Interior Exterior
Q:
From trying the A/C with the hard top and soft top, I can say that the hard top helps, but the A/C is still way too weak for a hot/humid climate.
I refitted my hard top today and I have to agree that it seems to help. I imagine it seals the cabin better than the soft top, plus the soft top is black and the hard top is SY, so I'm guessing it's going to reflect a lot more heat.
Having said that, the A/C and fan still suck mightily. I think there's a great opportunity for the after market companies to come up with a better blower and a bigger evaporator or heat exchanger or whatever the heck is under performing in this system. Help us Obi-111 Kenobi, you're our only hope...
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Drove I-5 in California today. Forecast was for 108. Sweated like a pig, the AC was woefully inadequate and only marginally better than having the windows open. I believe the main problem may be that the recirc flap doesn't appear to be working.
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I just got back from a trip to Kingman Arizona wher it was a high of 125. The AC worked fine but it cant keep up with the heat the chassis radiates inside the cabin, The chassis gets so hot that you cant touch the inside of exposed aluminum. I drive barefoot a lot and you can not rest your foot on the dead pedal. It's too hot. I think that the AC just cant keep up with the chassis. I wont be doing that again. The same thing applies in the winter. The front bulk head can get pretty cold. The brits just dont see this kind of heat. Aluminum heats up and cools down quiker than most metals.
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With the top on it works OK, with it off, its horrible. I use to be able to drive with the top down and the AC on in my Miata with far better results.
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I want to bypass (stop the flow of hot water)the heater core up front.
What's the best way?
Can I safely disconnect the heater lines from the engine and splice back together?
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That is a very good question. It's my non-expert opinion that stopping the flow of hot coolant through the heater core will help the A/C immensely. m But I have no idea how to do it for this car. I don't even have the maintenance manual PDFs to see where the heck the heater core is...
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Here's a worthless "Me too!"
Ideally, I'd like to have some way to block/unblock the heater core, perhaps seasonally.
With the AC off, the fan air from the vents is too hot. So I run the A/C more than I really have to.
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I just got back from a trip to Kingman Arizona wher it was a high of 125. The AC worked fine but it cant keep up with the heat the chassis radiates inside the cabin, The chassis gets so hot that you cant touch the inside of exposed aluminum. I drive barefoot a lot and you can not rest your foot on the dead pedal. It's too hot. I think that the AC just cant keep up with the chassis. I wont be doing that again. The same thing applies in the winter. The front bulk head can get pretty cold. The brits just dont see this kind of heat. Aluminum heats up and cools down quiker than most metals.
That is exactly how it went for me even after fixing my AC. The cabin was able to stay at a steady 81 degrees with a hot outside (116 degrees); but I wear shorts and man, you gotta keep your leg away from the chassis or you'll get burned!
>Drove I-5 in California today. Forecast was for 108. Sweated
>like a pig, the AC was woefully inadequate and only
Matt, I'm convinced that my AC works far better than that. Have you repositioned your sensor? If so, then there must be a lot of varience in the cars to account for this difference. I wasn't even using the recirc button. Anyway, just another data point.
A:
With the AC off, the fan air from the vents is too hot. So I run the A/C more than I really have to.
Yeah. It'd be nice to just put on the vent when it's cool outside and just get some cool outside air blowing on you - but the air that comes out is warm.
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driven> The brits just dont see this kind of heat.
I bet if it got this hot in England the AC would still be faint. I mean, it rains there all the time and water can still get into the cabin...
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A/C works fine here. But again it is only 77 degree F here in San Francisco.
Ming
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Before you block off the heater core, keep two things in mind.
The coolant has to pass through the heater core for the thermostat bypass to work. At the very least, you have to run a new hose connecting the bypass in and out ports on the engine.
Just as importantly, the Elise has an auxiliary coolant pump for use when the engine "heat soaks" when the engine is turned off. If the engine temperature gets too high, an electric pump turns on and circulates coolant via the bypass circuit - basically using the heater core as the radiator. If you block off the heater core, you will be defeating this "engine safety" feature and could potentially cause damage due to overheating the engine (due to heat soaking).
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Before you block off the heater core, keep two things in mind.
The coolant has to pass through the heater core for the thermostat bypass to work. At the very least, you have to run a new hose connecting the bypass in and out ports on the engine.
Just as importantly, the Elise has an auxiliary coolant pump for use when the engine "heat soaks" when the engine is turned off. If the engine temperature gets too high, an electric pump turns on and circulates coolant via the bypass circuit - basically using the heater core as the radiator. If you block off the heater core, you will be defeating this "engine safety" feature and could potentially cause damage due to overheating the engine (due to heat soaking).
