2006 A/C pulls down the RPM's

[Hobi]

I recently bought a 2006 4dr civic. During the last couple of days the day time temps have reached 90 degrees. When driving on the highway my car "jerks" everytime the A/C compressor kicks in. It doesn't matter if I'm doing 50 or 70 or if I am in D or D3. You can see the rpm gage change by about 250 -300 PM each time the cat pulses or jerks. Is this normal ?? I sure hope not.


Well your all wrong, but thanks anyway. I took it to the dealer and they said they got some wierd codes off the computer. They called Honda tech support, they sent them some patches and now it it running great. Thank goodness it was still under warranty. I have taken it on sevral trips through the mountains of western Maryland with 4 passangers an it hasn't missed a beat. Even got 35 MPG with 4 plus luggage. I should have thought of the dealer first.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[gearbox]

yup, its called lack of horsepower lol. when the compressor turns on, it puts a big load on the engine. subaru actually went to a fully electrical system so you do not feel anything with ac running and it doesnt rob hp either.

 

[GETxERxDONE]

you dont really feel lit on v8's and stuff because they are more powerful. and have bigger alternators and batteries

 

[Dannyloski]

Test your Alternator & Battery to see if they're Faulty ... The A/C puts a lot of more Load on the Alternator, so if its going bad then this can be (and most likely is) the cause of it. You're not suppose to feel a "jerk" when you turn it on, however, the RPMs will lower a bit.

 

[GETxERxDONE]

i figured it wasnt actually jerking, and he just exadurated on the feeling

 

[JDM melbatoast]

mine does the same thing especially with my exhaust you can really hear it...my solution is open the windows..i have an em2 btw


yeah its bascially lack of hp

 

[Beelzebubba]

V8s and bigger sixes have enough rotational mass that dampens the sudden load on the engine when the A/C clutch engages. Even if it's a Chrysler or GM V8 that's running in 4 cyl mode all 8 pistons are still moving up and down and that big bastard of a crank is still rotating.

It's normal. I doubt that if the tach is only dropping 250 rpm that it is really jerking that hard. The main problem is that newer cars are so well insulated from NVH that you notice little stuff like that more than you would in.... let's say a '78 Chevrolet LUV.

 

[Hobi]

A/C pulls down the RPM's

I know the lach of HP can cause the problem, but why does it only do it 50% of the time. THe rest of the time it drives normally. It is still under warranty so Monday the dealer can explain it to me.

 

[knightxrider1]

its cool. its supposed to do that. its a big job for your 4 banger to run a compressor. mine does it too. everything is oka!

 

[BuiltforSin]

Normal man. That's the one thing I hate about Civics.

 

[andrew256]

Yep. AC is pretty much a kill-switch on a Honda.

 

[006lxcivic]

is it weird that i've never noticed my car do that?
even after coming from a 300 hp V8 i've never noticed the car jerking or losing rpms.