Air conditioning performance

KKboy · **Joined:** Tue Mar 04, 2008 10:36 pm **Posts:** 26

I just drove my KK in 32 degree Celsius weather (about 90 degrees Farenheit) and used the air conditioning for the first time.

I had to keep the blower set at maximum speed and the temperature control at maximum cooling in order to feel
barely comfortable. I was also wearing shorts and a short sleeve shirt.

My KK is black, which may mean it gets hotter than other colours would.

Anybody else dissappointed with the power/performance of the air conditioning system?

I have also noticed what someone else complained about earlier.

The heater vent for the driver's side footwell is set so far back under the dash, you can barely feel the air
coming through unless I turn the blower up to hi.

Anyone else notice this?

KJ4ME · **Posted:** Sat Jun 07, 2008 8:33 pm

how long did you have it running? ive noticed on mine that on short trips its better just to roll down the windows because by teh time you wait for frigid air to come out, youll be at your destination. but on longer trips and once the system gets workin, it feels like ice cubes are about to shoot from the vents and i usually have to turn it off for a couple minutes

jerseykj · **Posted:** Sat Jun 07, 2008 9:35 pm

i know on my kj it gets somewhat ok.but i wish i could get it colder. i've had colder a/c units in my other vehicles. i have to take it somewhere to get it checked and make sure everything is working properly.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Sat Jun 07, 2008 10:27 pm

The few times I have used my A/C it has worked very good,I actually used it the other day with the temps almost 90 and it blew very cold on my short trip home from work.I have a '02 KJ,can't say how the KK's system is for performance.

Mr Nick · **Posted:** Sun Jun 08, 2008 2:57 am

I'm somewhat disappointed in the output of mine. Take a few minutes to notice a difference, and I also have to keep it on the coldest setting to maintain a cool feeling.

Nice thing is, it doesn't seem to draw too much power. In other cars I have to pay more attention driving stick shift with the AC on, in the KK it's not bad.

ups4 · **Posted:** Sun Jun 08, 2008 9:52 am

I'm glad someone else has noticed this problem too.
My KK seems to suffer from the same problem.

It's always hot down here in South Florida so I almost always have the A/C on full blast. What seems to happen is that on a mad hot day, the compressor seems to cut in and out at various intervals. It may start out cold air, but after a while it will seem to shut off. The blower is blowing full blast, but tepid air is coming from the vents. Then a while later it will go back to cold air.

This is unacceptable cause the vehicle won't cool down. I know I'd heard a while back about some cars that the compressor will cut out under heavy acceleration to give more power to the engine. But I don't think this is the case here. Even at idle sometimes it will blow not so cold air. I think I'm taking it in to have it checked.

Doesn't seem to matter if it's on recirculate or not....totally random. I need my A/C to be cold all the time :x .

Paul

ATXKJ · **Posted:** Sun Jun 08, 2008 8:05 pm

At 90-100 Degrees outside temp and sitting outside all day - on recirc - I'm got cold air within a mile - but it'll take 4-5 to cool the interior - there's a huge difference between recirc and cooling the outside air - pulling in outside air it'll never get cold - cool yes - not cold.

KKboy · **Joined:** Tue Mar 04, 2008 10:36 pm **Posts:** 26

Thanks for the confirmation that something's not quite right. I will check to see if I have set the vents to "fresh air" or "recirculating air".

I will also have my dealer test the air conditioning system.

As a rule, I much prefer "fresh air" unless I'm stuck behind a diesel belching fumes!

I have not noticed any engine power reduction with the air conditioning running. I have the 42RLE automatic.

By the way, I prefer stick shifts, but on this version of the Liberty, the footwell is so restricted on the left side,
that I kept jamming my boot trying to operate the clutch pedal on a stick shift model I was test driving.

(Funny, that never happened with my Jeep Cherokee)

This is less of a problem with ordinary shoes but I live in Canada where boots are essential items in winter.

