How does the Air Conditioner Work - not very cold?

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

I have test drove 2 Ridgeline. I noticed that the Air Conditioner doesnt appear very cold. I had the setting set to 60 degree for a good 30 minutes, and still the air was not overly cold. It appears to be undersized for the cabin area? Is that typical?

For owners of the Ridgeline - have you had the same experience?

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

I live in Sunny South Florida. My car is parked all day in an outside parking lot with the windows closed. I open all the windows with my remote as I approach the car, put the stuff I'm carrying (files, sport coat, etc.) on tha passenger seat through the window, walk around, get in, start the car, drive out of the lot (with the AC on lo) and close the windows -- can't be more than 2 or 3 minutes, and it's cooling off just fine. Within a couple more minutes the interior is cool enough to turn the AC up to a more reasonable setting, like 68.

In short, I have no problem with my AC being cold enough, and I HATE being hot when I'm driving. I have my front windows tinted to match the rear windows, and I'm sure this helps a lot.

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

I agree with 2006, although I don't follow his exact routine. We have had a REALLY hot summer here in Colorado and the RidgeLine's AC always did the job fine.

Good Luck!!!

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

I re-read my post –- you mean, colorider, that you don't put your stuff on "tha" passenger seat?! I get a kick out of the typos that creep into these things :lol:

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

2006Ridgeline wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")I re-read my post –- you mean, colorider, that you don't put your stuff on "tha" passenger seat?! I get a kick out of the typos that creep into these things :lol:

I don't wear a sport coat to work - that's the difference!! :)

T-shirt and jeans for me. I figure they better be paying me for what I do and not what I look like!!!

:P :P :P

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

Yeah, but if you saw me in t-shirt and jeans, you might not want to pay me at all! :lol:

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

2006Ridgeline wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")Yeah, but if you saw me in t-shirt and jeans, you might not want to pay me at all! :lol:

Ha!!! I may not want to anyway!!! :P :P

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

The system design is to provide (max) 17,300BTU. The fan max delivery is 288 cfm. The interior space is 108(w/sunroof)-112(w/o)cf. (from design specs in the service manual pgs 2-18 & 2-19) With this info (I am not a HVAC person) I believe this should be more than adequate. There is also a way to display sensor info on the climate contol (RTS & up).
1: Turn ign off.
2: Press & HOLD both auto & recirculation buttons and start the engine.
3: After engine starts, release buttons. The display (HVAC) will flash the sensor number and then the value for that sensor.
4: To advance to the next sensor, press recirculate.

Sensor # Info displayed Value
1 In-car temp C 2 Outside temp C
3 Solar radiation (between defrost ducts) 10kal/m2-h
4 Eng coolant temp C
5 Evap outlet temp C
6 Dvr air mix open % open
7 Pass air mix open % open
8 Vehcle speed (must be moving!!) kph
9 Dvr vent temp out C

You will need to covert the info.

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

Don, that's some pretty cool info (no pun intended). Thanks!

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Can you tell that I am a Quality systems engineer (Statistician)??

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

No, I couldn't tell, but now that you mention it.... :lol:

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

DopplerDon wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")Can you tell that I am a Quality systems engineer (Statistician)??

Can you do it again with a pareto chart?!?!?

:P :P :P

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

That would require the collection of some data, so have at it, Don! :lol:

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

I too live in sunny FLA. While I don't use the same routine of lowering the windows, etc. I find that my truck is sufficiently cool after approx 3 miles of driving. Still a great truck!

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

After I posted the above response, I noticed that my a/c wasn't cooling as good as I remembered! I drove somewhere (I don't remember where) wondering if it was my imagination or if the a/c was failing. I noticed the next day that it was still not too strong -- then I saw that I had inadvertently turned off the 'auto' feature! What a bozo! My a/c works great so long as I have it set right! 8) Maybe that's the problem that uholbrx was having?! (I'm calling NOT him a bozo, but thought maybe the a/c wasn't set on 'auto.')

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

Don't forget the AUTO function is designed to provide max comfort to the passengers. This is at a cost, the system will rarely use the fan at it's highest setting for passenger comfort (remember comfort includes all aspects of the passengers including Noise & airflow). The fastest cooling is acheived by overriding the AUTO function by selecting the Hi fan & Lo temp until it is at a point that AUTO would be best suited. Try it, I believe this is also outlined in the user manual.

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

check the system pressure. Mine was cold on the center vent only and I had the dealer check to find that the system had no pressure because the factory didn't fill fully.

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

I do know how to use the auto function, but it's just not necessary -- my a/c cools super fast without any screwing around except that I like to set the temp on 'lo' to get it cooling faster. I guess when I had the 'auto' turned off, I think the fan was set on low and the temp setting didn't seem to cool it off like it does when the auto function sets the fan according to some pre-determined 'plan.' 8)