt read your post right the first time. i am sure that there is more wear when the clutch is engaged at high rpm but its hard to say becasue like you said compressors can last 60k miles or 160k miles but honestly most compressors dont need to be changed the main seal needs to be changed and most mechanics wont risk failure of installing that and put in the time when they can make more off of parts than labor time.

[cosmicfireball]

oh oops! i didnt read your post right the first time. i am sure that there is more wear when the clutch is engaged at high rpm but its hard to say becasue like you said compressors can last 60k miles or 160k miles but honestly most compressors dont need to be changed the main seal needs to be changed and most mechanics wont risk failure of installing that and put in the time when they can make more off of parts than labor time.

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Thanks for your reply jzz....but.....is there any difference,main seal aside,to compresser wear/tear..if you use the thermostat or manually engage the AC...perhaps another way to ask the question is;is the compressor not functioning at all-not compressing-when the thermostat setting is reached...while you're travelling at 60mph?...a mechanic suggested to me that there was an intermediarry state between off/on...(this doesn't make sense,does it?).....in other words the compressor is 'idling' at some level and it's not such a Yank when the thermo asks it to function again(at 60mph)?????

does this make sense?

[jzz30]

i think there is no difference between manual and auto engage for the compressor, you might wear out the button though :D but as for the compressor, its either on or of, cuz its just a switch. and plus the clutch should slip a little when it engages, and thats why it wears out. at idle or what ever engine speed the computer lets it engage. so i would just put it on auto and set the temp to a comfortable setting and forget about it.