Climate Control ...confused

[Dark Matter]

Taking a nice drive this afternoon in the (remarkably) sunny weather, I had a slight disagreement with my passenger regarding how the Climate control works. First off I HAVE read the manual and it is to say the least ambiguous.The question is basically this. In an IQ2 equipped with climate control what is the difference between Auto only selected, A/C only selected and both Auto +A/C selected?

[Myles Taylor]

Taking a nice drive this afternoon in the (remarkably) sunny weather, I had a slight disagreement with my passenger regarding how the Climate control works. First off I HAVE read the manual and it is to say the least ambiguous.The question is basically this. In an IQ2 equipped with climate control what is the difference between Auto only selected, A/C only selected and both Auto +A/C selected?

Yeah good one that . Auto is supposed to keep a constant temperature within the car but surely it needs the air con on to be able to cool the air if the temperature should increase, so effectivley auto is useless without a/c but a/c is ok on its own as all it does is cool the air I think . Mmm lets see if anybody else knows cos ive only had four hours sleep and me head is hurting if I think to much :D

[Soeley]

You would just use Auto on its own in winter. Set the temperature to say 22 degrees, if the inside temp then went above that, it would use outside (cooler) air to cool it back down to 22.

So Aircon and Auto would be for summer use?????????

[Dark Matter]

Interesting that others seem confused as well. I feel a bit less stupid!

One theory I have had offered today by a Prius owner is as follows:- If you just press the “Auto” button the “A/C” light will come on go and off as the A/C cuts in and out to maintain the temperature set on the dial.

I've not seen this happen but will drive home tonight with just the “Auto” light on and see the result. In the currently warm weather it will be pretty obvious if the A/C is running either with or without the "A/C" button illuminated.

But this still leaves the question is why you can manually have auto and A/C on all the time.

[Myles Taylor]

Interesting that others seem confused as well. I feel a bit less stupid!

One theory I have had offered today by a Prius owner is as follows:- If you just press the “Auto” button the “A/C” light will come on go and off as the A/C cuts in and out to maintain the temperature set on the dial.

I've not seen this happen but will drive home tonight with just the “Auto” light on and see the result. In the currently warm weather it will be pretty obvious if the A/C is running either with or without the "A/C" button illuminated.

But this still leaves the question is why you can manually have auto and A/C on all the time.

Ooh Prius owners boo hiss ha ha

[Cyker]

It's actually fairly common; Almost every car I have been in that had climate control has a button to disable the AC.

I would assume it is to save on power, as some cars' AC really gulps down fuel!

I mate of mine had a Punto with AC but he almost never used it because the car practically stopped moving when he turned it on and the fuel indicator dropped like a stone

[Dark Matter]

It's actually fairly common; Almost every car I have been in that had climate control has a button to disable the AC.

Soooooooooooooo ............... how does the Climate control cool the interior with the A/C disabled?

[jwball]

It's actually fairly common; Almost every car I have been in that had climate control has a button to disable the AC.

Soooooooooooooo ............... how does the Climate control cool the interior with the A/C disabled?

By regulating the amount of heat it allows into the ventilation system from heat exchange unit. It will basically let in as much cold air from outside as possible. If the outside air isn't cold enough for the temperature you have selected the only way to get it colder is to turn on the AC Compressor. The AUTO setting relates to the fan speed, it will slow the fan speed down if it thinks the car is getting too cold and speed it up for too hot.

[Cyker]

It's actually fairly common; Almost every car I have been in that had climate control has a button to disable the AC.

Soooooooooooooo ............... how does the Climate control cool the interior with the A/C disabled?

As far as I can tell, it doesn't

It's just like being in a car... with no aircon! (Helmsman, LIFT FANS TO MAXIMUM!!!!)

[Dark Matter]

Still confused !

Maybe I'll ask my dealer next time I'm passing ......

Meanwhile. I've just had a pleasant trip to Waitrose with Auto + A/C selected and the cabin temperature nice and cool in stark contrast to the hot and muggy ambient.... so what the heck!

[craggle]

I'm guessing here that Auto will do the best it can to get the car interior to the set temperature without using the aircon. Fine in the winter when it just needs to pump in warm air but it won't do it in the summer unless you allow it to use the aircon too by pressing the AC button.

The AC is often selectable as it does put a drain on power and uses more fuel. In an economy oriented car it makes sense that it defaults to being off unless selected by the driver.

I never use Auto myself, just set the temp, press the aircon button if I want it, and adjust the fan speed to suit. I like to see all the little bits on the display lit up rather than just the word AUTO across the middle. :)

Craig.

[duncerduncs]

The question is basically this. In an IQ2 equipped with climate control what is the difference between Auto only selected, A/C only selected and both Auto +A/C selected?

My Dad has worked in air conditioning for around 45 years, so prepared to be bored to death on air conditioning....

If Auto only is selected the climate control will attempt to get the car to given temperature without running the compressor. The fan speed will also be determined by the climate control. Obviously on a warm day the air coming into the car will be warm!

In A/C only, the compressor will run continually with the speed of the fan determined by the user. Although you may notice the fan speed will reduce by itself when the cabin temperature gets close to the chosen temperature!

In Auto + A/C the compressor use and fan speed are determined by the climate control. This means that if the outside temperature is very close to the cabin temperature of the car the climate control will cut the compressor to save fuel. Climate control uses less fuel than normal air conditioning for this reason.

Hope that helps...

[Dark Matter]

Thanks a lot duncerduncs ... that actually makes sense!

[PCM]

I experimented with my Climate Control this week.

It was ok, but I found the manual control more to my taste.

LOVE A/C, but I think I prefer to control myself the fan, recirc., and vent choice.

[Pete.Z]

In all my cars with automatic airco, I just set it on auto, with the AC on, amd just let it do it’s job, summer and winter on 20 degrees works fine for me personally.