Hi you lot, I know some of you are heaps good are cars and .. stuff. I'm a complete nub so I wanna make sure I'm not stuffing it :)

I drive a late-model Daewoo to work. Cue chorus of laughter - its the wife's car, my Bommodore doesn't have working aircon. I really need aircon due to my MS, heat f***s me up and its really hot up here in Cairns at the moment.

If I leave the engine running and the aircon on before I get into the car, or while I'm picking up / dropping off my son at childcare, is there any bad things that can happen to it? The car doesn't seem to mind, doesn't get hot etc.

It saves me from blurred vision and fatigue if I can stay away from the heat, so is kinda important for driving!

There should be no problems with your car appart from regular wear and tear from usage.

It saves me from blurred vision and fatigue if I can stay away from the heat, so is kinda important for driving!

Err.. should you be driving if thats what happens with a bit of heat? It's an honest question - do you need a medical cert or something?

In relation to the car, should be fine.

No dramas doin that.

EOT.

Err.. should you be driving if thats what happens with a bit of heat? It's an honest question - do you need a medical cert or something?

I don't go blind or anything, just lose some clarity of vision in one eye when I get too hot due to a previous bout of Optic Neuritis. To put it in context, if I had that amount of vision degradation due to normal eyeball problems I wouldn't wear glasses from it.

People drive with a lot worse :)

Also all MS people are required to register their illness with QLD Motor Registry guys and this is annually revised. Eventually, depending on how much worse the MS gets, I will probably have to cede my license :(

last edited by Hogfather at 13:47:56 10/Jan/07

Also, thanks for the info on car is OK from idling.

Should be fine.

+1 vote for idle = OK.

I've got heaps of issues, but you never tell Public Transport that :P

I've got heaps of Tissues, for when I cry on QGL :P

fixed

I've got heaps of issues, but you never tell Public Transport that :P

Apart from driving a 350z. what else is there to tell QLD Transport?? :P

letting a car idle for 5-10 mins is fine however once my brother left our WB ute idling in the middle of a paddock once for 8 hours once. Engine was f***ed and all the electrical wires were melted onto the motor.
If you leave a car idling for too long it doesn't get oil up to the top of the motor and obviously just f***s it.

so my advice is obviously limit the amount of idle time to less than 20 mins.

oooh really. would that have just been cos it was an old assed car?

Cos I've sat idling for like 3-4 hours before chillin with other people in the car. Never noticed any problems :S

I try to let my car sit and idle for 2-3 minutes before driving to warm it up.

something else to consider

- it's often illegal to leave your car idling and unattended
- it's a lot easier to have your car stolen if it's left idling unattended, and you risk not being covered by insurance

While it might be okay for the car in general, it's not too good for the air con.

Even though there should be a fan running to keep air flowing through the condensor when the car is idling, nothing beats the amount of air that gets pushed through it when the car is moving.

Less airflow = higher temps = more pressure = leaks

No dramas doin that.

EOT.

Loki is right. The cabbies leave their cabs idling for up to 20 mins or more on the ranks, some of the stupid ones even leave them in drive with their foot on the brake.

Also, fix the bommodore's aircon, a bommodore is more likely to handle heat/idling/lotsa driving than a daewoo.

You know what they say about daewoo's don't you. If it lasts more than a day - WOO!

what else are they supposed to do though, sit in qld summer heat with no aircon? I don't think I'd gauge what's ok for a car based on whether a cabbie does it or not

Leaving your car idling at a consistant rpm for extended periods of time can cause glazing on the pistons which causes them to wear faster.

Extended being hours on end, similar to speed camera vehicles.

Holy s*** it's CaPt0, sup Reece

nissan recommend not idling excessively

but thats because nissan engines are special

No dramas doin that.

EOT.

QED

Here's a semi-related question then:

Even though there should be a fan running to keep air flowing through the condensor when the car is idling, nothing beats the amount of air that gets pushed through it when the car is moving.

My aircon is on recirc almost all the time, because I don't want any of that Cairns incinerator air getting into my nice cold carcicle. Does that mean that there isn't fresh air hammering through the condensor when I'm driving?

Suggestion:
Get a turbo timer so you can take your keys out and leave the engine run for a few minutes while leaving the car secure. Cost just a few $

Legally... I think its against the law to leave the keys for your car in your car ?

it's not e.o.t. until someone posts the 'danger to teh manifold!' cat macro damnznitz!@#!! :D

My aircon is on recirc almost all the time, because I don't want any of that Cairns incinerator air getting into my nice cold carcicle. Does that mean that there isn't fresh air hammering through the condensor when I'm driving?

