AC on when climate control is in Auto

Is there a way to put climate control in Auto and not leave the AC on? I did a search and came up with nothing since "AC" seems to be too short and "climate control" didn't yield much. Everytime I turn AC off, climate control becomes manual. I don't like AC unless it's real hot.

I had my shop of choice, Squire's in Bellevue, wire a switch, on the backwall of the console glove box, in series with the A/C compressor so the A/C will NEVER run during the winter months nor during the summer unless the OAT is above 70F and/or the radiant heating is too much. Less load on the engine cooling system, better fuel economy.... Next I have to add an electrically operated water shutoff valve so hot water doesn't flow through the heater when the A/C is enabled.

If you want the compressor to stay off just hit the snowflake button -- it will stay off. The a/c will keep the windows from getting fog on them -- that is why it will go on in the winter. Also it will not go on when it is below about 40F.

Oh, sorry forgot....... When you turn off the A/C and the system goes into "manual" all of the other automatic functions are still operative. The bad news is that even though you have switched it off manually it will still come on if you use the defrost/defog/demist mode. And that can be very HAZARDOUS. While the A/C is in operation if the climatic conditions are within range (outside temperature above 50F and/or extremely high relative humidity. The latter being highly unlikely, the moreso as the OAT declines.) the A/C can dehumidify the incoming air and thereby help to defog/demist the interior surface of the windshield. But now when you move back to normal climate control operation and the A/C once again cycles off. What do you suppose will now happen to most of the moisture just previously condensed onto the thousands of square inches of cooling evaporator surface area? It will begin to evaporate into the incoming airstream and the car's cabin atmosphere will suddenly become more humid than before the initial incident. Be carefull out there. There is one danger related to my switch modification. The climate control system will automatically switch to fresh, outside, incoming airflow within a few moments if the A/C is switched off using the system control. If I use my switch to turn it off the climate control system doesn't know the A/C isn't operational. But just why anyone would want to run in recirc with the A/C off is totally beyond me.

"But just why anyone would want to run in recirc with the A/C off is totally beyond me." Skunk

The current design is the proper design. Leave it alone. If you do not need the AC turn just the AC off. Bad idea not to run the AC during the winter months - it will dry the rubber gaskets in the compressor for lack of use. Also, the AC dries the air inside and eliminates window fogging. During rainy days and high humidity even if the car needs heat, the AC should still be on. This is exactly the way it should be.

Since 1968, the first car I had with A/C, I have disconnected the A/C clutch during the winter months. Not one failure since, probably at least a dozen cars and my wife estimates well over a million miles, 250k on that 68 alone. Yes, the A/C will dry the incoming airflow during the wintertime....IF, big IF, the relative humidity is higher than normal and the blower is running ever so s.l..o...w...y. But then think about where all of that previously condensed moisture goes, that thin film of moisture remaining on the thousands of square inches of cooling evaporator surface area, when the A/C is shut off automatically, without any warning to you, as the OAT declines below 40F Shut it off yourself and don't worry about it.

Proper design.... Then I wouldn't be applying for multiple patents that have the potential to reduce the "fleet" fuel consumption by millions of gallons annually.

I'd be surprised if I used the AC more than once/year on my old 996 and it worked fine after 6+ years. Just an observation...

Proper design.... Rochester MI, December 2, 2004. "Pedestrian accident: A 23-year-old Warren woman was hit by a car as she jaywalked across Main Street in downtown Rochester around 10:30PM Nov.24. The driver of the car, a 26-year-old Macomb woman, said she has just turned on her defroster and it fogged her windshield so she never saw the pedestrian. She was ticketed for careless driving. The pedestrian, who was thown 50 feet, was taken to Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital, where she underwent surgery." A Lexus or Toyota?? But for sure an automatic climate control system designed by NipponDenso, Denso US. For even more info: Google "wwest" and "demist" or "wwest" and "odor" Independent: http://www.airsept.com/eed.html

I sure like the defrost feature and understand the safety reasons. However, when I don't need the AC on, I'd like to be able to turn it off. I noticed when I turn off AC, fan stays on. Is fan speed manual at that point? If I adjust fan speed, "manual" shows up on display. It's manual before I adjust the fan speed already right?

The way my 99 996 works is the system stays in automatic mode even when the air is turned off. If it starts getting hotter in the car, you'll see the fan speed increase to try to cool it down. However, if you push the fan speed control, then the system is in manual mode. The only way I can figure out how to get it backon atomatic is to press AUTO and then press the "snow flake" buttun to turn the air off again.