Mr Nick · **Posted:** Mon Jun 09, 2008 12:44 am

I accidently hit the brake pedal a few times with my left foot, while test driving the stick shift. I'm 6'6" with a 13-14 shoe, and I wear steal toe boots for work. After a week or two, I got used to keeping my left foot away from the pedal, and I don't have to think about it anymore.

Good point on the fresh air vs. recirculating. The Jeep defaults to fresh air every time you turn it on, something to keep in mind. On my Blazer I usually had it on recirculate to help it cool down faster.

MNKK · **Posted:** Tue Jun 10, 2008 2:16 am

New report for the KK...

Towing + A/C + 80 MPH = Pretty Bad gas mileage

Before you say anything, I was trying to keep up wiht traffic as to not get ran the F over. I don't usually speed, and never with towing.

rickm · **Posted:** Fri Jun 13, 2008 2:20 am

it's been 100 + degrees here a few weeks ago. This week has been around 98 or 99 degrees with 102 predicted for the weekend.
The A/C on my KK works pretty good here in those temperatures. However, we have a very low humidity here. I usually run the A/C on position 3 in the recirculating mode, and it seems to cool the interior just fine. I've noticed that when my wife drives, and I'm in the rear seat, position 3 in recirculate seems to keep the back seat area cool also.

rickm · **Posted:** Sat Jun 21, 2008 5:05 am

it was 106 today when my wife picked me up from work. We used the A/C on position 3 in the recirculating mode. I don't think my wife uses the recirculating mode when she's driving around by herself, but it seems to get the car cooler a lot faster.

MNKK · **Posted:** Sat Jun 21, 2008 8:21 am

lay the seats down...I jsut do that anyway, but I think it helps with the circulations.

johnb · **Posted:** Mon Jun 23, 2008 10:44 am

Mr Nick wrote:

I'm somewhat disappointed in the output of mine. Take a few minutes to notice a difference, and I also have to keep it on the coldest setting to maintain a cool feeling.

Nice thing is, it doesn't seem to draw too much power. In other cars I have to pay more attention driving stick shift with the AC on, in the KK it's not bad.

Same here... AC isn't super cold and the fan isn't super fast, but I barely notice the performance hit when it's on, even when making that first climb on I-70 W out of Denver.

Maximum Carnage · **Posted:** Sat Jul 05, 2008 2:37 pm

So what would be the optional operation temp. for the A/C running the vehicle at idle?

JeepGalPeg · **Posted:** Thu Sep 04, 2008 3:35 pm

Mine kind of cuts in and out, by which I mean you'll be driving along with the cold air blowing, and then all of the sudden the cold air turns hot, but only for a few seconds, before resuming with cold air. I think I read somewhere that the redesigned A/C units are meant to conserve fuel.

Gimme Liberty · **Posted:** Fri Sep 05, 2008 9:06 am

MNKK wrote:

New report for the KK...

Towing + A/C + 80 MPH = Pretty Bad gas mileage

Before you say anything, I was trying to keep up wiht traffic as to not get ran the F over. I don't usually speed, and never with towing.

Okay, but let's be fair... how many vehicles get good gas mileage with that equation?? :roll:

rickm · **Posted:** Fri Sep 05, 2008 4:15 pm

My wife went 350 miles on 14 gallons of gas last week. She went from Central California up over Carson pass at almost 9,000 feet on Hwy 88 and into the Carson Valley, then to Carson City, and on to Fallon Nevada. I know she was running the A/C, but she wasn't towning anything. That's pretty good mileage, my KJ never did that good.

E2 · **Posted:** Wed Sep 10, 2008 2:16 am

http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/vie ... 470#368470

E2 · **Posted:** Wed Sep 10, 2008 2:18 am

JeepGalPeg wrote:

Mine kind of cuts in and out, by which I mean you'll be driving along with the cold air blowing, and then all of the sudden the cold air turns hot, but only for a few seconds, before resuming with cold air. I think I read somewhere that the redesigned A/C units are meant to conserve fuel.

yeah mine did this when going up the grapevine on the 5 a BIG hill and offroading. Mine falls within the "recall" for the a/c need to go get it fixed for free

Air conditioning performance

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