My 100hp seems to suffer from a noticeable dip in power / performance when the air con is switched on. Anyone else suffer that or is it normal?

Just a guess but it could be the air con compressor pulley close to seizing ..? They free wheel as part of the whole belt run but its kicked in by voltage via a switch to operate the electromagnet inside the main part of the pulley itself. Get it checked out before a belt gets shredded and causes more problems.

Scotty100hp said:

My 100hp seems to suffer from a noticeable dip in power / performance when the air con is switched on. Anyone else suffer that or is it normal?

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Given today's weather, I'd say it's most likely perfectly normal behaviour. On most smaller cars, the power needed to run the A/C is a significant part of the total power available.

You'll also see a corresponding dip in fuel economy.

Running around in the 1.2 today with the A/C on full blast on a journey I know well saw trip fuel consumption down by 20mpg (65mpg down to 45mpg) from what I'd usually get on the same run with it off . When ecodriving the 1.2, generally you need to be one gear lower for any given speed with the A/C on.

I'd actually be more concerned if you didn't notice the performance drop on a hot day - that would be a good sign it's time to regas the system.

That's kind of what I was thinking / hoping. I don't think I would notice it if I was on the motorway, but coming home from work through town it felt very sluggish until I turned it off. I just wondered whether it could have been a battery related power issue.
Thanks for the replies.

Scotty100hp said:

That's kind of what I was thinking / hoping. I don't think I would notice it if I was on the motorway, but coming home from work through town it felt very sluggish until I turned it off.

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I've known worse - with my previous Ford Ka (the old type with the pushrod engine), it was necessary to turn the A/C off before attempting to climb steep hills. On that car, the effect on available power as the A/C compressor kicked in & out was distinctly noticeable, even on the motorway.

As an aside, turning the A/C on when in slow moving or stationary traffic is a near-certain way to get the radiator fan to kick in - the only time it ever does on my 1.2. It's quite a good way of testing whether the fan is working correctly.

In normal road use my AC makes hardly any noticeable difference, even yesterday. It would be worth checking the system over and that all is OK, especially nothing is seized, and that the system is topped up!

I do turn mine off when sprinting, but also noticed it doesn't make much of a noticeable difference when it is on once the car has cooled i.e. it is just ticking it in. If you are driving to that level that you are pushing the car that hard on the road you might need to engage the brain a bit, as for example things like the fact that yesterday the roads were melting will give a bigger impact!

Its normal, it is only a 1.4 after all........ just thrash it harder..

With hindsight I think the 30+ degree heat might have had an effect as well.