A/C Problem - How to turn it off?
 

Hi there,

I am unable to turn off my A/C despite having the director on the face position. I have tried numerous things but nothing seems to make this thing go off. I have even tried the hack, which worked once before and allowed me to turn the A/C off on Defrost position?

Temperatures here in London are around 10-15C at the moment and not sure how much of a difference that should make to the functioning of the aircon.

Any ideas on how to turn it off?

Re: A/C Problem - How to turn it off?
 

If you have it in auto mode, just turn it up to 28c and your air will stay off. H

Re: A/C Problem - How to turn it off?
 

Just for the record, this is a civic hybrid? And what year? And with/without the Navigation option?

On '06 and onward Civic hybrid, non-Nav. version: first push auto, then push the AC button, and you will have Auto without AC. It will indicate "AC off" lower right corner of display.

FWIW, I don't like the way Auto defaults to AC on, this seems somewhat contrary to the fuel saving philosophy. No matter how efficient the AC system, it will impact mileage. And on the Hybrid Civic it tends to deplete the battery charge quicker, reducing ability to AutoStop and so on.

Re: A/C Problem - How to turn it off?
 

Thanks for the tip Mendel. I hadn't herd about push auto then a/c. Learn something every day! Thanks again,H

Re: A/C Problem - How to turn it off?
 

The HCHII shares many of the automatic climate control features found on other up-scale Honda and Acura models which also feature this type of system. While it normally is very effective it does tend to call for air conditioning more often than may be necessary. This is because there is a sunlight sensor at the base of the windshield which causes the system to blow cool air from the dash vents to compensate for the solar heat entering the car. Nice feature, but not always needed when the outside temperature is cooler.

I learned about this with my Accord. It took me a while to figure it out. When you push "auto" the climate control governs heating or cooling temperature, fan speed, and outlet vent selection. If you vary any function manually, the remaining features continue as on automatic. For example, if you push 'mode' to send more airflow to the windshield in damp weather, then the fan and temperature operate as on 'auto'. I use this frequently in rainy weather. Likewise, if you push the 'A/C' button, this "toggles" the air conditioning between a manual 'off' and 'on' operation.

My typical routine in cooler weather is to start with the system 'off' until the engine temperature is showing 3 or 4 bars. I then push 'auto' to start the system and immediately push 'A/C' once to defeat any attempt by the sunlight sensor to try to start the compressor. (I have to admit that this is not a frequent 'problem' in our rainy climate). The sensor will still send more air to the dash vents if it's sunny. It simply uses the cooler outside air, without using any a/c.

As I said, it's a great system but if you are looking to minimize the use of the air conditioner you will want to take a little more control of it.

Cheers,

Roger