yeshia Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 I was hoping for some input, as Im not sure if this is normal or not. I don't use the AC that much, more of a windows down kinda guy. I have noticed that it seems to go from Very cold, to just cool, then back to very cold on and off again. It seems to not do that when Im just idling, but when driving it certainly does. Now, the idle thing just might be my imagination, but it definatly goes in and out of cold. Its like the AC switch is pressed on and off about every 3-4 seconds. The air is never warm, it is always at least cool, with bursts of frigid air. This is when my temp is set to the lowest possible, on both sides, on auto or manual, doesnt matter. Anyone know what Im talking about? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chenc544 Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 LOL, automatic climate control strikes again. Yes it's normal. The ACC system uses some convoluted logic that nobody seem to understand nor like. I guess you could try covering up the sun sensor on the passenger side dash board to see if it helps with the cycling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeshia Posted May 5, 2008 Author Share Posted May 5, 2008 ridiculous. I understand using some crazy algorithm to figure out the best temp and air flow, but if I have it on manual settings... it should be FULL BLOWN FREEZING! Would covering the sensor help? Would that not make the car "think" there was no sun, and therefore no need for cold AC? Thanks for the suggestion.. I will try! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogmeat Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 Hey...can you be sure to report back if the Sun Sensor trick works? I'd like to know, and so would 1000 others... I'm pleasantly surprised... It was most certainly worth the couple bucks and 10 mins of my time. CLICK HERE FOR THE HOGZAUST Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperCleanLGT Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 I noticed when my rpms are low the a/c isn't as cold. When you speed up so does the a/c. This is just a general rule of thumb. When in auto it does do some weired things but the temp swing is from varing rpms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rouar Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 I've noticed the difference when accelerating onto the highway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowfiend Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 mine just started doing that, and its driving me nuts. I'm pretty sure it didnt do that when I got the car. The worst is when you get in to the car on a hot day and try to cool off the car, it makes it seem like its going from AC to heat:mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DriverX Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 This cycling is normal, as I was told by my service department. I had a loaner during one repair and the A/C in that car did the same thing. I believe they said it has to do that to keep some part of it from freezing. If I had one major complaint of this car, the A/C would be it. BTW: I have a manual system, this issue has nothing to do with the automatic climate control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesA Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 This cycling is normal, as I was told by my service department. I had a loaner during one repair and the A/C in that car did the same thing. I believe they said it has to do that to keep some part of it from freezing. If I had one major complaint of this car, the A/C would be it. BTW: I have a manual system, this issue has nothing to do with the automatic climate control.It's true the compressor has to cycle so the condenser doesn't freeze up. However, it is a real flaw in the system that the passenger feels that cycling when it happens. I am not sure if compressor cycling is the real cause of this issue or the service guy is just making that up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimjoe Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 This might help you out a little. http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6515 (from the sticky in the interior sub-forum) It basically explains how to control the ACC system and put it into full manual mode if you don't want it to do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolbeo Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 One thing to consider is that the car cycles the AC off during hard acceleration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeshia Posted May 6, 2008 Author Share Posted May 6, 2008 Sitting still or driving, there is no difference, auto or manual mode, it still does this cycle. I actually thought it was a wee bit better when just sitting still. Seemed to be less cycling. I havent tried the sun sensor yet, as it hasnt been very warm where Im at. I will certainly report back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowfiend Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 I'm having mine looked at on thursday, hopefully they can fix it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_sharp Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 the a/c automatically turns off at WOT... (i think)... and that would explain alot. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeshia Posted May 7, 2008 Author Share Posted May 7, 2008 What is WOT? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashdoggy Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 this ac sux. that's it. I live in vegas and sometimes the ac takes like 7 or 8 minutes to get cold, then it start to cycle and ends up hot again. total crap for a nice expensive car like the lgt. Its also embarrassing when all I do is brag about the car to my friends and I can't even keep them cool with an old invention like ac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeshia Posted May 7, 2008 Author Share Posted May 7, 2008 I agree. I was sooooo happy with this car at first. But, alas, the honnymoon is over. I was orig thinking of getting an Audi, when I fell in love with this thing. It does drive great... and it is fun... but yeah, the AC is a joke. So many other silly issues. And everything is starting to rattle after only 2 years. Sigh... back to German made cars for me, that is for sure. Plus, you can drop off an Audi for an oil change and get a free loaner. My subi has to be considered a death trap of some sort before subi will do that. And honestly, Audi, BMW is not all that much more expensive. Just my two more cents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drcaveman Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 AC has sucked since Subaru started selling cars in the US, MY OLD 96 Impreza would not get cold on a hot day was told by mechanic system was to Subaru SPEC. Example drove 100 mile to AutoX up state, 87 outside temp max AC on lowest temp setting the car got cold after about an hour. Pulled into autoX as soon as the