fencepost

That's what seems to be happening to me - I know it goes on for the defrost settings (which annoys me) and kicks out of recirculate (no big deal), but I noticed today that the area between the vent/floor and floor-only settings also kicks out of recirculate, and the air blowing on my feet was feeling mighty cool for plain outside air.

So, anyone seen this problem?

For that matter, is there any way to cut the AC out of the defrost settings so it's only on when I hit the AC button? I like having air flowing and I don't always want it on my face, but it seems like right now I have a choice between having the top vents open or having crappy mileage because the AC's on.

Tom Slick

"defrost" is actually "defog". the theory behind defog is to remove the moisture from your windshield that got there from the moisture in your interior. the a/c kicks on because the a/c system pulls the moisture out of the air passing through it, that way you get dry air blowing up on your windshield. they probably have the recirc turn off to get fresh air inside instead of blowing the moist air around that is inside the interior already.
to modify what you want to modify you are defeating the benefits of having a defog system that has an a/c system to work with.

jstand6

Welcome to the world of automated controls and "Big Brother" wanting to control your life! On most Ford's, the AC will kick on during all ventilation settings except vent only and feet only. I don't know if the Protege5 is set like this. On my '99 ES sedan, the AC is totally manual. I know it changed in 2000.

-Jerry

Pro_fan

Wait a sec...you guys are saying the AC comes on....ok, but does the actual green AC light come on? I know I've heard the compressor kick in, but the light doesn't come on. I guess the only time that AC light comes on is if the button is pushed in....I just wanted to see if others' lights were coming on w/out the button being pushed in (while in defrost/defog mode I mean).

randallb

The P5 manual spec's that A/C comes on in defog mode above a set temp, 36'F or so as I recall. Yeah, I find it annoying too!

Bumble_G

Yes it can be disabled.
But it's a ROYAL PAIN in the A$$ to do it.

Basically you need to pull apart the ac/vent/fan control and remove two small switches that are located behind the vent selector ****.

bmorton

No, the light doesn't come on when the A/C comes on by itself. I guess they don't want to give you the impression that by pressing the button, you could override the A/C and turn it off. My Civic would put the A/C on in the defrost positions but you could hit the A/C button and turn it right off again. That was a better compromise than Mazda's way of doing it.

Pro_fan

Thanks for the reply. Only reason I was wondering is b/c my parent's '02 CR-V does this too, but when their AC kicks in automatically, the green light turns on too. But I've noticed that when you do switch to a "non-automatic-AC" air setting AFTER it's been in an "automatic AC" setting, the AC will NOT turn off until you press the actual AC button. That's kinda stupid if you ask me.

fencepost

I'm well aware of the advantages of getting the moisture out of the air. Unfortunately, you're assuming that the only reason I could ever have for setting that dial to either of the defog positions is to clear fog from the windows.

Having this automatic and (effectively) unmodifiable is a dumb approach for Mazda to have taken - basically it's designed for first-time car buyers who've never had a car with AC before, and they'll probably be very happy with it. The rest of us will find the Microsoft Bob approach to cars irritating.

Also, is there any particular reason why Mazda (or you) would assume that I need to defog my feet? I admit that I can't see through them, but I don't think defogging them is going to help. I can't help but thing that Mazda just screwed up on that.

I may have to look into disabling that - if I don't, it could turn into the one major annoyance with this car (in the '95 Protege it was the cupholders).

Figures, it was just before I started lurking. Ah well, guess I get to live with air in my face.

enormiss

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one.....My wife thinks I'm being **** about it. It just drives me crazy. Do they think I don't know how to turn the A/C on when I feel it necessary? I'm not sure about you, but where I live I need a defrost 4months out of the year and I certainly dont need the A/C on when its 30degrees outside and ice on the windsheild. I guess I'll be doing a search on disabling it.

enormiss

There's got to be an easier way.....
here it is....
http://www.protegeclub.com/forum/sho...&threadid=2740

fencepost

http://www.protegeclub.com/forum/sho...&threadid=2740

Me, I lack the equipment to do it, and it's not that big an annoyance.

stocker

Well this might explain my slightly low MPG, I have been driving around with the A/C on since last november.


Stocker

Brubeck

Man i feel dumb... whenever I turn the defrost/defogger on, I always make sure to press the AC button... LOL

My toyota manual said to always turn on the AC when you turn on the defogger. If you get around to disabling it, you'll probably notice that your defogger doesn't work worth a **** anymore. You'll be blowing wet air onto a wet window.

fencepost

I know the advantages, but I used to leave the vents set to floor/defog so I had air moving at the top without having it blowing straight out the vents. Think of it as the difference between a small non-oscillating fan pointing at you and a ceiling fan - both may move the same amount of air, but the ceiling fan's probably a lot less irritating after a couple of hours.

Added:
With the Weatherflectors I've added I can just leave the windows cracked a bit in most weather. Also, turning the fan to "0" lets you put the vents to any position as long as you're moving - with the fan off, I'm pretty sure the AC won't run.

As a side note, the Weatherflectors are a wonderful wonderful thing. My car's been sitting in the sun and it's in the upper 80s outside, but when I went out to lunch it wasn't an oven because all four windows were cracked about an inch. No worries about the possible thunderstorms that were being predicted, because they were still a half inch above the bottom of the shields.