Became a wimp when I purchased my 65 Buick first car with AC, before that, AC was only for wimps. Been switching off the compressor ever since then with that blower at max to dry off the evaporator, also prevented the car from going to the bathroom all over my garage floor.
70 Buick with automatic climate control, no way to switch off the AC, so found a nice rocker switch I mounted on the lower left panel so I could switch it off. So I could run the blower at full speed about five minutes before getting there. Namely at night, certainly not for a five minute stop at a gas station.
Later GM cars came with an "Econ" switch, strange name for a compressor switch, but that is what it did, switched off the compressor, could still run the blower at maximum.
88 Supra with ACC and a manual override switch, and even an AC switch that can be switched off, that was nice, just clicked it off before getting there. And in this car when that AC switch is off, that compressor stays off even in the defrost mold.
04 Cavalier was the first GM car with that AC switch, but not off in the defrost mold, somebody at GM is really smoking crack with this feature. First off, the pressures are so low, and the moisture content is so low, worthless to run that compressor a colder temperatures, PAG oil is stiff, and just wearing the darn thing our plus wrecking the compressor seal, you wonder why you have problems, some a$$hole created these. Wasn't too bad, just pulled the mold switch and cut off that compressor engagement wire in defrost.
And if it did collect moisture, when I got colder, would freeze up and since the evaporator is in front of the heater core, blocks air flow, how can anyone be so stupid?
Same a$$holes did the same thing with the Cruze, but no wire to cut off, all in the firmware in the BCM, could also add that switch, but getting sick of this crap, so don't even use defrost in that narrow temperature range about freezing and below around 60*F, just roll down the window until the car warms up.
Did have some cooling problems with my 65 AC, took it to a shop, guy charged me seven times as much as what I was earning as an engineer and after 70 bucks, car was worse than when I brought it in. Was time to learn about AC, really not that complicated, got all the equipment and learned how to do it right. For one thing, they know nothing about electronics.
Everything was going smooth until Al Gore came along with his BS about ozone depletion and with DuPont just getting a patent on R-134a, can only wonder how much money they paid this crook.
This is when the problems really started, got rid of those very reliable Scharder valves and switched to quick couplers that never seated properly and had to replace the entire line, not just a 50 cent valve. PAG oil is a bad joke, if you lose all pressure, have to completely flush the system, moisture causes acid that will eat away internally. Plastic valve caps, stupid, get hot and brittle. Parallel flow condensers as oppose to tube and fin are throwaway items, no way to clean them. GM dropped their bulletproof ceramic seal and went to a single lip neoprene seal, more problems. Also got away from using shims in the compressor clutch to an interference fit, more problems. Least the Cruze finally went back to shims.
But still stupid to run the AC in sub AC needed temperatures, more problems. Also get to get myself 608/609 certified to buy a can of refrigerant, and the prices went through the roof.
Now they are saying R-134a is causing global warming so want to switch to HC based refrigerants that the EPA already banned due to fire hazards. Were far better off before the government got involved, don't even know what they are doing.
No objection to getting rid of 96% of the total CFC production, was intended strictly for refrigeration that was only 4%, and no objection to even recovering it, if anything was left to recover, ha, at 80 bucks a pound from 25 cents, have to recover it or go broke.
