I was just wondering, is it better to turn the AC system off before shutting your car off? I've heard I should turn the AC and fan off before I turn off the engine; something about preventing shorting something...

 

I usually turn my air conditioning off about 30 seconds before i exit my car, for some reason as long as i've known, my father always told me that leaving it on can put un-necessary stress on the car when you come back to the car and turn it on again, although at times i forget, it hasnt given me a problem yet, im sure its best to be safer than sorry.

 

my ac got fucked up and wen i got a new one the guy said top amke sure to turn off the ac before i exit. so far so good....

 

Turn your A/C off about 30-60 seconds before you turn off the car, and run the fan. Otherwise you risk the moisture resulting in mildew buildup in the ventilation system.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by John &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Turn your A/C off about 30-60 seconds before you turn off the car, and run the fan. Otherwise you risk the moisture resulting in mildew buildup in the ventilation system.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yup, I always run the fan for at least a minute or two before I shut off the car. Just turn it off a couple blocks away from your destination and you'll be fine.

 

this is also true, i agree with the earlier point where robot talks about undue stress on the car turning on, but also because of the fact that allowing moisture to remain trapped in the cars vent system can make your car smell like ****, ive seen it happen before, and its disgusting...

 

wow, I never knew about such thing with the AC system

Guess you learn something new everyday

 

i dont use my AC................ ......but its a good idea to keep everything off when u turn off ur car........nothing like getting into your car at 7 in the morning to go to work, start her up, and immediantly hear music blasting in your ears from the previous night, when u didnt turn off the stereo before u turned off the car.....

 

lol, i did that **** to my mom, i was taking her car into the garage so she was driving my car to work, haha, she got in the car, and being absolutely technologically ape, she drove all the way to work with my system pounding her ears off...she later said she thought that she had lost some hearing, loL!

 

aaaaaah, COnfuc1ous, we meet again, you seem to be one step ahead of me on the regular...

 

Robot Sonic, a beating cometh if you dont stop whoring this thread...

 

Wow; I had no idea about the mildew. You do learn new things every day...

Thanks for the help and opinions!

 

I usually turn off the a/c and leave on the fan for awhile so that it airs out the system. The next time I start up the car, there won't be any funny smells.

 

Turn off that A/C, baby! Especially turn off your stereo! Thats how speakers are blown!

 

yea, i used to be so careless, i blew out 2 subs that way, but that was old school, now with all the advanced circuitry in these amps it helps protect from things like that, i hope...

 

I hate to be the one disagreeing with everyone, but I don't think some of the arguments are legit.

Will it put a slight amount of load on your engine if the AC is on when you start it -- Yes, will it put enough on it to make a difference --- I don't think so.

The other argument about moisture in the vents:
If you think about what an air-conditioning system actually does, this theory is bunk. AC systems remove moisture from the air. An air conditioner is an extreme dehumidifier. That is how it works. When your window is fogged up on the inside, and you turn the defrost on, the AC compressor is engaged. If you ever try to use a defroster on a car that has a bad compressor on it, see how fast it cleans the window compared to defrosting with a good operating AC.
If your worried about mildew smells, make sure your drain from the evaporator isn't clogged. The evaporator will "sweat" from the difference in temperature, but the systems are made to drain when they drip off the evaporator. By turning off the AC, I really believe that all you would do is blow the moisture off of the evaporator into the vents, which would then cause a mildew smell.

Anyway, I have 282,000 on my 91. Never turned off the AC, and it hasn't caused problems with the motor, and I have never had to replace the compressor. Expansion valve yes, compressor no.

 

awesome, well, i turn mine off either way, it cant hurt it for me to turn it off, but yea, your mileage does disprove the majority of our theories, but in my 146,000 miles i havent even replaced a valve...so i dont know, it works differently according to location and other stuff 2, but all are good points..&gt;!