BriMan

I have read numerous threads on the AC problems and fixes. Been to the dealer three times and still have AC warm and cold moments. Everyone posts that their AC cycles a lot but how much? My compressor cycles every 5 seconds exactly. 5 on and 5 off.

Is this the same timing others still see? I have the new amp and of course the dealer says to just always run it in Recirc mode. I am thinking that the coolant has to be low to cycle that often, but still looking for the elusive fix.

Thanks

Brice-RX8

With the A/C set on recirc and the fan speed of 3 or 4 you should have the compressor running continuously I believe. Once mine gets going on the 3 or 4 and I get the rpm's up I am able to keep my car cool by turning it down to 2, but always on recirc. I had a leak on my low side hose which caused it to cycle fast, maybe the same is happening to you, but if it is cycling fast then that usually is caused by low coolant.

BriMan

Yes, I can get the car to cool down by running the fan higher, but it should be able to idle at a stoplight and not feel the difference in air temp. It just can't be good for it to kick on and off at such a high rate.

They tested another newer 8 when I was there and it didn't cycle as much. Of course they later said something else must have been set wrong because mine is normal. Just trying to take a poll of other users to see how often it cycles at idle. Outside temp is irrelevant.

hpram99

From AC certified technicians:

"When an AC system is fully charged, or slightly over-charged (common). The pressure buildup is very strong because of the AC system being full, then hot etc... It is normal for the compressor to turn on and off, this simply means that you have a fully functional cooling AC system."

If you don't like the slight differences in temperature when the compressor kicks on/off. You can release (drain) some of the refigerant.


If you simply are trying to get cooler temps out of your vents:
1 - Wrap the AC lines with insulating wrap, and zip tie it, all the way from the condensor to the firewall etc.
2 - Change the R-134a to a different brand. There are brands that claim to be more efficient than regular R-134a

sharward

Let me see if I got this straight... A new car on the lot cycled much less often than yours, and when they were cornered on that fact, they said that there's something "set wrong" with the band new car??

Ask the service department to put that observation and conclusion on your paperwork and to write up a repair order for that brand new car to get it "set right"! Exactly: I doubt they will, either -- which proves my point. That's a B.S. answer!

Man, I hate it when people can't just admit they don't know something... Ohhhh noooo, they'd rather lie or make crap up so that they don't appear to be the stupid fools that they are...

Assuming you get more "poll results" here which confirm that cycling on and off every five seconds isn't normal (I'll try to pay attention to mine over the next few days), it's time to escalate your issue to the service department manager and/or take that '8 of yours to a dealer with a service department that has a freakin' clue!

--Keith :D

atl8

iTrader: (1)

BriMan, I was thinking the exact same thing about my '04 model...that is was cycling way too often. I even took a ride in a newer model and noted it didn't seem to do the same thing..or at least nowhere near as often. So after complaining about it at my dealership and getting pretty much the same answer, I paid Firestone to evacuate and recharge the sytem, along with a leak test. End result was after adding 2 lbs 2 ozs of new R134a to the system it's definitely cold A/C...but it cycles at an even slightly higher rate. So maybe there is something to the system cycling fast when it's fully charged or even slightly over-charged.

Glyphon

can't say i've every noticed my a/c cycle. i know it does, but i've never noticed any noise to indicate it had cycled, nor a drop in temperature from the vents.

just curious, have you tried reprogramming your a/c? my car has always had a nice and cool a/c and after reprogramming it, it is down right cold...even on days that were in the upper 90s and low 100s this summer, it was too cold to keep on the coldest setting for more than a few minutes after cranking the car.