Hey All!

I know there's a neat mod to lower output air temps by altering the thermistor. What I'm wondering - do you keep tabs on the air temp?
My 2012, on max cooling while recycling the interior air, will see temps ranging from 43 to 50 degrees no matter the outside air temp. When outside air is entering the cabin I see the same temps with, of course, more cycling of the compressor.

What temps are you seeing from stock units on the newer cars?

Will

 

I would have loved to have had those kind of temps today! My 2012 A/C appears to have failed (@ 2000 miles!) - I got pretty sweaty in the car but it was not 106F in there as it was outside. It probably was in the mid 80s with the air temp coming out as upper 70s. Just a guess.

 

It was bloody hot here today, 102 but the AC was still blowing ice cubes. Seems completely adequate.

 

43 degrees is not bad. I modded my Colorado PU to regulate at 39 degrees. If you go much lower you will freeze up the evaporator and then you will have no AC until the ice melts.

Modding only sets the lower limit that the AC system can go. If the AC is not up to snuff or the input (air inlet) temp is too high you will never reach the lower cut off temperature and the mod will be a waste of time.

You can get a cheap digital meat thermometer at Walmart in the housewares section for under $10.00. Stick it in the AC vent and read what temp you are regulating at during different outside air temperatures. I "think" most automotive AC systems are set to regulate in the 42 to 44 degree range. If you are regulating in the lower 40's and want more cooling then a mod to bring the cut off temp down a bit will help.

If you are not able to reach the lower 40s then look elsewhere (like AC charge, etc.) to improve your AC system.

 

43F is right on the money. Here's the shop manual documentation on expected vent temps.

 

i have noticed that my AC sucks as of the last 2 months and i figured it had to do with energy efficients and shit but according to this thread i guess not.

is this normal?

my AC on max coldness and air(4) will sometimes be nice and cold and other times feel like its blowing 80-90 degree air out at me (usually about 90 outside). it will be either under acceleration or sitting at a stop light. is this something i should bring the car to honda for? its a 2012 fit sport auto

 

That's normal. Under anything more than moderate acceleration the ECU will disengage the A/C compressor to free up a couple horsepower.

At idle it just sucks. On warm days I'm always switching to recirculate when I stop and then back to fresh air when I get moving. You could leave it on recirculate but it may get musty smelling.

 

I did some tests today to verify what I said previously was true. Unfortunately I was driving my Colorado while testing but this shoudl apply equally to a Honda Fit.

It was 98 / 99 degrees out as measured by my in car mirror mounted thermometer. The sensor is in the center of the grill. I also monitored the Inlet Air Temperature with my Scan Gauge and found it running about 3 degrees warmer. At 55 to 65 mph with the air source on outside air, my air vent temperature was running about 61 or 62 degrees. So I was running 37 to 38 degrees colder with the AC set on max and the blower at full speed. After a few minutes I switched to recirculate and the vent temps dropped to about 44 or 45 degrees. I never hit the low cutoff (thermistor) which I have set at 39 degrees.

On the way home the temps had dropped to the high 70's so I ran the tests again. I could see the vent temps drop to 39 degrees and then thermistor took over cycling the compressor. The temps would rise to about 44 and drop again to 39. This test was run over a distance of 45 miles (each way) on the interstate. So my original statement of expecting a 35 degree drop in vent temperature seem to be right on.

I also stopped at Walmart to get a new battery for my digital temperature gauge. While there I checked and they still sell them. They were $9.97 each.

I suggest you get one if you think you have AC problems and check to see if your temps are in this area. I meant to check my daughter's Honda Fit today but when I stopped by she had loaned her car to a girlfriend, so It was not available to me to check out.

 

OK, so I have noticed this 'cycling' in which my car will randomly blow warm air on me (as others have noted). Looking at the AC system test image above I infer that in my hot (~100F), muggy () Mississippi I should expect the air coming out of the vents to be somewhere between 77 and 87F? That is normal?

When compressor is not cycled the air is nice and cold, but then it will cycle off and the air that comes out makes it noticeably warmer (=uncomfortable) for a few seconds.

I have read other posts and am a bit confused as some say it is normal, some say they go to the dealer and the dealer may try things but no stories of a fix, and finally some say they never have this cycling problem. I'm getting tired of my wife acting like her Sentra is so much better than my '12 Fit Sport.

 

If it is a 2012 fit, take it to the Dealer. If you want to self diagnose it. go get a digital thermometer and stick it in the air vent.

Cycling can be caused by many things including OVER charging as well as under charging. On low horsepower engines the engine computer will cycle it under heavy loads.

Finally, nothing to do with cycling, but if you want more cold air, run it on recirculate. On automatic AC systems like GM offers, the computer starts out on a hot day running outside air. Then as soon as the interior reaches the same or slightly lower temps, the computer switches to recirculate and stays there.

 

Hmmm, I just posted a fresh thread about this. That kind of cycling is not normal. I have had several cars and drive many others in my job and none of them do that. A guy I talked to today said it is either getting close to freezing up, and a sensor is shutting down the compressor, or the sensor was getting a faulty reading and shutting it down. I don't care which it is my car is going back to the dealer to get it right.

After running a while and bringing the temp down, and dumping some water out of the car, LOL, you should get temp drops down below 60 easily.

 

I really love this car... but the AC has been the weakest of any of the cars I have owned prior to it (bought it new). After reading this, I will go and get it re-charged, thanks for the info!