Ford Focus mark 1 air con CON! always on....

F_Bear

just thought id share this one with u.

ive a 04 focus with air con. never have it on as its sucks power and juice. dont even open the windows as that effects drag. see a pattern here, im that tight!!:rotfl:

after having the car 2 years one summer day i notice its leaking abit of water. after checking for leaks and the rad reseriver i cant see any leaks/loss of water.

after some googleing/forum reading imagine my horror when i learn that when you have the direction knob on the windscreen icon the aircon is automatically on, depsite the light not been on!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

as i always had it on that setting, dont like the blowers in my face or feet, i'd had the aircon on for 2 years!! oh dear.

harveybobbles

It does this to keep the windscreen clear (air cone is good for demisting, not just for sunny days y'know..)

The "water leak" is just the condensation from the air con system - its perfectly normal.

So you have never intentionally used the aircon as, to quote "sucks power and juice.."

..yet for the last two years have never noticed the "lack" of power or "high" fuel consumption.

Aircon can be used all year round - its not just for hot days. Mine is on all the time.

It conditions the air..

F_Bear

thanks for the reply.

when i said

"sucks power and juice.."

,

i ment it sucks power from the engine and therefore juice. i dont think it has an effect on the actually power from the engine??

as for

yet for the last two years have never noticed the "lack" of power or "high" fuel consumption.

i never noticed the consumption as id had the air con 'on' since i bought the car! if over the 2 years and 20k in miles, taking the lowest % quoted for air con mpg consumption at 5% its still 1000miles you could have had 'extra'.

all depends if you want to be comfortable in them hot, horrible, sticky, humid, warm days.............yeap, im that tight!

joking aside, to save a fuel tank a year at todays prices, i think its worth hardly using the air con

interstellaflyer

The general consensus is that using aircon at speeds over 30mph makes very little difference to fuel consumption or engine performance.

prowla

You can see the effect that having the aircon on has if you try and accelerate uphill with/without it.

harveybobbles

F_Bear wrote: »

joking aside, to save a fuel tank a year at todays prices, i think its worth hardly using the air con

But for the tank of fuel you save per year at, say £60 - the cost of fixing your aircon system will outweigh this when it fails due to lack of use.

I can find easier ways of saving £60 a year. Infact if your break it down to a weekly figure, then you're only actually saving £1.15...

The same for people who buy modern diesels "for the economy.." then only do about 10,000 miles a year and then moan when they end up with rattling DMF's or blocked up DPF's etc.

forgotmyname

I bought a diesel and do a lot less than 10,000 a year. I didnt want a diesel but the car felt right when i viewed it.

Overall it may save me a few pennies on tax a year but the insurance costs more than the petrol so that almost cancels that out. And i get a few extra mpg but i do service it more often than i did the petrol so that evens itself out also.

I guess when the injectors fail i will wonder why i didnt hold out for a petrol one.

Mobeer

I don't suppose that you looked in the manual for the car before trying google?

Mr_Toad

F_Bear wrote: »

just thought id share this one with u.

ive a 04 focus with air con. never have it on as its sucks power and juice. dont even open the windows as that effects drag. see a pattern here, im that tight!!:rotfl:

after having the car 2 years one summer day i notice its leaking abit of water. after checking for leaks and the rad reseriver i cant see any leaks/loss of water.

after some googleing/forum reading imagine my horror when i learn that when you have the direction knob on the windscreen icon the aircon is automatically on, depsite the light not been on!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

as i always had it on that setting, dont like the blowers in my face or feet, i'd had the aircon on for 2 years!! oh dear.

My aircon is always on too but there is an Eco button to turn it off. What i find odd is that when the aircon is off the light on the Eco button is on. Who said the Germans don't have a sense of humour! :rotfl:

I ran mine for a tankful with the aicon on as normal and a tankful with it off and my MPG was exactly the same both times.

Then again it isn't a small engine so it never struggles under load.

Wongsky

F_Bear wrote: »

thanks for the reply.

when i said

,

i ment it sucks power from the engine and therefore juice. i dont think it has an effect on the actually power from the engine??

as for

Well they normally place drag on the engine, so do, in effect, reduce the power output - there's more friction in the system.

Many cars have ECU programming that has the air con compressor disengage on WOT.

As to the whole tight-fisted argument, personally I'm sick and tired of trying to explain to older relatives that not using the air-con ain't necessarily the best thing for their pocket.

And that chilled and dehumidified air, will be beneficial for their driving environment if they use the car for any notable periods. Plus the regular use of it, tends towards being somewhat preventative, should you ever decide you are interested in it actually working.

There's a Mk I Focus in the family, and I've always encouraged the air-con to be used fairly regularly. Back in the mists of time, I also noticed that it doesn't bring the light on when you direct air to the windscreen - which is ever-so-slightly unusual - most cars I've encountered that have air directed at the windscreen triggering the air-con, do tend to have tell-tale indicator lights - but as you say, not so in the Focus.

All that said, this particular Focus has been in the family since 2004, and the air-con has worked beautifully all the time we've had it, blows cold, and quickly, compressor doesn't cycle quickly (indicating low gas pressure), and has never needed any maintenance in the 8 years we've owned it.

Can't say the same for some cars / models of more impressive status or cost I've personally encountered.