Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1998 01:38:25 -0500
Reply-To: Budd Premack <bpremack@WAVETECH.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Budd Premack <bpremack@WAVETECH.NET>
Subject: AC & Idle Stabilizer (Joys and Woes)
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Thank you all (7 responses in 24 hours!) for your helpful suggestions about
my 2000 rpm idle when the a/c is switched on. All of your comments have
been saved and will be carefully considered .
Up here in the great Northland, the a/c season is fast drawing to a close.
Thus, the need to speedily resolve this issue is not too urgent. Since I
am paying my trusty mechanic to handle such matters, and there are at least
a few items of greater timeliness (such as a leaking cv joint and front
shocks), the a/c idle issue will have to wait.
When the a/c is not used (at any time after the engine has been turned on),
the idle is just fine at 1000 rpm, so I really am wondering what is
occuring in the a/c circuitry that bumps it up to 2000 rpm. Note that the
2000 rpm idle occurs consistently once the a/c has been switched on,
regardless of whether the compressor or coolant fan are engaged or not.
The only reliable way of shifting the idle back to 1000 rpm is to turn off
the engine, wait a short while (longer than a few seconds anyway) and then
restart without the a/c.
BTW, the idle problem would not have even come up if my a/c had not been
functioning fine otherwise. It was thoroughly tested on a 1200 mile round
trip to BBTA two weeks ago at 95 F with dewpoints in the 70s.
BTW2, it was great meeting some of you at BBTA. As anticipated, the event
was large, friendly, and memorable.
My previous problem of icing up the evaporator was traced to an improperly
located capillary tube, one clogged drain line, and an evaporator housing
that was slanted the wrong way due to the common problem of cracked plastic
support brackets. Extraordinary high pressure in the refrigerant lines
(which kept popping holes in the high pressure hose) and intermitent
coolant fan operation were caused by poor grounds for my coolant fan
connections near the fuse box. It has taken all summer to diagnose and
cure, but my a/c system seems finally to be working properly.
So, even with the idle nuisance, I am pleased with the operation of my a/c.
This is especially gratifying as it is the first time that the system has
been operable in the two years in which I have owned this van.
Budd Premack
86 Syncro, 73 Super
Minneapolis, MN (Land of Sky-Blue Waters)