Thanks for the info Tim. I guess it's not as simple as one might expect.
I just wait for Fall, Winter and Spring.
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The A/C in my car is not up to the task on a hot day. Dealer says it works as it should. I guess that means: it is suppose to work lousy! It's kind of cool but never blows cold!
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The A/C in my car is not up to the task on a hot day. Dealer says it works as it should. I guess that means: it is suppose to work lousy! It's kind of cool but never blows cold!
Yep. It's not a real powerful system - it most likely will never freeze you out. There was a problem with the temperature probe being located in the wrong position that can be fixed by the dealer - the symptoms are that the A/C will blow cold, then get warmer as the core freezes up. If this is the symptom, it can be fixed. If it just doesn't cool enough for you, and it's fully charged...
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Mine was fine for the first 11 months but a few weeks ago it started blowing warm air. Mick told me how to fix it but the fix seems temporary. Luckily, I don't drive it every day but I'm calling the dealer asap.
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I am actually quite pleased with the cooling (with top on of course). My only problem is I get intermittant cycling of the thermostat or compressor (you know that click/knock sound audible during idle) occurring when the entire system is turned off!!! Seems to occur more consistantly when ac recently used, but still intermittant- dealer visit occurred when no occurrance happened
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My car (VIN in the low 4400s) had the temp probe postitioned slightly away from the evaporator. It is the later 50mm bracket with the probe on the second row of coils. I repositioned the tip of the probe to touch the evaporator and it worked great all last week on my 18 mile one-way commute. Today in downtown Houston traffic and freeway driving it started freezing up again. I'll have it looked at early next week during my 1000 mile service.
John
A:
I took my car for its first extended drive today, and I ended up giving it a pretty tough test for the A/C and the cooling system.
I was heading south on the I-15 at about 1:30 PM with the outside temperature around 100 degrees. With the A/C on max recirculate and the hardtop on, the car was comfortable, although not cool, just ok. As I passed the 91 freeway, traffic backed up, and I was stuck in bumper to bumper, stop and go traffic, for almost an hour.
As the temperature inside the car slowly increased to slightly uncomfortable levels, about 80 degrees as a guess, I was watching the engine temperature also slowly go up. When the engine temp hit 225 degrees after about 15 or 20 minutes, the display started flashing, so I figured this was my queue to turn off the A/C. With the A/C off, the engine temp went down to 224 in about 45 seconds and continued to go down at about 2 degrees per minute as long as I left the A/C off.
Of course within a minute or two of turning off the A/C, it was getting VERY WARM inside the car, opening the windows helped a little bit; the air coming in the windows was cooler than the air coming in the vents. With all of the traffic and the heat soaked pavement, the outside air was seriously HOT; I didn't have a thermometer, but at a guess, 115 or so. Thankfully, it was a dry heat, but still pretty unpleasant.
Once traffic was moving again, the A/C could be left on and the engine temp stayed around 195 to 205. It never really got cool after that, but it was ok, probably around 80 degrees again. I also noticed the exposed aluminum parts of the chassis getting rather hot as others have mentioned.
My conclusion from this experience is that it would be advisable to upgrade the Elise's cooling system as well as the A/C system. Probably not an easy thing to do. I'm also thinking that maybe it would help to put some carpeting over the various exposed aluminum surfaces to help insulate the interior a bit.
A:
I took my car for its first extended drive today, and I ended up giving it a pretty tough test for the A/C and the cooling system.
My conclusion from this experience is that it would be advisable to upgrade the Elise's cooling system as well as the A/C system. Probably not an easy thing to do. I'm also thinking that maybe it would help to put some carpeting over the various exposed aluminum surfaces to help insulate the interior a bit.
Take it back to the dealer and have them fix the A/C. My car keeps cool on 108 deg days with the top off. I often drive the car open-topped with the windows up and the A/C on. When I'm moving, the breeze usually is enough. When I have to stop, or endure stop 'n' go driving, the A/C, set with just one click from full flow through the dash vents (RH knob) so there's a little coming from the floor, gives a nice pool of cool air inside the car. I can even feel the cool air from the dash vents on my face at a stop with the windows down, if the air is especially calm.
It sounds as if your car's system needs recharging. I sort of doubt that a car as new as yours has the mis-placed temp probe but it is something the dealer has to make right. Your A/C problem is not normal for the car.
I'd also suggest that they check the operation of the cooling fans. On that 108 deg day, my temperature never went above 205 in local stop 'n' go traffic. We, too, blessedly, have a dry heat, but the humidity doesn't have anything to do with heat transfer. Thus your radiator should easily keep up with the A/C load if the fans are operating as they should.
Good luck, and congratulations on your new car!