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Steve,
With all due respect, just because something is *wrong* does not mean it's abnormal. For certain Pintos, exploding when hit from the rear is normal. It's a bad thing and I wouldn't want my car to do it, but it is normal for that model.
On my '97 aero, the headlights dim when the a/c compressor engages. I have checked all the components in the system, they all function correctly, and are within specs (what few specs are given).
When I got home from work today, I decided to do a little more investigating. Started up the car, turned on headlights and a/c, got out the voltmeter and started poking around.
To make a long story short, the headlights, a/c fan, and a bunch of other things are all supplied by a single wire ("5A" on the wiring diagram) that runs from the +30 junction block behind the battery, to the relay/fuse box in front of the battery. The wire comes into junction J116, and several wires come out of that junction to the various things that are powered. When I put my meter on the junction block, the voltage only varies 0.2 volts between "compressor off" and "compressor on" - not bad considering it's idling. However, when I measure at any point downstream of J116, the voltage varies by about 1.5 volts (hard to tell with a digital meter since it's a short event).
The bottom line is that the dimming is caused by a voltage drop in the wiring. Some of it is probably due to a little corrosion at the connection points, and the rest probably was there the day the car was built. But if you go looking for a "defective part" - fan, relay, fuse, whatever, you won't find anything.
At some point, I'll probably rip it apart and do some rewiring to fix the problem. But this is something few mechanics would take on, and if left "unfixed", would probably be okay for the remaining life of the car.
Also (and then I'll end MY rant :^)), the condition of the a/c compressor has no effect on how much current it draws. The clutch is a simple device - an electromagnet just pulls a plate until it makes contact with the side of the pulley and drives the compressor. How much mechanical power the compressor needs, or even if it's seized, does not affect the power drawn by the clutch coil (which is minimal by the way - an amp or two).
Eric Law
posted by 207.87.80...
, Thu, 30 May 2002 10:50:42
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