AC blows warm when engine pushed hard

Hi folks, the ac in my car is generally strong enough to overcome the wilting heat and humidity of North Carolina Summers. I did add some freon myself, shade tree mechanic style. I figured it was worth a shot and so far everything is good. EXCEPT when I have warmed the car up and do a hard acceleration, (which is sadly rare, I can't afford to track her). When I push hard, the AC behaves, briefly, as if it were simply on fan. Then AC resumes quickly when I drive less on the throttle. My question is, does this symptom affect your cars as well? I'm not surprised at the momentary loss in AC, it does seem logical, to my limited knowledge of how ac compressor pumps work. Thanks.

For some reason I thought the AC compressor clutch disengages on hard driving to reduce drag on the engine... that could be an old wives tale but my Z did it and so does my 996.

The clutch disengages on WOT on a lot of cars. But I�ve never felt that on my 996

The AC clutch DOES disengage on WOT. Part of the design. Most cars, if not all cars, do that.

Did you have this condition before you recharged the AC? If not, perhaps it�s because of something you did. If yes, then the above suggestions are on track.

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Did you use one of those AC Pro kits you can buy at Walmart and auto parts stores? If you're really concerned about getting it right, first take the car to any professional AC shop. Most can help you. Have them test the system with their equipment. I had a colleague in the similar boat, added refrigerant using those AC pro kits and didn't work. She took my advice and went to a pro. They bled the system and filled it correctly and it worked like new. No need for any replacement parts, just needed to be bled and refilled properly. Now, there can also be thermostat or blower issues going on too. If the thermostat is malfunctioning, you'll get irregularities in temperatures or no control at all. But usually this can be ruled out by the professional shop that balances the refrigerant in your system. Next, these cars suffer from air blending that is handled by the thermostat and controlled mechanically in the blower section. The blend doors suffer from foam blowing out their diffusion ports. This problem causes temperature fluxes that even the thermostat can't correct, usually in the winter time. One loose theory would be the temps rise in the blower air because of the open blend door ports. The coolant that passes through the heater coil at open throttle in the summer can be extremely hot and in turn causes the fresh air to rise at high temperatures that can't be corrected quick enough. Normally, your AC system would have the warm air shut off completely on hot days but in your case, it's having a hard time controlling the instant peaks in air temps. Just my theory. Get it checked out. Cheers!

From page 108 of my 2002 owners manual: General instructions for air-conditioning compressor - Can switch off briefly if engine is under an extreme load to ensure sufficient engine cooling.

My old mechanic brain reminds me that an overfilled system can cause over pressure and consequently shut of the system under high RPM events. you may have too much freon in the system.

When working with A/C you should always work with high side and low side hooked up with gauges. a set from Harbor Freight are not that much. use the accompanying chart for the pressure you need and should be getting when system is full and known ambient temperature.

Thanks all very good advice, and I will order the pump and high / low gauges etc today, time to stop guessing. The car is actually at the shop. Getting Oil change, Trans Oil Change, new fuel filter, new slightly beefier sway bars and new drop links fr and rear, installing poly bushing in new trans mount, possible wheel bearings and hopefully not too much other suspension refresh. Eventually I will do it all, but I'm trying to save up to have the top end rebuilt, new timing rails and chains if needed. Almost 100K it's time for that. My cam deviation is about 5.5 on one side. My trusted indy says it is ok, but better to do it. I'm going to get new UAOS and water pump, reservoir and thermostat, cooling connector (alloy) and some other things done in the fall. Fingers crossed. I really want to get all this done b4 I retire in rural Nova Scotia, eh.