General Dual Zone Climate Question

[lordrobs]

Just picked up my girlfriends new car, a rather nice 1.4 16v Eleganza, and after reading the manual there is something I'm not sure on.

When set to "Full Auto" with the air con button illuminated is the air con compressor running constantly or only when it is required?

If the system is clever enough to switch it on only when it is needed I'll happily just push auto and be on my way, however if it is like my Octavia which runs the compressor all the time I'll make sure to switch it off myself to save the drop in fuel economy.

Thanks in advance

 

[willeywilson]

I don't know if it's clever enough to do that or not but on my mjet, you dont notice the economy change at all! however i do still tend to manually turn the air con button off on ocassion

 

[gi_viper]

When you have full auto functionality everything (as stated) concerning the air conditioning of the car is controlled automatically. This includes air flow control, direction, speed, humidity control (very usefull) and airflow coming from the outside or recirculation. So the compressor is auto switched on and off as needed, however on my experience its best when the outside temp is low to have the compressor off and just use the 'off' button to switch the air unit on and off. This will keep all desired settings. Make sure to use auto functionality once in a week so as to maintain the longevity of the compressor system.

 

[Mozarella]

I don't know about the Fiat (!) but in the Golf I owned for the last few years, the air-con compressor was self-regulating in that it didn't run constantly - as in the reply above. Having the air-con on or off seemed to make little difference to fuel economy on it. I ended up leaving it on 'Auto' all the time..

In cold weather, having the air-con on will de-humidify the air, and clear the car of condensation more quickly on those frosty days. My car doesn't have aircon, and in order to get air in the car I have to run the fan or open the windows. I ended up buying wind deflectors, which are a great addition. I expect that they affect fuel economy.