Date:         Mon, 31 May 2004 13:55:52 -0700
Reply-To:     Doug in Calif <vanagon@ASTOUND.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Doug in Calif <vanagon@ASTOUND.NET>
Subject:      Vanagon A/C and controls
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Well, I have to say this is my first vanagon with A/C.
To all of those of you who have had A/C for years now, you have all been living a very spoiled life!
Shame on you for not telling us how good this is and making us suffer in our hot navy blue vanagons!

The A/C in this 89 wolfy (I just rebuilt the engine in), is working and working well with R-12.
With all the vents in the back of the tunnel closed and those in the front pointed at me, it pretty much freezes me to a Popsicle in a matter of minutes.
When it can make your teeth chatter, to where you have to turn it down or off, you know you have good A/C
Gotta love that!!! what a concept compared to non AC, I have paid the price and baked in the vanagon ovens long enough. WOW!

Well, this is also my first exposure to the rather unique A/C controls in the vanagon.
I noticed that regardless of where you set the "fan control" (1-4) that the fan will shut down when you turn the A/C off momentarily.

WELL<
Given the somewhat limited (SPARINGLY LIMITED) amount of power on tap in the bone stock 89 wolfy, I tend to drive it the way I have driven all the other
small displacement vehicles with A/C  (this included my 3 cyl 1000cc Geo Metro with AC) In that, I TURN OFF the A/C when I get slowed down on hills or trying to pass.
Or even pulling away from a light with other beefy traffic like today's SUVs.

My Porsche as well as the GEO have a very neat "press in" button with an "ice crystal" icon on it that turns the compressor on and off regardless of the fan blowing over the evaporator.
This allows me to put all the power to the road whenever I need to without changing the temp setting.

Has anybody wired up a cut out switch like this to the main dash console for easy reach to momentarily turn off the AC compressor without turning off the fans or changing the temp setting?

Where would the best place to get at the wire to wire in such a switch?

Thanks to all and have a VERY COOL summer.
A working vanagon A/C system ROCKS!!

--Chilling in California with a big smile-

Doug