AC only works when foot is on gas

My thoughts:

1. engine could be idling too low to do anything useful with the compressor engaged.
2. isuzus often disengage the alternator for no useful reason which could be lowering your battery voltage to a point that will not engage the ac clutch until the engine revs up and provides a little more voltage.
3. when idling, the alternator and general charging system is low voltage so the clutch just cant kick on. perhaps replace alternator.
4. freon in the system could be low such that at idle the system doesnt pressurize fast enough before the sensor turns it back off thinking it is empty or broken.
5. ac clutch could be going bad and it now needs some hefty current(alternator rpm) to keep it engaged.
6. trade it in on a 2008 VW diesel wagon or van that gets 40+.

David wrote:

Our 97 does the same thing. Has ever since we bought it used in 2000. It did it before I replaced the alternator, as well as after. In my opinion, it's just the way the thing works. When the engine idles down during a stop, it just isn't cranking the compressor hard enough, or it could be it cuts off if the rpms are too low. Either way, it's a flaw; an unadvertised special option; whatever. The thing is, it's paid for and a new car wouldn't be.

Now, can someone tell me why, on a vehicle that is supposed to be "rugged", the electric windows seem to break so easily? And why did they use this particular distributorless ignition style? I've had to replace 4 of those damned ignition coils. And (pardon my rant) when they were replaced under the extended warranty we had, the shop charged about $250 ($104 for the part; the balance in labor) for a job that takes me and a philips screwdriver about 5 minutes to do, once I track down which coil it is.

Sorry for the rant... but, like I say, it's paid for... lol

Oh my gosh!! Tell me about it! Have you figured a way to get that taken care of yourself? Between our two Rodeos right now we have 3 windows that don't work. I guess if it would pay to figure it out on one, then do the others.

And who comes up with the names for these things? Why would a window motor be called a "regulator" and not a "window motor", and my favorite, the "harmonic balancer".

Cheers, David

When the "regulator" went out on the passenger side, we took it to the dealer, since we had purchased an extended warranty. A couple of years later, the one on the driver's side went out. Then we were told that the extended warranty did not cover it and that it would cost about $240 to have it fixed. I've priced the replacement part and it's around $100, depending where you look. It's still not fixed and it's one of the things that my wife nags me about. At least I've got in the up position, held there with a couple of hooks on the bottom fashioned out of some heavy wire. A real bitch when you wanna use the turnpike, lol.

I'm assuming it's just your regulator cable that has failed.

I had a pass side go out and held it in place with a wooden ruler. It worked great. I finally stopped procrastinating and changed the thing. The reason for the procrastination was that I was anticipating a difficult job despite being told it wasn't that tough. It's really not that difficult. At least not in a 94 Rodeo/Passport. The toughest part is getting that dang plastic off that is sealed with the butyl rubber. Try to keep that intact as it does offer a bit of waterproofing. My motor was still working fine so it was a case of unbolt motor and bolt back onto new regulator.

Good luck.