[QUOTE=tju;1302422]

No worries! The idle management and ELD is pretty good on this car, you would have to listen closely for the PTO clutch on the compressor to even kick on

 

I stand humbled, only thought about it afterward.


Alrighty, I approve this mod!

 

I was so happy to learn how to do this alteration to my 2nd gen Sport (rip-totaled in January), there were great how-to posts here for it. This is a great place to learn so I'm happy to give something back.

We have mornings where the windows are heavily frosted but the air temperature is high enough that the a/c runs -counter-productive - not good when you're in a hurry to get rolling. Any many days where you need just lots of hot air flow - I might use a/c+defrost once or twice a year. And I'm very sensitive to the feel of the engine under extra load from the compressor, especially with low-powered stick-shift cars.
Cheers,
Dave

 

I can appreciate when the need arises to not have the AC compressor running for certain conditions. My need is only during the winter mostly. Unless it was a hot humid day and it cooled off considerably after the sun goes down would I need the de-humidification of the AC compressor.

 

Has anyone achieved the successful removal of that plug with the yellow wire?

I'd like to do this and not be forced into AC just to have air come from the vents, but would rather not snip a wire even I can avoid it.

EDIT 2015-04-19:

 

Does anyone have pictures they could share of this mod? All the links have since been broken.

 

It's stuff like this that makes me very leery of used cars.

 

I can restore the photos - any suggestions for a stable image host?

Regarding leery-ness, we're just exercising choice in overriding an inconvenient designed-by-lawyers feature. The electronic hvac controls on my odyssey and other more expensive cars allow a/c-defeat with the tap of a button, but the simple hvac controls on the LX use a mechanical device with a cam and a limit-switch, forcing a/c on with defrost so f-tahrds can drive around with the recirc closed and still see out of the windows.

 

The free IMGUR has been around for a while, which is what I use...

 

I put copies in an album and then edited the first post. Strange that the broken links to imageshack still appear, can't see 'em in the editor.

 

While exercising your choice, you are doing damage to the car, defeating an engineered safety feature that has nearly zero downside in anyway but in your head, and doing it in a way that will be hard to detect, troubleshoot, and repair for anybody that owns the car after you.

 

Yep, our 2006 CR-V had this capability as well.

Once the windows are de-misted, you can usually save gas by disconnecting the A/C. The warmth of the defrost is enough to keep everything clear with just a driver in the car.

If I have a crowd of heavy breathers along for the ride, the A/C stays on.

 

I see from your location that you're unlikely to understand the weather conditions which led me to modify the controls in my cars, so don't presume to know anything about this issue, or about my engineering background, or my ability to comprehend physical reality.

I also keep my cars until worn out so I'm not concerned about future owners.

---

Another interesting deficiency related to weather is that the wipers can't be jogged up a few inches to rest against the heated lower part of the windscreen (for de-icing the blades). Every car I've ever driven could do this, except for my 2012 and 2015 Fits. But I'm not prepared to dig into the wiper motor assy to alter that cam!

 

I lived in Colorado for decades of winter weather, and owned Hondas there with and without this feature. I understand why this feature exists and also why sometimes it is really not necessary. But I also understand that in those cases, it is so benign as to not warrant breaking the car over it.

 

Thanks, bzdang. With the temperatures dropping I'm seeing a drop in fuel economy. I'm trying to figure out if it's related to using the front defrost almost exclusively. My previous car went about 8 years without A/C until I got around to replacing parts. I'm sure A/C helps expedite removing fog on the glass, but it should work fine without it too. Regarding the drop in mpg, I don't know when gas stations start selling winter blend, but I'm seeing about a 10% decrease. I was averaging 41-42 mpg through September and the first half of October. Now I'm seeing 37-39 mpg.

For hosting pictures, I've always used Photobucket and to maintain privacy I don't make them public. But when linking to the image, they've always shown up on forums.

 

In the cold/dark of winter there are other effects besides just winter blend gas and AC cycling in defrost. More lights, more rear defroster, colder oil in engine/transaxle when started, harder tires, etc. If snow/ice, slower and more start/stop, etc. Very hard to isolate exactly what causes which part of the annual winter dropoff in MPG.

 

So if I'm reading this right, the only time the A/C >>does not<< come on with def (or def/floor) selected is when you have the heat knob cranked all the way in the red, true?

 

No, if the defroster is selected, the A/C is on unless the switch is manually disconnected.

 

Wow, I guess I just assumed the compressor shut down if the heat knob was in the red. The things you learn on this board ...

 

They cycle the AC to keep the evaporator cold so it will remove water vapor from the air. This is to reduce fogging on the windows from the inside. The compressor does not run continuously.