The condensor sits in front of the radiator, as long as the car is moving or the fan in front/behind it is pushing air through it, it will serve its purpose; cooling the gas that flows through it.

it's not e.o.t. until someone posts the 'danger to teh manifold!' cat macro damnznitz!@#!! :D

Have no Fear, mechanic kitty is here!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e12/Cl1nt/mechanic.jpg

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/dangertomanifold0e3.gif
http://content.imagesocket.com/thumbs/dangercbf.gif


Come to think of it, my commonwhore has no aircon either. Is it bad to be driving around with the aircon rooted? I believe the coolant also acts as some sort of lube for the aircon pump, am I shagging my car up by using it with no refrigerant in it? (not sure if it is empty but it doesn't get cold)

last edited by whoop at 21:06:27 10/Jan/07

Maxe, I meant End Of Thread , not problem solved. =]

Suggestion:
Get a turbo timer so you can take your keys out and leave the engine run for a few minutes while leaving the car secure. Cost just a few

Aren't they illegal?
For the exact same reason remote start is illegal --> It's illegal to have the engine running whilst the vehicle is unoccupied?

nah turbo timers definitely aren't illegal

turbo timers are safe anyway, because they have switches for neutral/park and hand brake etc normally

they also switch off the second you hit the clutch (so you can't drive the car) if i'm remembering correctly. (i never bother to use mine.)

wtf

mine doesnt do any of that s***, its also installed upside down :(

heya Dais,

I check forums multiple times a day still, just generally nothing worth replying to :P

Come to think of it, my commonwhore has no aircon either. Is it bad to be driving around with the aircon rooted? I believe the coolant also acts as some sort of lube for the aircon pump, am I shagging my car up by using it with no refrigerant in it? (not sure if it is empty but it doesn't get cold)

No the coolant doesn't go near the A/C compressor ('air con pump') The only thing the coolant has to do with an air con system is the heater core located behind your dash in a seperate compartment near the evaporator. The coolant runs through the heater core which is basically a mini radiator and when you put the heater on the, the fan behind the glove box pushes air through the evaporator then through the heater core making the air warm or hot.

So to answer your question driving around with no gas in your A/C system is fine.

Also with turbo timers you take the keys out of the ignition and we all know what happens when you try to steer without the keys in, you steer your sti into a power pole.

last edited by Protius at 18:08:43 11/Jan/07

those locks are fairly easy to bypass though

sometimes anything stuck in the lock (even if its not a key) will prevent it from locking the wheel

i had to hotwire an old car of mine because the ignition keylock died, its surprisingly easy to do

but i had to keep a paddle pop or something in the ignition to prevent it from locking and driving off a cliff

last edited by nF at 18:45:44 11/Jan/07

Hmm I see, but yes hotwiring a car is piss easy, first thing I learnt as an apprentice auto electrician.

first thing you learn when you live in wynnum more like it

whoop if the gas has leaked then chances are the oil in the system has too. If it's not cooling don't use it.

whoop if the gas has leaked then chances are the oil in the system has too. If it's not cooling don't use it.

You can't use it if there is no gas in there. The pressure switch will know the fact that there is no gas/pressure and the compressor won't engage.

good point sir, forgot about that

What do you mean by "it" the car or just don't turn the air con on? Because at the moment my car is just sitting in the garage (too hot to drive :p), but I do drive it occasionally if I need to carry something too big to fit in the 'wood.

edit: well that wasn't there when I replied. The compressor turns on I think it just never gets cold. Probably just needs to be re-gassed but it's a s***box commodore and I'm not going to spend the money on it. The kingswood is nice & cool to drive in summer so I'm driving that. Plus the seats in the como make my back hurt:(

last edited by whoop at 20:30:38 11/Jan/07

If the air con doesn't get cold it doesn't work so even if the button is in the air con is not on.

Reso: Working on car air cons is my job :P

doesn't the aircon engage automatically when the car is in reverse (in commodores)?

Again, not if there is no gas. The reverse acts as the A/C button, won't work if there's no gas.

Posting in a thread capt0 replied to.

Also +1 to no Air Con


Starting a new one.. no Heater tap either haha.. got a new one - its sitting in the center console for a rainy day between now and winter.