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Car boggs down with AC on - what gives?

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Old 11-13-2005, 10:44 PM
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Car boggs down with AC on - what gives?

What could cause the throttle to get really " mushy " once the AC is turned on and car begins to accelerate?

With AC on , there is huge loss of power at take off, and i feel "flat spots" in power curve, car literally boggs down and forces me to turn AC off.

with AC off, things are back to normal.

anybody with similar issue?


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Old 11-13-2005, 10:48 PM
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yeah man thats pretty basic knowledge...any car with the ac on is gonna loose atleast 25% of its power ... the engine compensates less power to run the ac compressor and all the other stuff ... also looses a lot of gas milage with the ac on .. keep your windows down and enjoy the breeze !
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Old 11-13-2005, 10:59 PM
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All hands reading my thread, if you have an idea for solution please share it,
otherwise refrain from posting.

once again, my car boggs down with AC on

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Old 11-13-2005, 11:03 PM
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my friend, thats just the way the car is ... dosent this make sense, you said when you turn your AC off, it goes back to normal... I dont have that much power either with my AC on ... I dont think there is a soultion ?
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Old 11-13-2005, 11:08 PM
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It is normal and happens with every car... AC puts a constant load on your engine, it takes a good amount of power to run.

EDIT: I'd like to see a dyno run with AC on and off, that would be really interesting.
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Old 11-13-2005, 11:12 PM
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no, this is not the way the car is , I know the difference of power loss with or without AC after driving the car for close to 5 years. There was noticable loss of power before, but nothing like what is happening now- the car boggs down and refuses to accelerate. I'm suspecting my ac compressor clutch starting to seize up and thus placing greater load on the engine.


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Old 11-13-2005, 11:18 PM
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dang , just quit saying this is normal because AC should not make your car bogg down and almost stall when accelerating from standstill



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Old 11-13-2005, 11:24 PM
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Originally Posted by nick
no, this is not the way the car is , I know the difference of power loss with or without AC after driving the car for close to 5 years. There was noticable loss of power before, but nothing like what is happening now- the car boggs down and refuses to accelerate. I'm suspecting my ac compressor clutch starting to seize up and thus placing greater load on the engine.


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Yeah, I guess it's either the clutch or the internals starting to go. It can't really be an electrical problem, since the AC is run directly off the engine's power and not the alternator or battery. Your culprit is almost definitely going to be your AC, and won't get any better. I would get it looked at somewhere, or, if you're willing and knowledgeable enough to do it yourself, then just pull it and crack it open.
Never heard of anything like this happening before.

Good luck man. Sorry for the bland initial response.
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Old 11-13-2005, 11:55 PM
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Originally Posted by nick
no, this is not the way the car is , I know the difference of power loss with or without AC after driving the car for close to 5 years. There was noticable loss of power before, but nothing like what is happening now- the car boggs down and refuses to accelerate. I'm suspecting my ac compressor clutch starting to seize up and thus placing greater load on the engine.


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you should have stated this as your first post
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Old 11-14-2005, 06:58 AM
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I believe he made it VERY clear, in the beginning, that his car was doing more than simply experiencing a loss of power with the A/C on. With that said, I've been laboring with the very same condition on my '95 200SX SE-R (but not with the Max, fortunately), and I'm equally anxious to hear others' input. Good luck with the fix...
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Old 11-14-2005, 07:48 AM
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Originally Posted by ThisMaxIsTight
also looses a lot of gas milage with the ac on .. keep your windows down and enjoy the breeze !
Actually, so far as I've read, you'll get better gas mileage with the AC on versus with the windows open, and with some rough calculations during my last trip from MD to TN and back again, it seems that it's right.
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Old 11-14-2005, 07:56 AM
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^^^ lol jk, that is when you are going at a high speed, like highway speeds.... Nick, just go get your AC looked at to see what's wrong with it.
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Old 11-14-2005, 08:06 AM
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I have the same problem
car was fne one day and then it started doing that. I changed the ac compressor and the problem came back... I think I have a blockage in the AC Lines and thats putting extra load on the compressor.
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Old 11-15-2005, 07:06 PM
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Originally Posted by 99grnmaxgxe
^^^ lol jk, that is when you are going at a high speed, like highway speeds.... Nick, just go get your AC looked at to see what's wrong with it.
beware of the off-topic cop!
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Old 11-16-2005, 06:56 AM
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I had a similar problem with my Nissan truck years ago and it was a blockage in the AC lines. An AC shop replaced the dryer and expansion valve, cleaned the lines and replaced refrigerant (with my original). Cost $300 and worked fine afterwards.

Also check and see if the car has an idle up valve or similar device. This increases the idle when the AC is turned on and may not be working on your car. I'm not sure it has one, but think it does. Again my Nissan truck does.
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