vent selector

New to the snow are ya??

You talking dash, as in blowing on the windshield? (defrost) or blowing out the front toward you?

Don't remember the AC kicking on with the air blowing toward me, but any setting with the defrost on will automatically kick on the AC, and open the vents....AC is great when the air is blowing on the floor though, since the hot air is melting the ice/snow on the floor, which creates crazy humidity, and fogs up all the windows....the AC dehumidifies the air, keeping the windows clear.

if you pop off the vent grate on top, there's a screw undernieth.....and another screw behind the ashtray...with those removed, the center dash section should pop off, then 2 or three screws to remove the control pod....all the wires are separate, connecting into the selector.

Do you still want the AC to kick on for the defrost settings? You could just put a toggle switch in to break the connection for the compressor.

Paul

Nathan W. Collier wrote:

i want to blow heat both on my feet and on my torso through the dash vents simultaneously. as it is, this setting is for a/c and it turns on the compressor.

there is a dash setting without a/c, but the setting that blows out of both the dash and the feet is a/c.

yeah thats fine, i just dont feel i need it for the heat settings.

thought about that but i dont want to start hacking things up. if i could just remove the trigger that turns on the compressor at that setting id be fine. i just wasnt sure how it worked. thanks,

i put up a picture at

that demonstrates the setting i want to use for heat without the compressor running.

Nathan W. Collier did pass the time by typing:

I'd just throw a switch into the A/C compressor clutch ground or break the ground at the relay. Breaking the ground side is both safer and easier. Easy because you just extend the line inside then ground through the switch to the body and safer because it can't short out to the frame.

Don't do it. Your compressor is lubricated through circulation. If left idle all winter, it will be more prone to internal corrosion and seals can dry out and leak refrigerant.

Steve

Nathan W. Collier wrote:

the compressor gets adquate usage during the defrost cycle.

yeah, i dont mind using it on defrost. average speeds on the highways and rural roads in montana are higher than in most places and since youre driving up hill in both directions the last thing i want to do is run my compressor if i dont need it. mileage and power are already somewhat lacking and i dont want to hinder it farther.

You got that right. DC forgot that the sole purpose of the vent selector is to select the -vents-! It is not for controlling any other aspect of the environment.

I noticed that I can use that setting with the temp select on heat and get heat from both locations. However, I suspect the a/c compressor runs anyways.

It seems like the controls are all electrical, no mechanical linkages like my old Escort had. As such it should be feasible to wire up your own custom set of controls with the proper separation between the various items being controlled. My service manual is supposed to arrive on Monday, so maybe the schematics in it will help with that.

-D

why not leave it the way it is and turn the temp up to heat.....then it'd be just like defrost mode, dehumidifying and heating?

Even in those vehicles, like Chevys, in defrost settings, the compressor kicks in regardless whether the AC switch is on.

Paul

mabar wrote:

Many vehicles WITH an A/C button still run it in defrost mode, even when the button is "OFF", you just don't know it.

FWIW, running the compressor in the off-season is actually good for it, and was often recommended in manuals before automatic A/C in defrost mode.

Barry

He does not want to run the AC compressor needlessly, and I agree. Many vehicles have a separate button to activate (or not activate) the AC compressor in any vent mode. Why this isn't on all vehicles with AC is beyond me.

Tom

I'm with ya', brother!

FWIW, I'll bet your wife's Pontiac might be a Vibe (a.k.a Toyota Matrix with 2 less years of warranty), as the button is a usually a Japanese and European feature.

Most American branded vehicles didn't have an A/C button until recently.

ALL of my Toyota, Subaru, Nissan, and Mazda vehicles of the last 20+ years have had an A/C button that worked in any vent position. My '99 Jeep dosen't have it.

The first American car I've driven wit the button is my '01 company car, a Chevy Crapolier.

Barry

Actually, ALL vehicles with AC (to my knowledge) run the AC in defrost mode. My point was that my wife's Pontiac and MANY other vehicles allow you to choose (with a separate button) whether on not to run the AC in all the other vent modes. Seems to me, that this is a desirable feature that should be standard on all vehicles with AC.

Tom

Our '02 Pontiac Grand AM has the separate AC button

My 1990 BroncoII had a separate button for A/C on/off. (the A/C was dead before I got the vehicle though; probably leaked all the refrigerant)

-D

The issue isn't with the defrost setting, the issue with with the other vent choices (during the winter when you want heat and the cold already sufficiently degrades fuel consumption)

-D

Of course it does.

Your '02 Grand Am pretty much is the same car as my company's '01 Cavalier.

Barry