car went to Idle the AC disappeared. My friend had Late 80's turbo Loyale in Switzerland, at that time AC was a very rare option on most Swiss sold cars, his worked the same way, from the day he bought it it would maker the car cooler, but only just barely. He still has it actually has the car. MY 06 LGT is the same dam way, just not as bad its frustrating. Its like the brakes on our cars Subaru Just doesn't care about how bad they are. All these little things have added up over the years, This is My Last Subaru they have had many chances to fix these annoyances and have failed miserably. I have filled this out on every survey I have ever received. Added note My Dads 02WRX, AC works better than other Subaru's but still stinks, My sister 01 2.5RS Impreza has the same problem as my old 96 Impreza. My Aunt's 04 3.0R Outback sedan same problem, my aunts New 08 Legacy 2.5i is worse than her old outback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeshia Posted May 7, 2008 Author Share Posted May 7, 2008 You get a loaner for an oil change?? I've brought the car in for warranty repairs and had to RENT my own car. Oh they rented it, and gave me a "special" discount, but I still had to pay. My dealer only gives a loaner if the car is a danger to drive. I asked how safe it was to drive my car with one of their mechanics under the hood.... no answer. Lol. Plus, complaining to Subi about their sucky AC? What would they do? Re-engineer it? Sorry... don't have time for that. Would much rather my next car be engineered before I buy it? Know what Im saying? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeshia Posted May 7, 2008 Author Share Posted May 7, 2008 Perhaps I will try and pick a dealer that is family run like you did. That sounds more my speed, and I never thought about it like that. As for customer feedback... Im sure subi or audi would take into consideration anything a customer says... but if I have to tell a car company how to design their AC system... sorry, I would rather buy from a company that gets it right and tests it before they sell it. So if I did give this feedback to subi, and they did redesign the AC, I would be wondering what else are they going to wait for "ME" to fix for em? I dunno.. maybe Im just feeling escpecially bitchy today! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeshia Posted May 7, 2008 Author Share Posted May 7, 2008 Ok ok... I'm convinced. I will write them and tell them. Ha... prob will make me feel better anyway. Hopefully it will help the future subi owners, as I seriously doubt I will ever be one again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_sharp Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I've always gotten loaners as well. But it is dependent on dealer. I've not had any issues with my AC in southern texas Maybe try getting a window tint? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanahjoe Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 My Mazda 3 before my Spec B did this too but in a more annoying way. The AC compressor would also cycle all the time but it would not get to freezing that easily. In San Diego I had no problems, but in Palm Springs and Mexicali with 100+ heat it was a nightmare. I don't know how the Legacy would fare in those conditions. The Mazda 3 forums had a solution that involved adding a potentiometer to the AC system to force the compressor to stay on for a longer time than the original design. Seems like Japanese cars do this a lot? I don't remember my parent's Accord having a problem in Southern Mexico tropical heat. This potentiometer solution worked pretty well but DID cause the evaporator to freeze up if the compressor stayed on for a long time. I would think that if we could do the same for our car just forcing it to stay on for a little bit longer would probably help a lot. The cooler air does feel like when an AC system has actually frozen up and is unable to cool the air anymore. What I do is I just point the vents away from me so that I don't feel this temperature fluctuation. I like having the cold air in my face but I'm learning to live without it in this car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanahjoe Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 Well now that we've had hotter days here in SoCal I've been more annoyed by this AC fluctuation more than before. I always turn my AC on by pressing the reduce speed fan button. This should be full manual mode. The first post exactly describes what I feel. If the car starts moving, the air gets freezing for a few seconds and then it goes to warm (specially now when the air outside is warmer and the car has been in the sun for a few hours) then it goes back to freezing and it does this over and over. When at idle at a stop light, the temperature is a lot more stable, but the air is only cool and not freezing. If I left the car at idle the cabin would take a lot to cool down. I've tried accelerating the engine but when the car is stopped I can't get the air to blow as cold as when the car is moving. As soon as the car starts moving, the air starts to blow freezing cold and then it blows warm. Maybe the "warm" is not that warm but it feels that way because it got very cold right before it went back to "warm". It makes me think that the car needs to be moving for the evaporator to get enough cooler air to circulate through and get colder. If that's the case, then this would mean the evaporator is not designed properly! I don't get it. Would an AC professional be able to do anything to the system to make it better? I agree that it's by design and it's normal, but it shouldn't have to be. I'm fine with the car turning off the AC when at WOT but I'd like the AC to work properly when idle or just cruising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yamarocket630 Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 The cause is the compressor. Subaru uses a fixed displacement cycling clutch compressor system where the a/c compressor runs for a few seconds to minutes, then shuts off, cycles back on.... ad nauseum. This is because as the compressor runs and the refrigerant temperature starts to drop, the a/c low side pressure also drops to the point where the compressor shuts off. This was not a problem in 1976 when most auto a/c systems held 3-4lbs of refrigerant, there was a large buffer of cold refrigerant and a huge evaporator coil to prevent temperature fluctuations. The average auto a/c system today holds 1lb of refrigerant or less. Most modern cars (and oddly enough 1989 - 1994ish Legacys) use a variable displacement compressor that adjusts the compressor displacement based on a/c load. A variable displacement compressor never shuts off during a/c operation as long as the refrigerant charge is correct, and therefore there are no temperature fluctuations. I've considered retrofitting an early Legacy compressor and bracket, but it would require custom lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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