I have an '96 SL that I am trying to milk as long as possible. Does the A/C compressor run less when you have the temp slider more to the middle, or does the compressor run the same and the temp is raised by letting in some warmer outside air mix in?
Sometimes I like to set the temp so it is just a little cooler than outside, but if my compressor is running just as hard as full cold, I'll quit doing it to save the compressor.
Buzz
The saturn a/c compressor is a variable displacement compressor. If the a/c button is pressed, it will continuously run. However, it's load on the engine will vary with the low side pressure, which in turn is related to how cold the evaporator is. The compressor will try to maintain a near 0 deg temp at the evaporator if it can. The evap coil is in front of the heater core with respect to the airflow, so its temp will be affected by the temp of the air from outside or from the cabin air in recirc. With the lever off the full cold position in recirc, you are adding heat to the air which the A/C will attempt to remove and thus work harder. All the recirc air still travels thru the evaporator as far as I know before it gets warmed again by the heater core. So the answer to your question is yes if the cabin temps are warm enough to load the compressor and you are using recirc mode. (ie. the load depends on the air temp passing thru the evaporator.)
dave mc
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