a/c surge?

[mustang_montana]

in my 88 convertible, n/a, when i turn the a/c on the idle will jump up about 500 rpms when the compresor kicks on then go back down. itll keep doing it until i turn it off. another thing is it only blows cold when the car is moving usually, at stop lights it is pretty warm. first guess is low refridgerent or a bad compressor clutch, any ideas? thanks guys

 

[Dr_EluSivE]

Probably low coolant, if the compressor cycles constantly then the coolant is low, the other reason for being warm at stoplights is a weak radiator fan. When i upgraded my radiator ran to a high flow unit my air stayed cold at stoplights. Till the compressor went out anyway...

Dr.

 

[BlownFiveLiter]

Probably low coolant, if the compressor cycles constantly then the coolant is low, the other reason for being warm at stoplights is a weak radiator fan. When i upgraded my radiator ran to a high flow unit my air stayed cold at stoplights. Till the compressor went out anyway...

Dr.

Refrigerant. Otherwise, that's dead on.

 

[mustang_montana]

cool thanks, think i still got r12 though. guess ill have to dump it and switch over.

 

[BlownFiveLiter]

R12 is still available, but very expensive and most shops won't charge a system that's even suspected to be leaking because of it being a CFC refrigerant. Although it's related to the 5.0 AC system instead of the 2.3, this contains pretty much everything you need to know to convert over to R134a, if you're interested: http://forums.stangnet.com/559388-134a-conversion-kit.html